The largest orders secured during February were won by Saudi Arabia’s El-Seif Engineering Contracting for construction working in Jizan in the southwest of the kingdom.

The two contracts, worth about SR8bn ($2.1bn), are for the construction of housing and related infrastructure for the Interior Ministry. Each project will involve building three different towns.

For the first project, with a contract value of about SR4.5bn, the contractor will build 2,400 housing units through a mixture of villas and apartments. The project will also include building shops, clinics, military offices, and the associated utilities infrastructure.

For the second contract, worth about SR3.5bn, the local firm will build 2,100 residential units and similar infrastructure to the first project.

The Interior Ministry has become an increasingly key client in Saudi Arabia’s construction sector in recent years. Since 2012, the ministry has awarded more than $15bn-worth of construction contracts, 28 per cent of the total SR46bn civil construction deals awarded in the kingdom in that period.

There were also major awards during February in the UAE. Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), France’s Tecnimont and Geneva-registered  Archirodon have been awarded contracts on its Integrated Gas Development Expansion (IGD-E) worth a combined $901m. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) awards follow the $700m contract announced by Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas (TR) on the Package 3 onshore pipeline.

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and its subsidiaries are carrying out the IGD-E to produce 400 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of additional gas from its offshore fields in order to increase onshore gas sales.

In Dubai, local developer Meraas Holding awarded contracts estimated to be worth AED2.8bn ($763m) for construction work on its Bluewaters island scheme, which is being built off Dubai’s coast close to Jumeirah Beach Residences.

Canada’s Brookfield Multiplex has started work on the hospitality component of the development, while a joint venture of the UK’s Kier and Dubai-based Al-Shafar General Contracting has been awarded another package for the residential buildings on the island.

Meraas also awarded the UAE/UK Al-Futtaim Carillion two contracts worth a combined total of $590m for the construction of a mixed-use development on the Dubai Creek waterfront and the La Mer development.