Work on $4m CIO HQ complete
Manama: Work on the BD1.4 million ($4 million) Central Informatics Organisation (CIO) headquarters, which will house the new Central Population Register (CPR) building, has been completed.

The building, located between Al Istiqlal Highway and December 16 Highway at Isa Town in Bahrain, was constructed under the supervision of the Works and Housing Ministry’s construction projects directorate.

ATC set for completion this year
Manama: More than 66 per cent of the Bahrain International Airport’s BD2.43-million ($6.44 million) air traffic control (ATC) tower is now complete.
The project, which is due for completion later this year, involves the construction of a 49.5 m air traffic control tower, the installation of associated cutting-edge air traffic control equipment in the tower, and the setting up of associated infrastructure including roads, parking and services.
The ground floor of the building has a VIP reception and facilities suite, whilst the upper cone will house the control room and staff restrooms. One floor below the control room is a VIP view room.
The principal space is the air traffic control room, which is 10 m in diameter and provides 360 degrees visibility with its fully glazed exterior. The control room is 41 m above ground and will seat seven air traffic controllers, including a supervisor.
The tower will provide a full view of the airport runway, taxiways and terminal building. In addition, there is a viewing balcony all around the control room for added visibility.

$3m expansion on schools mooted
Muharraq: Expansion plans worth BD1million ($3 million) will be carried out on schools in Muharraq, Bahrain, Education Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi said.
The developments will include expanding existing schools and introducing new facilities and laboratories. They are expected to benefit more than 1,000 students across all educational levels, said the minister.

Midas expands Khilda showroom
Khilda: Midas Furniture in Jordan is marking the company’s second year in business with an expansion of its showroom, located on Wasfi Al-Tal Street, Khilda.
The new space will house expansive new office furnishings, a giftware centre, a mattress centre, among other facilities.
“After two years, the first regional branch of Midas Kuwait followed by the Baghdad branch, Midas Furniture in Jordan continues to succeed as a major resource to furniture and décor buyers,” said Raja Khoury, Midas Furniture Jordan chief executive officer.

Bahrain doubles construction spend
Manama: The kingdom is doubling its spending on key construction projects in the new BD2 billion ($5.4 billion) budget.
Spending on infrastructure will be boosted to BD260 million in the first half of this year compared with BD136 million in 2003, the cabinet heard.

MMD to plan port expansion
Sirt: Mott MacDonald (MMD), together with Libyan consultants National Consulting Bureau, has been appointed by the People’s Committee of Sirt Municipality in Libya to plan and design an expansion at the port at Sirte, a town located about 460 km east of Tripoli.
The aim of the project is to provide the Sirte region with an international seaport in conjunction with the continuing development of the town as a major commercial city and regional centre.
Work on the master plan commenced in April this year. Depending on the outcome of the master plan, the development could include container berths, liquid and dry bulk berths, roll-on roll-off berths, a passenger terminal, cruise terminal and ship repair facilities, all with associated port storage, infrastructure and buildings.
The programme will also include an extension to the existing breakwater to provide ships with shelter from the severe storm waves experienced along this area of Mediterranean coastline.

New centre for Quranic studies
Zinj: A new BD780,000 ($2.06 million) facility is being built in Bahrain at Zinj for students and staff at the Umm Al Darda Al Sughra Centre for Quranic Studies.
It will comprise 22 classrooms, a multi-purpose hall, gymnasium, library, cafeteria, laboratories and a swimming pool, according to centre director Sawsan Al Thawadi.
An area of 29,000 sq ft has been set aside for the centre, which will be built by the Ahmad Omar Contracting Company and Dr Al Khaleej Engineering Company.

Morocco plans $692m highway
Marrakesh: Morocco is to invest 6.2 billion dirhams ($692 million) to build a highway linking the tourist hubs of Marrakesh and Agadir, officials said.
Construction of the 240-km highway, which will cross the Atlas mountains, is set to begin next year and will be funded by the Hassan II public fund, the Moroccan Motorways Authority and loans.
The highway will be built in six phases, with construction beginning in the inland desert oasis town of Marrakesh and progressing in stages to Chichaoua, Imintanout, Argana, Amskroud and, finally, Agadir, on the Atlantic Coast, the head of the Motorways Authority, Othmane Fassi-Fihri, said.

Amwaj Islands enters new phase
Manama: The development of Amwaj Islands to the north of Muharraq in Bahrain entered a new phase, with the award of a BD2.3 million ($6.1 million) contract for the construction of bridges.
Ossis Property Developers, which is developing the $1 billion (BD378 million) project, signed the agreement with Nass Contracting for the construction of nine bridges on different parts of the island.
Five road bridges will be built on the main island and four canal bridges will be constructed in the Al Marsa floating city. “The main bridges will connect the various islands together,” said Saud Kanoo, chairman and CEO of Ossis Developers. “It will help speed up other infrastructure development in the island.
The work will be completed in eight months, and people will start moving to the island in March next year, Kanoo said.

Bahrain plans $27m opera house
Manama: The kingdom will soon have a BD10 million ($27 million) opera house, the Minister of Information, Nabeel bin Yacoub Al Hamer, said recently.
The international opera is part of an ambitious project to bolster culture and arts in the Kingdom. A multi-purpose hall and five theatres will also be built by the ministry, said a report. “A sum of BD7 million has already been allocated by the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, and we are working on boosting the figure to BD10 million,” said Al Hamer.

Prequal bids invited for sports city
Manama: Consultants have been invited to submit their pre-qualification bids for the conceptual design and establishment of budget requirements of the proposed Shaikh Isa Sports City at Riffa, Bahrain.
The project will comprise the construction of a multi-purpose sports hall for 8,000 persons, a sports hall for handicapped for 500 persons, 50-m-long enclosed Olympic swimming pool with administration offices and ancillary services for Bahrain Swimming Association, 25-m-long covered swimming pool, sports hall for eight simultaneous table tennis sessions accommodating 300 persons with administration offices and ancillary services for Bahrain Table Tennis Association.

Bahrain varsity gets new building
Manama: Work on Bahrain University’s new deanship of registration and admission building is now complete.
The building has been built at the university’s Sakhir campus aided by a BD200,000 donation from the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB).
The two-storey building covers an area of 12,000 sq m and provides registration and admission facilities required to manage the increasing number of students attending the university.