Turkish architect wins award
TABANLIOGLU Architects, the renowned Turkish house of architecture and design, has been bestowed the prestigious International Architecture Award (Public Service) for the Tripoli Congress Center at the International Commercial Property Awards held in London in November.

“The sustainable project for the Middle East region has already become a sample and leads the positive change in the man-made environment towards a contemporary architectural and social approach,” said Murat Tabanlioglu, a founder of the practice.

The awards are open to residential and commercial property professionals from around the globe and are a celebration of the highest levels of achievement by companies operating in all sectors of the property and real estate industry.

Tabanlioglu Architects has already been honoured at the Middle East Architect Awards held last September in Dubai, where Murat and Melkan Tabanlioglu were awarded the ‘Architect of the Year’ award. The company also received the GCC Public Sector, Institutional and Cultural Project of the Year Award for the Tripoli Congress Center.

Jeddah Gate on track
THE first phase of the SR6-billion ($1.6-billion) Jeddah Gate known as Abraj Al Hilal is to be handed over to residents in the first few months of this year, according to the developer Emaar Middle East.

“The first residential towers are currently in their final stages and will be handed over to customers in the coming months,” said Dr Dia Malaab, regional chief executive officer of Emaar Middle East.

Abraj Al Hilal consists of three residential towers ranging from 19 to 22 storeys including two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments and penthouses.

The project is to be completed in two phases. When completed in 2013, it will contain 6,000 residential units, 230,000 sq m of commercial space and 75,000 sq m of gross leasable area for retail outlets and restaurant space.

Saudis boost spending
SAUDI ARABIA has increased its 2011 budget expenditure by 7.4 per cent to touch SR580 billion ($154.7 billion) with the deficit standing at SR40 billion ($10.7 billion).

The kingdom’s measures to prop up the economy during the global financial crisis led to improved fiscal results with expected fiscal surplus of SR108.5 billion ($28.93 billion), matching Global Investment House’s budgetary projections of a SR108.7 billion ($28.98 billion) surplus, and real GDP growth of 3.8 per cent in 2010.

Based on the forecast, Saudi Arabia’s real GDP growth is projected at 4 to 4.5 per cent and fiscal surplus at around SR235 billion ($62.6 billion) in 2011, the Kuwait-based research house said.

DSI backlog stands at $1.4bn
DRAKE & Scull International (DSI) last month said that its backlog stood at Dh5.5 billion ($1.4 billion), reflecting the company’s fully-fledged operational capabilities in the Middle East, which has allowed it to provide integrated end-to-end engineering services to a number of prominent projects across the region.

The backlog as of September 30, 2010 was a 66 per cent increase over the Dh3.3 billion ($544 million) backlog recorded at the end of 2009. The latest figures include the consolidation of Drake & Scull International Saudi’s backlog following the recent 65 per cent acquisition of the company by DSI.

Meanwhile DSI has won three new projects – two in Oman and one in the UAE – worth Dh100 million ($27.2 million). This brings the company’s project win portfolio for 2010 to over Dh3 billion ($816 million) compared to Dh2 billion ($544 million) in 2009. The company will oversee the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) works for the two projects in Oman and the complete civil construction and MEP works for the latest project in Dubai.

Hill International wins bank deal
HILL International, a global leader in managing construction risk, will provide project management services to the new Al Rajhi Bank headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under a three-and-a-half year contract worth SR9.6 million ($2.6 million).

The 44-storey tower, designed by renowned architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is expected to be completed by April 2014. When complete, the tower will contain approximately 77,000 sq m of office space plus an adjacent six-storey parking structure of approximately 69,000 sq m.

Hill has completed the project design development strategy, and will now provide project management services for the completion of the design and during all construction phases of the project.

Kuwait builds mega road projects
KUWAIT’S Ministry of Public Works is building several new major roads and causeways to ease traffic congestion in the emirate.

Among the major projects is the construction of the 37-km-long Sheikh Jaber Bridge across Kuwait Bay, stretching from Al Ghazali crossroad on Jamal Abdel Nasser Street to Al Sabahiya highway, linking up the new Al Subiya City, north of the bay.

The mega project includes a four-km causeway near Shuwaikh Port, and a 27-km-long bridge across the bay 22 m above the sea’s surface to allow the safe passage of ships.

Other projects include the renovation of Al Jahra Road, one of the largest projects of its kind in the Middle East, projected to cost KD264.7 million ($940 million) and includes building 21 km of roads, crossroads and 17.7 km of elevated junctions and ramps.

MAF Dalkia seeks new markets
MAJID Al Futtaim Ventures and Dalkia have extended a joint venture launched in 2002 that enables the companies to expand the MAF Dalkia brand of facilities and energy management services into the Gulf, Levant and Egypt markets.

As part of the expansion, MAF Dalkia will extend its focus to specific facilities and energy management opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and other key geographies, while leveraging regional and international expertise in healthcare, telecommunications, and other key industry verticals across the region.

By 2011, MAF Dalkia will be providing facilities and energy management services for an estimated 3.3 million sq m of commercial and residential space in the Middle East, in addition to managing at least 125,000 TR (tons of refrigeration) cooling capacity and 2,550 MWH power managed through various client initiatives.

Pearl-Qatar ... mixed-use development.

The Pearl-Qatar gets 159 Elta fans
ELTA Fans has supplied a large number of ventilation units to The Pearl-Qatar, a multi-billion-dollar man-made island being built off the shores of Qatar.

Elta Fans and sister company Fastlane Ventilation Equipment supplied 159 fans to local contractor Power Line Engineering through regional distributor Metco, for use in various public areas. These included several food and beverage outlets in the central plaza and the major north-south boulevard, as well as the smoke management system for the mall area, where a network of smoke extract fans is integrated into an addressed fire alarm system. The order included HIT, Compact SCP, Powerduct SPD, Multiflow SMB, Skyflow SSMF, Heritage SCHT along with long-cased (LC) and short-cased (SC) axial fans for the retail and recreational areas, with Fastlane supplying BSB SISW centrifugal, belt-driven units for kitchen extract applications.

APC boosts Saudi services
APC by Schneider Electric, a global leader in integrated critical power and cooling services, will extend its data centre service capabilities to Saudi Arabia as part of its commitment to support the operation and maintenance of Tier-3 and Tier-4 data centres in the country and control energy costs. APC’s team of technical experts will offer round-the-clock services for troubleshooting and emergency repair.