11 groups qualify for Cairo Metro
Cairo: Eleven groups of local and international companies have been pre-qualified for the consultancy contract on the first phase of line 3 on the Cairo Metro project by Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels.

The 750 million Euro ($862 million) project involves the construction of a 4.3-km of metro line 3 between Attaba Square to Abbasia as part of the greater Cairo metro network.
Companies leading the pre-qualified consultants include France’s Systra, which drew up preliminary and basic designs for line 3, and Japan’s Pacific Consultants International, which is drawing up detailed designs for the expansion scheme.
Thirty-seven groups of contractors have also been pre-qualified for the construction contract after submitting expression of interest last year. On completion, the 33-km metro line will connect the western districts of Cairo with the international airport.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provisionally agreed to provide 200 million Euro ($230 million) towards the total cost of the project.

Technip offers technology to NPC
Kharg: A contract signed by Technip last March for the design and construction of the IRR1.6 trillion ($191million) 500,000-tonne-per-year (tpy) steamcracker on Kharg Island in Iran, has come into force.
Under the terms of the contract, Technip will provide  National Petrochemical Company (NPC) of Iran, its in-house ethylene technology together with proprietary furnaces as well as basic and detailed engineering, equipment and supervision of construction and commissioning of the steamcracker.
The relevant engineering and procurement services will be executed and managed by its offices in Paris (France) and The Hague (The Netherlands) in liaison with its Iranian engineering partner Tehran-based Nargan.

Arcelor aims for Iraqi contracts
Baghdad: European steel group Arcelor hopes to obtain Iraqi reconstruction contracts through its Spanish subsidiary Aceralia, group chairman Guy Dolle has said.
Rebuilding Iraq is seen as an opportunity for Arcelor,  which was formed in 2002 through the merger of a French company Usinor, Aceralia, and Arbed of Luxembourg, Dolle said.
Companies in Canada, France, Germany and Russia were excluded by US officials from bidding for major contracts in Iraq because of their countries’ opposition to the US-led action. Spain not only backed the US position but also contributed troops and has suffered casualties in Iraq. Arcelor hopes to provided steel beams and material for tubes needed to patch up the oil-rich country’s crumbling pipeline network.

Bahrain injects funds for housing
Manama: The Bahrain government is to inject BD12 million ($31.8 million) into the coffers of the Housing Bank as part of its drive to improve housing services for citizens, it was announced.
The decision at a Cabinet session was taken following directives from Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa who chaired the meeting. Additional support for the bank will come from reserves set aside for government projects for the 2004 fiscal year.

Five bid to design Sitra bridge
Manama: Five consultants have submitted bids for a contract to design new bridges that will replace the existing one at Sitra. The tender with values ranging from BD1.1 million ($2.9 million) to BD1.6 million, was opened at a meeting of the Tender Board, in the presence of Minister of State and Tender Board chairman Dr Abdul Hussain Mirza.
The existing bridges of the Sitra Causeway will be demolished, upon completion of a new BD21 million project that includes the construction of a three-lane causeway and the tendered bridges. The project will comprise a new northern bridge 216  m long, the same length as the existing one. The southern bridge will be 125 m long.
The Works and Housing Ministry has carried out two studies on the existing Sitra Causeway. While one of the studies reviewed the structural integrity of the bridges, the other focused on the traffic capacity. The study shows that the bridges and adjacent causeway require upgrading to a three-lane dual carriageway to cater for the predicted increase in traffic volume over the next 20 years.
The appointed consultant will be required to provide a design solution that will allow the new bridges to be constructed while allowing the existing traffic to continue along the highway.

Work on $900m GTL plant begins
Ras Laffan: Construction work has begun in Qatar on a $900 million GTL plant, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum (51 per cent) and Sasol of South Africa (49 per cent).
The Oryx GTL plant at Ras Laffan will use 330 million cu ft a day of lean methane rich gas from North Gas Field as feedstock to produce 34,000 barrels per day (bpd) of liquids. The planned expansion was designed to diversify Qatar’s use of its proven gas reserves exceeding 900 trillion cu ft, which is the third largest in the world. The Oryx GTL plant will initially produce 24,000 bpd of diesel, 9,000 bpd of naphtha and 1,000 bpd of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The engineering, procurement and construction contract (EPC) was awarded to Technip-Coflexip of Italy last year.