CMCS teams up with Sofcon
COLLABORATION, Management and Control Solutions (CMCS) of Saudi Arabia, a leading provider of project portfolio management (PPM) solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), has signed a strategic partnership with the Sofcon Group to offer project management solutions and services to all Sofcon projects in the Middle East. Sofcon is one of the fastest growing multi-disciplinary engineering and project management (E&PM) providers in the region.
Under the multi-million-riyal deal, CMCS will carry out project management maturity assessment, professional project management development and Oracle Primavera project management software and collaboration software installation, training and implementation, among other key services.

Barwa Financial District.

Barwa to deliver three projects
BARWA Real Estate, one of Qatar’s world-leading investment and real estate companies, expects to shortly deliver and operate three major projects – Barwa Village, Barwa Housing (Masaken and Saliyah) and the first phase of Barwa Al Sadd. Barwa has also begun initial engineering studies of Salwa Bay Resort, which will be located in the south-west of Qatar.

Kaust to use Corian
KING Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust), a Saudi-based international graduate-level research university, is using DuPont’s Corian line of surfacing material as part of its campus development plan.
Certified by the industry-independent, non-profit Greenguard Environmental Institute, Corian is one of the safest surfacing materials to be introduced to the market in the past 35 years, according to DuPont. Available in over 100 colours, Corian does not support the growth of bacteria or fungi and can be formed, moulded, thermoformed, carved, routed or inlaid for diverse design requirements, according to DuPont.

Hill secures $11m contract
HILL International, the global leader in managing construction risk, has secured a $11-million contract to provide construction management services to Al Khafji Joint Operations, a joint venture of Kuwait Gulf Oil Company and Saudi Aramco. Under the terms of the contract, Hill will be managing the construction of senior and junior bachelors quarters, a warehouse complex consisting of 15 separate buildings, an aviation control building and five schools. The project is in Al Khafji, on the Kuwait-Saudi border.

Kuwait’s project investment rises
KUWAIT’S Deputy Premier for Economic Affairs, State Minister for Development Affairs and State Minister for Housing Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah said that there were 798 construction projects worth KD4.788 billion ($16.53 billion) for the fiscal year 2010-2011. He noted that this was twice the cost of the projects in the previous fiscal year.
Sheikh Ahmad also said that the state’s allocated budgets for projects rose from KD1.2 billion ($4.15 billion) in 2009-2010 to KD2.1 billion ($7.2 billion) in 2010-2011, an increase of 80 per cent, excluding independent institutions such as Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).
The figures were revealed during a high-level discussion on the state’s annual and five-year plans by top state officials under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

Officials at the agreement signing ceremony.

Omran signs deal with hotel group
OMRAN, the Oman government’s tourism development and investment arm, has signed a management agreement with the Millennium Hotels and Resorts to manage a four-star hotel under construction at the Asian Beach Games – Muscat 2010 site.
Millennium Hotels is one of the world’s largest hotel groups, with more than 120 hotels with 33,143 rooms and with a huge presence across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. This will be Millennium’s first hotel in Oman, and will feature more than 250 rooms alongside a range of restaurants and sports and leisure facilities. The agreement was signed by Dr Rajiha bint Abdul Ameer bin Ali, Minister of Tourism and chairperson of Omran, and Ali H Lakhraim, president and CEO Millennium Hotels Middle East.

Airport project hopes for Nagarjuna
INDIAN infrastructure major Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) has emerged as the lowest bidder for developing an airport in Salalah, Oman. “We are waiting. Like other bidders we are still hopeful of getting the contract,” Nagarjuna’s senior vice-president (finance) Y D Murthy said. According to him, it is likely to take another three months for an official word on the deal.
NCC, along with a Turkish partner, had emerged the lowest bidder for the airport. NCC has 30 per cent stake in the joint venture.

Shaikhani eyeing expansion
THE real estate industry is expected to account for $250 billion of the planned projects, or more than one-third across all sectors in the region from 2010 to 2013, which collectively amounts to $717 billion, according to latest market statistics.
In line with positive projections on the market, Shaikhani Developments, the development, construction and project management arm of the UAE-based Shaikhani Group, aims to establish a leading position in the construction sector and is looking at extending its expertise to the infrastructure sector.
“We’re planning to undertake a major expansion plan across the region’s most potential-laden markets, including Saudi Arabia, where $105-billion in infrastructure investments is set to rise within the next three years,” said Rizwan Shaikhani, managing director, Shaikhani Developments.
“At present, we are primarily targeting Dubai due to its sizeable construction activities,” he said.

Germans win Doha airport contract
GERMAN online collaboration platform think project! will assist Eisenmann with information and project management expertise for a project involving the $10-billion New Doha International Airport (NDIA) scheduled to open in July 2011 in Doha, Qatar.
In order to supply airlines with in-flight service carts, international plant engineering firm Eisenmann was awarded a contract for an electric monorail system that will link operational stations within the airport’s new high-tech catering wing. Eisenmann sought to use think project! to make the processes more efficient by consolidating the flood of documents associated with a project of this size and managing all communications with external project partners on a single platform.
The four-storey supply building for aircraft carts will occupy a base area of around 45,000 sq m in the New Doha International Airport. With 130 trolleys and around 20,000 transports per day, Eisenmann’s 1.6 km-long electric monorail system will form the main artery of aircraft catering logistics.

Bilda names new CEO
SAUDI-BASED Bilda, which specialises in establishing and managing commercial malls, has appointed Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mohsen as the CEO of the company.
Al Mohsen has previously held a number of responsible positions in this field.

Scott Wilson names advisor
SCOTT Wilson, a global integrated design and engineering consultancy for the built and natural environments, has appointed Christopher Bartram as head of commercial advisory within the business consultancy practice.