Saudi Arabia signs $533m road deals

SAUDI ARABIA'S Transport Ministry has signed 32 contracts worth more than SR2 billion ($533 million) for the construction of new roads and repair of existing ones in different parts of the kingdom, a report said.

The contracts also included consultancy services for building new road projects, the Arab News report quoted Transport Minister Jabara Al Seraisry as saying.

The total value of road contracts signed this year is more than SR10 billion ($2.66 billion), the newspaper reported.

The Wave properties put up for sale

THE Wave, Muscat, Oman’s lifestyle destination, celebrated the handover of more than 1,000 completed properties to owners at the development.

To date, The Wave, Muscat has sold more than 1,400 homes, with properties that have been handed over now occupied by more than 2,500 residents.

Meanwhile, the latest properties at The Wave  have been released for sale. The 85 one- and two-bedroom apartments spread over three boutique buildings will be known as Liwan and adjoins the Kempinski The Wave, Muscat hotel which is under construction and on track for completion in 2015.

Liwan will form the pedestrian gateway from the Kempinski Hotel to the Almouj Marina weaving through an new retail precinct to be launched next year.

Amnesty hits small construction firms

FIFTY per cent of the smaller construction firms in Saudi Arabia have stopped operating because thousands of expatriate workers were not able to rectify their status during the amnesty period, the Arab News reported.

The figures were released recently by Fahd Al Hamadi, head of the national committee for construction at the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC). “The seven-month time frame allocated for the correction process was not enough to rectify 20 years of errors,” said Al Hamadi.

The labour raids targeting illegal expatriates in the kingdom have phased out 100,000 of the 200,000 contracting firms registered with the country’s chambers of commerce, a report said.

$80m water projects planned

SAUDI ARABIA is to implement $80 million worth of water and drainage projects in Jubail including potable water pipelines, drainage systems, a potable water reservoir, and water and sewage pumping stations, according to Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thurayan, head of the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu.

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is also looking at building new desalination plants in Jubail.

Power and water utility firm Marafiq is currently building a $227-million desalination plant that will serve Sadara Petrochemicals in the industrial zone while another $100 million desalination plant is also being built there.

CPC secures sustainability rating

CONSTRUCTION Products Holding Company (CPC) has secured a level ‘B’ rating from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for its corporate sustainability report for the year 2013.

With this, CPC has become the first Saudi construction products company to acquire this certificate.

The report illustrates the company’s progress towards sustainability and its initiatives in various areas including the environment and corporate social responsibility. It additionally confirms the company’s commitment to make positive contributions to society and sustainable environment in Saudi Arabia and other countries.

Hill’s KAFD contract extended

HILL International, the global leader in managing construction risk, said it has received a contract extension from the Public Pension Agency of Saudi Arabia to continue providing project management services in connection with development of the $7.8-billion King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The one-year contract extension has an estimated value to Hill of approximately $6.6 million.

The KAFD is anticipated to be the biggest financial district in the Middle East and a strategic development for the city of Riyadh. The site is approximately 1.6 million sq m and the development is expected to have floor space of more than 3 million sq m.

Maskan Arabia wins property awards

MASKAN Arabia for Real Estate Development has won five awards at the International Property Awards 2013 – Arabia competition which recognises the finest residential and commercial real estate projects as well as their developers worldwide.

The leading Saudi Arabian real estate company won the award for Best Development – Multiple Units for its Ritaj project in Northern Riyadh, which contains 292 residential units.

Also, the company’s website – www.maskanarabia.com – won Best Developer Website for real estate development companies – in addition to the two prizes of best Saudi and Arab architectural design for the Alcasaba project in Hitteen District, Riyadh.

Nixon Hire to open new depots

NIXON Hire will open two new depots in Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

The construction equipment rental and retail business signed a joint venture agreement with Sheikh Hizam Zidan Al Qahtani, chairman of Al Jeri Transportation Group, to support its expansion drive.

The first depot in Saudi Arabia will open shortly, in Jeddah Nixon Hire said, with the Riyadh depot planned to be launched in the near future. Both parties have agreed to commit $19 million to new rental assets.