Salini Impregilo, a specialist in the construction and civil engineering business, has won contracts worth a combined $300 million in the GCC.

The Italian construction major says it will build a $100-million water desalination plant through its subsidiary Fisia Italimpianti in Oman. 

The company, in consortium with Saudi-based Acwa, French water and energy management company Veolia and Dhofar International for Investment and Development Company along with joint-venture (JV) partner Spanish group Abengoa, will design and construct the plant.

The JV will use the latest reverse osmosis technology, to deliver up to 113,650 cu m of potable water a day to the southwest city of Salalah in Oman. Fisia Italimpianti has a 51 per cent stake in the new venture.

The contract, to be completed in 27 months, is the unit’s second this year, following a $255-million deal obtained in April to build a desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.

Salini Impregilo points out that its other big contract in the region is the $200-million deal to design and build a 5-km-long transit connection in Abu Dhabi (UAE). It will cross two islands, Umm Lafina and Al Reem, to connect the Capital District with the Central Business District, which the UAE capital is building for its 2030 development plan to foster economic growth, the company adds.

Once completed in 2020, the highway between these islands will cross a mangrove reserve, where Salini Impregilo will relocate and plant double the number of mangroves expected to be lost. n