Bids in for $10bn Saudi railway
Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility and a group of Saudi and foreign firms submitted bids for a $10 billion Saudi railway project, the company's chairman said.

Chairman Tarek Al Sultan said the firm had bid in a consortium with US firms KBR, General Electric Company and Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank.
An award will be made shortly, according to reports.
Four groups of Saudi and international firms are vying for the contract to build and operate a 1,100 km railway crossing the Saudi Arabian desert, after submitting bids in early November, the Saudi Railway Organisation (SRO) said on its website.
The Saudi Landbridge project includes a 950 km line between capital Riyadh and the Red Sea port of Jeddah, as well as a 115 km link between the industrial city of Jubail and Dammam, the oil hub on the Gulf coast.
SEC awards $1bn power contracts
Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has signed three contracts worth SR3.8 billion ($1 billion) for the expansion of its Rabigh power plant.
The new expansion project will increase the plant’s capacity by 960 MW to reach its total capacity to 2,684 MW.
The project would meet growing electricity requirements in the Makkah and Madinah regions.
SEC chairman Mahmoud Taiba signed an agreement with the National Contracting Company to establish 16 gas turbine units at the plant, the agency said.
Other contracts were signed by Ali Al Barrak, the company's CEO, with Fanar and Medco.
Qatar launches low-cost housing
A Qatari construction company has launched a housing project exclusively for low and middle-class users.
The first phase of the project, coming up in Doha’s sprawling Duhail suburb, will have 46 villas and 218 residential units.
In the second phase, over 500 residential units are to be built, company officials said. The project is expected to cost over QR1.5 billion ($412.14 million).
The company has entered into a strategic partnership with a Chinese contracting firm (Gitec) and has already begun work on the project, a company spokesman said.
Sri Lankan firm in Qatari contract
Qatar has awarded a contract worth $80 million to Sri Lanka’s State Engineering Corporation to build villas in Qatar, Construction and Engineering Services Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne said.
'This is the first time a state organisation is doing business with a foreign country,' he said.
Al Shaer in $68m KAA airport deal
Saudi Arabia has awarded Al Shaer Engineering a SR256 million ($68.6 million), five-year contract to expand the King Abdul Aziz (KAA) Airport.
The project, will seek to raise the airport's capacity to 30 million passengers a year in its first phase.
Al Shaer will also construct facilities to allow big jets such as the A380 superjumbo to dock at the airport.
The latest contract is part of a SR11.2 billion overhaul of the airport, which includes doubling the capacity of the Haj terminal from 4.5 million to 9.2 million passengers by 2025.
The expansion also includes an air-freight village to handle three million tonnes a year, and parking lots for 25,000 vehicles.
The airport will be linked to airports in Makkah and Madinah by express trains and to central Jeddah by light trains.
Meanwhile, the renovated Royal Terminal at KAA International Airport in Saudi Arabia, was opened last month by King Abdullah.
The renovation included the construction of a VIP podium for official receptions and a conference hall with advanced facilities. Of the 8,500 sq m podium, 3,500 sq m has been allocated for royal receptions.
Two movable sunshades, which can be remotely operated, have also been erected close to the podium, which has four mobile light towers and four escalators.
Two more sunshades have been constructed at the entrances of aircraft stands. The main reception podium has six fixed sunshades on the west of the terminal and a 258-car parking garage.
Red Sea in $23m housing contract
Red Sea Housing Services has won an SR88 million ($23.59 million) contract from Kellogg Brown & Root for the construction of a 450-man camp complete with offices, warehouse and workshop facilities.
The contract is for building facilities at the Skikda Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Plant – Algeria, and is an addition to the company’s portfolio of projects in the country, spanning over the past 15 years.
Red Sea Housing Services is the region’s leading supplier of temporary facilities for the oil, gas and construction industries.
Oman plans three new airports
Oman is planning to build three new domestic airports to boost the tourism industry in the sultanate, according to Economy Minister Ahmad Mekki.
The new airports will be built in the country's southern towns of Adam, Haima and Shaleem.
The government has allocated RO17 million ($43.86 million) for consultancy studies, design and supervision of the proposed airports.
The government is also developing a modern seaport and a dry dock at Al Duqm in the south-eastern region of Oman, Mekki said.