Tenders opened for Durrat bridges
Manama: Bids were opened last month for the construction of 13 bridges as part of the Durrat Al Bahrain residential and resort city, being built in the south of Bahrain.

The structures, estimated to cost around BD20 million ($53 million) have a combined length of 3.5 km and the contract is expected to be awarded next month.
In a separate development, Durrat Al Bahrain has signed a $150 million agreement with Great Lakes-Nass for reclamation, dredging and shore protection for the second and final phase of the project.
Three of the project’s 13 islands have already been built and work is continuing at a fast pace on the various components of the project. Once complete in 2009, the $1 billion (BD378 mullion) project will include 2,000 villas and 3,000 apartments.
• Meanwhile, work on a new BD3.5 million ($9.3 million) power station at Ras Al Bar, which will provide power to Durrat Al Bahrain, is now complete.
The station will support projects and facilities related to Durrat Al Bahrain and is one of the first basic services provided to the development.

Kanoo plans $26m Toyota complex
Manama: A BD10 million ($26.5 million) state-of-the-art car service and engineering complex, called the Toyota Plaza, is to be built in Isa Town, Bahrain.
Constructed by Ebrahim K Kanoo, distributor of Toyota and Lexus in Bahrain, the first phase of the project will be completed in two years on a 27,000-sq-m-site north of the current Toyota service centre in Isa Town. The second phase is a BD3 million body and paint service centre, which will commence operations within six months.

Foster Wheeler to design desal plant
Riyadh: Foster Wheeler Italiana has won a contract to provide process design services in conjunction with the installation of a new seawater desalination unit at the Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) plant, at Al Khafji, Saudi Arabia.
The new plant, which has a capacity of 1.5 million gallons per day (gpd), will be built adjacent to five existing seawater desalination units (three with a total design capacity of 1.7 million gpd, one with a capacity of one million gpd and one with a capacity of 1.25 million gpd) and related facilities.

Cebarco wins BCCI HQ contract
Manama: A BD8.29 million ($22 million) contract for the construction of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (BCCI) new headquarters in Bahrain’s Sanabis area was awarded to Cebarco last month.
The 20-storey building – expected to complete in 18 months – will have an auditorium which can take up to 750 people, a business centre, a library, a cafeteria and majlis on the ground floor.

Fujairah to organise Buildex
Fujairah: Slated to be the east coast’s first and exclusive exhibition for the construction and stone crusher industry the four-day Buildex 05 is expected to attract over 200 exhibitors and more than 10,000 trade visitors, when it opens in Fujairah next month (September).
Buildex will be organised by the Fujairah Exhibition Centre and will be supported by the Fujairah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, under the aegis of government of Fujairah.
According to a spokesman a study on the UAE's building material industry and its prices, have revealed that the demand which stands at more than $55 billion, will steadily increase over the next five years. With a share in excess of seven per cent of national GDP and rising, UAE leads the regional construction markets.
“UAE's steady economic growth and progressive policies provide a strong foundation for maintaining a steady rate of commissioning a range of amibitious projects,” he adds.
Buildex 05 promises to be the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of trade technology, and equipment specific to the construction and stone crusher industry as the expo provides an ideal platform for trade consultants, contractors, building raw material traders, equipment manufacturers and project developers to exhibit their products and services, says a spokesman.

Bipex plans to woo investors
Manama: Bahrain Convention and Exhibition Bureau (BCEB) Bahrain, will organise the Bahrain International Property Exhibition (Bipex) next month (September 27 to 30) at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre. 
The exhibition, organised in association with the Bahrain Society of Engineers aims at enticing investments from domestic as well as international investors to explore the vast opportunities and wide range of housing and commercial options in Bahrain’s real estate industry.
BCEB’s efforts in bringing investors and real estate developers under one roof is expected to generate favorable business to Bahrain, says a spokesman.
  
ICUEE to hold investor conference
Kentucky: The International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition (ICUEE) will feature a first-ever Investors Conference at ICUEE 2005, to spotlight the utility construction equipment marketplace to a select group of financial analysts. The event is organised by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).
To be held at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Kentucky, from September 27 to 29, the exposition will cover more than one million sq ft of space exhibiting the latest the industry has to offer.