Aspire dome bestowed IAKS
The Aspire Dome has won awards from the prestigious International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS).

The Doha venue won the silver award in a contest involving 88 sports and leisure facilities from more than 27 countries. Having successfully hosted the Asian Games in 2006, Qatar finished ahead of all other competition from the GCC region.
The high standard of architecture is one component among many that has contributed to Aspire’s international reputation. Gaining the silver medal further demonstrates the academy’s emergence as a major landmark in the sporting world.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to start in Germany by the end of this month (October).
Fluor in talks for $2bn Kuwait deal
Fluor Corporation is eyeing a $2 billion contract to build part of a new refinery for Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).
The contract is one of five that KNPC has put out for bid for the refinery, whose budget has more than doubled to $14 billion due to rising costs in the energy industry, according to reports.
Wood gets new post at MCG
Manitowoc Crane Group (MCG) has announced the appointment of Mike Wood as global product manager for Manitowoc crawler cranes. The appointment, effective from last month, sees Wood taking over from Raman Joshi who has transferred to Singapore as director of marketing for the Asia-Pacific region.
In his new position, Wood will oversee strategy and financial performance for Manitowoc, as well as manage the company’s manufacturing alliances and analyse market conditions. He will work closely with the brand’s sales, marketing, engineering and manufacturing locations around the globe to ensure both existing and new products meet local and global customer requirements.
Cisco wins networking contract
US-based networking specialist Cisco has won a contract to deploy an advanced IP-technology-based networking solution at the Dhabab Towers Business Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Under the contract, Cisco will not only be responsible for providing an entire suite of solutions but will also provide technical support and advisory services to the Public Pension Agency (PPA), which is handling the development of the project.
The contract is Cisco’s first major win in Saudi Arabia under its new Real Estate and Construction division.
The Cisco solution will be deployed across the eight commercial and residential buildings that make up business park.
Rosewood Corniche opens in Jeddah
Rosewood Corniche, an elegant and luxuriously designed hotel overlooking the Red Sea from its location on the Jeddah Corniche has been opened to travellers.
“Located in the heart of the city’s fashionable northern corner, and just minutes away from the key business, diplomatic and designer shopping districts, the new hotel offers a combination of the latest technology, spectacular design and unprecedented sophistication, as well as some unique and innovative guest amenities,” says a spokesman for the developer.
Each of the 127 luxurious guest rooms and suites offer majestic views of the Red Sea and guests can take advantage of Rosewood’s 24-hour butler service and the latest entertainment and business solutions.
Other in-room features include touch-screen controls for lighting, curtains, and temperature, as well as LCD TVs in all rooms and bathrooms and personalised business cards and stationery upon arrival.
Sabic acquires GE Plastics
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has concluded the $11.6 billion acquisition process of GE Plastics, the plastics division of General Electric.
According to a company spokesman, GE Plastics will now be called Sabic Innovative Plastics.
The two multinational companies announced the deal in May. It includes the operations maintained by GE Plastics in Brazil since 1987, in the city of Campinas, in the interior of the southeastern Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.
Sabic now fields a 30,000-strong workforce, and is present in more than 100 different countries.
GE Plastics makes resins and plastic compounds used in the following industries: auto, health, electronics, transportation, packages, architecture and construction, telecommunications, and optical medias.