Schneider wins eco centre award

SCHNEIDER Electric, a global specialist in energy management, has been awarded a contract to provide automated lighting controls system for the aesthetically-designed Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by Setra e.Vision, the project’s system integrator.

The SR120-million ($31 million) project, scheduled to be completed in August, spans over 50,000 sq m comprising 19 floors of offices and service and control areas. The new centre will be responsible for compiling and correcting meteorological bulletins from the GCC countries, other Arab and several African countries and adjacent seas and oceans.

Schneider Electric will install KNX products in the building that control and monitor lighting systems including presence sensors, switching and dimming which will create a ‘green’ building.

Meanwhile, Schneider Electric has been ranked 26th on the list of ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations’ in recognition of its commitment to sustainable development.

The ranking issued by Corporate Knights, the Canadian magazine for clean capitalism, was announced in Davos, Switzerland, in January.

Work starts on steel melt shop

INDIA-BASED global steelmaker Jindal Shadeed has kicked off construction work on a major steel melt shop at its site within Sohar Port in Oman, the company’s executive president said.

D K Saraogi, who is also Oman head of Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel, said the facility – which is a key part of the company’s ambition to become an integrated steel producer — is slated for commissioning by the end of next year.
“Construction work on the melt shop project has already commenced. During this phase, we are adding melt shop facilities to produce 2 million tonnes per year (tpy) of steel. The estimated investment for this project is around $500 million,” Saraogi told the Oman Daily Observer.

The steel melt shop will produce an array of semi-finished long products, such as square billets, blooms and round sections.

Masco opens factories in Bahra

METAL Artwork Saudi Company (Masco) has launched a new set of factories in Bahra, Saudi Arabia, with a view to expanding its operations.

Samir Al Shubaily, deputy CEO of Roots Group Arabia, said the new factories was part of the group’s strategy to increase its production capacity and meet the rising demand for its products, especially in the Western Region that is witnessing many giant projects and wide urbanisation. The factories, covering an area of 26,000 sq m, have an annual production capacity set at 20,000 tonnes of metal products.

Alba builds sixth potline

ALUMINIUM Bahrain (Alba) has begun building its sixth potline that will become fully operational by 2015. The line is expected to increase Alba’s production capabilities by 400,000 tonnes annually.

The Bahrain-based facility currently produces 881,000 tonnes per year. Alba, the owner of the fourth largest aluminium smelter in the world, recently distributed $16 million in compensation to employees who were terminated during the recent unrest.

$180bn energy projects in pipeline

NEW power, water, and energy projects valued at $180 billion are under way or at the planning stages in the Middle East, according to the organisers of Middle East Electricity, held in Dubai, UAE, last month.

Spearheaded by the $20-billion nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, the UAE will be one of the most active markets in the power, water and energy sectors over the next two years with 20 projects worth $34.2 billion, the organisers say. Saudi Arabia holds the lion’s share of investment value in the region, with the $100-billion King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy, which begins construction in 2013. The kingdom also has a further 15 projects worth nearly $9 billion currently under way, or due to begin this year.

Qatar intends to build at least eight power and water facilities worth $4.8 billion in the next three years. Bahrain has four ongoing projects worth $4.2 billion; Kuwait has 17 projects valued at $4 billion, while Oman has put aside $2.9 billion for 13 new power, water and energy projects to begin this year.

Saudi Arabia plans industrial city

A 290-SQ-KM industrial city is being planned in the Northern Border province of Saudi Arabia.

The Wa’d Al-Shimal City will have all the necessary infrastructure, including links to the northern and southern railway projects, and aim to attract other processing industries.

About 150 sq km of land has already been allotted to a Maaden Company for setting up phosphate industries and other projects linked to it in the Umm Wa’al area, as part of the development of the industrial city project.

RWI eyes greater Bahrain role

RUBBER World Industries (RWI), the leading manufacturer of closed-cell rubber insulation ‘Gulf-O-Flex’ in the Gulf and South East Asia, is looking to play a major role in Bahrain’s construction sector, by expanding its trading division.
Part of the Shaikhani Group of Companies, RWI will launch new trading products in Bahrain such as rubber-based products like aluminium insulation tubes, rolls and sheets, slitting tubes, colour tubes and foam tapes, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tapes, and insulated and uninsulated flexible ducts.