Dentons supports Oman desal project

GLOBAL law firm Dentons has advised the Sharqiyah Desalination Company (SDC) on the expansion and refinancing of the Sur desalination project in Oman.

Dentons acted as both international and Omani law counsel for the project, which will cost approximately $200 million and add an additional 10.6 million gallons per day (gpd) capacity to the existing plant.

The project is a world-class solution for Sharqiyah region, which is growing in economic importance and population, said Dentons.

Bahrain signs road network deal

BAHRAIN has signed a multi-million-dollar agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) for developing its road network.

Bahrain will receive $196 million, as part of the GCC Gulf Development Programme, to construct and revamp the road network leading to the Northern Town.

Work on the project is scheduled to start within the second quarter of this year. New avenues will be constructed and existing ones will undergo major facelift to accommodate the ever-increasing traffic movement and ease road congestion.

Meanwhile, historic burial mounds in Hamad Town in Bahrain, dating back 4,000 years, could be bulldozed to make way for a new road. The Northern Municipal Council have asked the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities to provide a timeframe for excavations at the site – after residents complained of traffic congestion.

Mozoon completes towers design

MOZOON Real Estate, a subsidiary of the Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company, has completed the initial designs of the ‘Mozoon Towers’ project, according to a report in the Peninsula.

The firm has appointed General Real Estate Company (GREC) to manage the project, which will be located in the Al Dafna area of capital Doha and will comprise four hotels and apartment towers and quality retail space, said the report.

Oberoi and Marriott will operate the hotels and serviced apartments in this complex, Mozoon Real Estate said. Bauer has been awarded the enabling works package on the project.

Al Turki to build bank headquarters

THE National Bank of Oman (NBO) has signed a construction contract worth RO50 million ($129.4 million) with Al Turki Enterprises, a 100 per cent Omani-owned construction company, for its new headquarters in Muscat, Oman.

The new nine-storey head office at Azaiba is scheduled to open in 2017, added the Muscat Daily report.

It will provide around 50,000 sq m of office space and support facilities for the bank as it enters a new growth phase, said the report said.

OPWP inviting bids for power project

THE state-owned Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) has invited bids from major companies for provision of consultancy services to the Salalah Two Independent Power Plant.

The project, to be located in Raysut near Salalah, Oman, is being implemented on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis under the terms of a power purchase agreement with OPWP.

It comprises a high-efficiency gas-fired power generation plant that can deliver 445 MW of power, reported the Oman Tribune. The ambit of the project includes the design, construction, ownership, financing, operation and maintenance of a high-efficiency facility, which will increase the present power capacity of 273 MW to 600 MW, the report stated.

The power plant is expected to go on stream by the first quarter of 2018, it added.

Seawater supply deal to be awarded

OMAN’S government is set to award an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a major seawater supply project in the Duqm region of the sultanate, said a report.

The Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad) is likely to issue tenders for the contract to pre-qualified companies in the third quarter. Sezad said the project is aiming at an output of 120,000 cu m per hour with provision to expand in future to 360,000 cu m per hour. The work on the project is scheduled for handover in 2017.

Work on Juffair Heights on target

THE construction work at Juffair Heights, a freehold residential project in Bahrain, is in full swing and on schedule, said its developer Pegasus Real Estate.

Pegasus Real Estate managing director Aziz Mithaiwala said it will be completed by mid-2016 and will be constructed using revolutionary techniques.

Twenty-one slabs have been completed at the South Tower, the first phase of the project, while the second-storey slab has already been laid at the North Tower, the second phase. Construction on the first common area podium level has been completed and it is at the halfway stage on the second and third levels, said the report.

The 28- and 29-storey towers project is being built by Dadabhai Development and Properties Management Company.

Petchem complex Feed finalised

Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries (Orpic) has finalised the front-end engineering design (Feed) of its $3.6-billion Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC).

The project will enable Oman, for the first time, to produce polyethylene, a form of plastic that rates highest in terms of global demand and is used in many products that are part of our daily routine.