Egyptian contractor Orascom Construction has reported a consolidated revenue income of about $2bn in the first half of this year, the company said in a statement on 27 August.

Including the group’s 50 per cent share in Belgium’s Besix Construction, pro-forma backlog and new awards stood at $6.6bn and $1.5bn respectively, as of 30 June this year, the company said.

The company’s backlog increased by about 20 per cent compared with last year due to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound in November 2016. Infrastructure and industrial work continue to account for the majority of the consolidated backlog, representing 86 per cent of the total.

The company’s net cash position stood at $202m in the first half of this year, compared with $204m in the same period in 2016.

In July this year, Orascom was awarded a $100m deal to build a 650MW steam turbine power plant in Walideya, Egypt.

Orascom will provide full civil works for the construction of the facility, which will be located close to the Assiut power plant, which Orascom is currently executing.

In January 2016, MEED reported that Orascom had been awarded a $420m contract to convert the Assiut and West Damietta power plants to combined-cycle facilities.

Orascom was one of the contractors on the first phase of both power plants, which were completed in 2015. The Assiut facility has a capacity of 1,000MW, with the West Damietta plant producing up to 500MW.