Saleh O M Al-Ghamdi Trading and Contracting Corporation (Somac), a general contracting company, is targeting major industrial projects to increase business this year.

"Business over the past year was marginal, with the market having been very competitive during the year. We hope the business climate will improve in the coming years," says Rustom Mujaes, manager-projects.

Somac, established in Dammam during 1976, engages in general contracting and trading involving civil works such as construction of concrete foundations, roads, dams, bridges, water tanks/basins, pump stations, paving, manholes, sewage and drainage, buildings and petroleum construction works as well as mechanical erection, piping works, electrical/instrumentation works and painting/insulation.

One of the major projects Somac was recently involved with was the Hadeed flat steel products facility at Jubail.

The scope of works, worth SR39 million ($10.5 million), entailed construction of huge foundations which extended 9 m below the water table; 14-m-high water basins; sea water station; process water station; water tanks; pump stations; deep pits. It also entailed installation of electrical and mechanical workshops; cable ducts; pipe bridges and sleepers; 3,724 m of sewer line consisting of 147 manholes of 6 m depth; 20 manholes of 2.5 m depth and seven lifting stations; 3,490 m of fire fighting pressure line consisting of 17 valve pits; 789 m of AC and potable water pressure line consisting of six drain pits; 2,304 m of sanitary waste water pressure line depth consisting of 19 drain pits (depth 2 - 5 m); and 120 m of industrial waste water pressure line consisting of 14 drain pits (depth 2 - 3 m).

Saudi Voest Alpine (SVA)/Awabed Ssangyong were the main contractors for the project which was completed in December 1999.

Somac is presently working in Egypt on am irrigation system and associated works project at Aimen area under the Ministry of Public Works and Water Supply.

It is also working in Lebanon for a sewage project under the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) and on two bridges in North Lebanon.

The company plans to undertake civil and sewage/drainage contracts in African countries such as Libya and Botswana.

It was also involved with Saudi Aramco's "Ras Tanura Refinery upgrade project - Package II, which entailed civil works for the installation of utilities under a subcontract from Brown & Root/Bughshan Stone & Webster (BS&W) Mohammad Al Mojil Group (MMG), the main contractors. The project value was around SR53 million.

The scope of work consisted of construction of three process interface buildings (PIB) beside the existing buildings and plants including manual excavation, dewatering in oily water table, construction of two substations and fabrication and installation of security expanded metal mesh, construction of one air compressor house, 45 sumps and associated facilites.

Headquartered in Dammam, the company has branch offices in Dammam and Jubail. The company has a staff of 500.

For the future, the company intends to expand its construction activities within the Kingdom while trying clinch projects further afield, in African countries, Lebanon and Syria.

Over the next year, Mujaes expects the Saudi construction market to offer considerable opportunities for growth.

Somac has, meanwhile, launched two new sister concerns in the computer field under the name "Somac Information Technology" and "Somac Electronics."