An international consultant is expected to be appointed shortly to draw up plans for the construction of four new towns in Bahrain.

The towns are to be built at a cost of BD2 billion ($5.3 billion) and will provide homes for 250,000 people. The first of the four new towns will be built off Abu Subh coastline in Budaiya. The other towns will be built in West Hamad Town, East Sitra, North Bahrain and East Muharraq.

Pipeline awaits green light

Muscat: Plans for a 48-km pipeline that will link the new Fahud-Sohar pipeline to Al Buraimi on the border with the UAE are awaiting approval.

The approval for the project depends on the Omani government reaching a final agreement for the supply of its gas as feedstock to a planned power and desalination plant in the UAE emirate of Fujairah.

The client is the state-owned Oman Gas Company (OGC).

Oman Gas Company is preparing the tender documents for the engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) package for the new pipeline but this will be floated only after approval from the government.

Chinese firm is lowest bidder

Kuwait: A Chinese firm presented the lowest bid of KD33.028 million ($110 million) in a Kuwaiti tender to build a water treatment and pumping station, executives said.

They said China Genznouba Construction Group Corp's (CGGC) lowest bid was followed by Egypt's Arab Contractors with KD34.2 million. Two other firms were also in the race with bids of just under KD40 million each.

Kuwait state tenders favour the lowest bidder.

The pumping station tender, C1, is part of a four-phase project worth some KD115.7 million to build a major water distribution network with related pipelines. Executives said the C1 was budgeted at around KD42 million.

In late June, Kuwait issued the largest portion, C3, of the four stages of the Subiya Water Distribution Scheme. The C3 tender is worth KD42.5 million.

Some of the world's leading firms are running in the various stages of the major plan to lay fresh and brackish water pipelines and related work to link a proposed water desalination plant at Subiya to a main distribution centre.

Oman signs deals worth $10.4m

Muscat: Oman's Minister of Housing, Electricity and Water Shaikh Suhail bin Mustahail Shamas has signed 17 agreements worth a total of RO4 million ($10.4 million) for the construction of housing units and supply of electricity in various parts of the sultanate.

Six of the agreements provide for the construction of a complex of 211 housing units, a school, four mosques and other facilities at a cost of RO2.19 million in the Sharqiyah and Central regions.

The other 11 agreements, worth RO1.94 million, provide for the supply of electricity to a number of villages and newly-built dwellings, besides boosting power transmission lines in various parts of the sultanate, local media reported.

$5.2m boost for Qatar roads

Doha: The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, Ali bin Saad Al Kuwari, has signed three contracts related to road works amounting to QR18.94 million ($5.2 million).

The minister signed a QR6.26 million contract for road works off Salwa Road with a national company. The works are to be completed next July.

A QR6 million contract was signed with an international company for maintenance of Al-Khor and Al-Zakhira roads for completion by August, 2003.

A third contract worth QR6.67 million was signed with a national company for the second stage of road works to the north of Al-Dehail, to be completed by September next year.