Honeywell completes road shows

HONEYWELL has concluded its series of annual country road shows across the key Middle East countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait. A team of global experts from across Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) including life safety, critical infrastructure protection, instrumentation and field solutions and advanced solutions, as well as local country leaders, addressed attendees representing key customers across the region, including Saudi Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), Galfar, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), Equate, Borouge, Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) and Abu Dhabi Gas (Adgas), to name a few. A total of 570 professionals attended the events.

Go-ahead for Riffa sewage project

A SEWAGE project in East Riffa is set to go ahead after more than three years of delays. It will be handled in six phases and will cover blocks 901, 903, 905 and 909, said Bahrain ministry officials.

The project is expected to take around 30 months to be completed and is hoped will be up and running by June 2014, they added.

Kuwait welfare projects top agenda

KUWAIT’S Ministry of Public Works said its agenda for development projects this year prioritises the Jaber Al Ahmad Hospital, the expansion of Kuwait International Airport, Mubarak Al Khabeer Harbour, the new headquarters of the Ministry of Education, and the Jamal Abdulnasser and Al Jahra highways.

The first half of 2011 has seen the laying of the foundation for Mubarak Al Kabeer Harbour. The ministry has also started work on the national library, Kuwait Sport Club for the deaf, the Centre for Research and Studies on Kuwait (CRSK), the new headquarters of the Ministry of Interior, Al Oqeila medical centre, and Abu-Fatira road development project (Phase Two).

Over the past few months the ministry has signed 23 contracts to develop key projects such as the Public Authority for the Minors Affairs (Pama) premises, director of the ministry’s public relations division Hamid Youssuf Bushehri said.

$388m housing tenders launched

BAHRAIN has launched 26 housing tenders worth BD146.29 million ($388 million) since the start of the year mainly in the Muharraq, Central and Northern governorates, according to official figures. Housing Minister Bassim bin Yaqoob Al Hamar said they accounted for 1,181 new homes.

The projects are mainly located in the Muharraq, Central and Northern governorates. Al Hamar also said that more housing projects would be put out to tender soon, including one on reclaimed land in Sitra.

Sabic-Montefibre sign deal

SAUDI Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has signed a technology agreement with Montefibre, granting the group and its affiliates an extensive international licence on carbon fibre technology developed by Montefibre.

Sabic will first use the technology for a new carbon fibre plant to be built in Saudi Arabia, enabling it to serve the growing demand for carbon fibre and composites in such fast-growing markets as alternative energy, transportation and infrastructure.

Sabic and Montefibre also signed a memorandum of understanding to study the feasibility of a new carbon fibre production plant in Spain to be integrated into Montefibre’s existing acrylic fibre production site, and thus allowing Sabic to accelerate product development and material qualification activities with customers and end-users.

Once complete, the carbon fibre project is expected to establish a domestic supply of more than 3,000 tonnes of industrial grade carbon fibre to serve emerging local markets in the Middle East as well as international markets.

Busaiteen project set for handover

BAHRAIN-based Sakana Holistic Housing Solutions, the Islamic mortgage finance provider, said the first phase of its Busaiteen residential project was on track and scheduled for handover this month.

Sakana Busaiteen comprises 10 three-storey buildings designed to the highest standards of comfort for the contemporary family in the Busaiteen area of Bahrain. Each building comprises individual self-contained three-bedroom apartments, with shared common facilities. 

The contractor on the project is RP Construction and the consultant is Akbari Architects.

EWA signs $3m pipeline deal

BAHRAIN’S Electricity and Water Authority (EWA)  has signed a BD1.16 million ($3.1 million) contract with Bahrain-based Panorama Contracting and Engineering Services for the construction of a 25-km pipeline between the Riffa and Hamad Town blending stations and the new water distribution station at Al Areen.

This project is one of the largest water transmission projects in the kingdom. It includes construction of ground storage tanks and buffer tanks at the Hamad Town blending and distribution stations and the Al Areen distribution station with a capacity of more than 55 million gallons; construction of a distribution station in Al Areen; and the expansion and development of the West Riffa and Hamad town facilities. Pumping stations in Ad’dur and Samaheej and installation of pumps in the refinery distribution station, have been added to the scope.The project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2012.