Kahramaa’s first solar plant on target

THE first solar power plant of Qatar General Electricity and Water Company (Kahramaa), with 15 MW capacity, is set to begin operation before 2016, a senior official of the utility distributor said. 

Kahramaa, as part of its efforts to promote alternative forms of energy, has plans to generate about 200 MW of electricity from sunlight by 2020.

“We floated the tender for the construction of the first package of solar power plant, with a capacity of between 10 to 15 MW, a couple of months ago, and construction contracts will be awarded by the first quarter of next year. The plant will start operation before 2016,” said Saleh Hamad Al Marri, head of renewable energies technologies section at Kahramaa.

Al Marri, speaking to The Peninsula, said: “Kahramaa is trying to diversify its sources of electricity, and has set a target to generate about 200 MW of power by 2020. However, the target will be achieved through different packages over the next six years.”

The first solar power generation facility in an area of 100,000 sq m will be located in Duhail area.

Juffair Heights wins honours

BAHRAIN’S Juffair Heights project has won international acclaim for project developer Dadabhai Development and Property Management Company (DDPM) and its exclusive sales agent, Pegasus Real Estate.

The two companies were among the winners of the prestigious Arabian Property Awards 2014-2015 in association with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Competing against a number of developers from around the region, DDPM has won the award for the ‘Best residential high-rise development’ and Pegasus won for ‘Best property consultancy marketing’.

Juffair Heights, a twin-tower development, was launched earlier this year offering luxurious, spacious and affordable homes to both Bahrainis and expatriates. The project, which features 376 one- and two-bedroom apartments, is expected to be completed in mid-2016.

Bahrain awards road revamp deal

BAHRAIN has awarded a contract worth BD698,717 ($1.8 million) to National Excavation Establishment for the revamp of Abu Shaheen, Daibal and Noon Avenues in the kingdom.

The project involves the construction of parking spaces and also provision of pavements for pedestrians, said the Ministry of Works. “Work will start soon and will take 36 weeks for completion. It includes revamping the avenues over a length of 1.8 km,” the roads projects and maintenance director Raed Al Salah said.

The scope of work involves repaving them with asphalt, constructing parking spaces in front of commercial shops, providing paved passages for pedestrians, and installing traffic signs and instructions to increase traffic safety levels.

Napco signs extrusion presses deal

NATIONAL Aluminium Products Company (Napco), one of the leading extruders of aluminium profiles in the GCC, has signed a contract with a leading European supplier for two extrusion presses.

The strategic partnership aims to ensure that the presses are made according to the company’s specification with a capability to handle various profile sizes.

The state-of-the-art extrusion presses feature intelligent control systems with sophisticated man-machine interface, tool management, block reports, production control, computer connection, and practical technology software. The civil works for both extrusion presses have already commenced with the first press to be operational by August 2015 and the second one to be fully functional by December of the same year.

Bahrain sees rise in realty business

BAHRAIN has witnessed a 60 to 70 per cent increase in real estate investment projects over the last year, an indication of a strong bounceback in the property sector, said Bahrain Real Estate Association chairman Nasser Al Ahli.

He said that property trading is expected to top BD1.5 billion ($3.9 billion) by the year-end according to market indices. Housing projects worth BD30 million to BD35 million ($79 to $92 million) are set to be launched early next year.

Qatar Rail signs deal with QPMC

QATAR Railways Company (Qatar Rail) has signed a strategic deal with Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC) to secure quality construction materials for all its projects.

“The objective is the implementation of a mechanism that stabilises the market prices for primary materials without significant inflation,” said Qatar Rail’s CEO Saad Al Muhannadi, after signing the agreement with QPMC chief executive Eisa Al Hammadi.

Work on Salalah airport on track

AROUND 93 per cent of the construction of the new Salalah airport has been completed, said Dr Ahmed Mohammed Salem Al Futaisi, Oman’s Minister of Transport and Communications.

The minister confirmed that construction would be completed by the end of this year.

Al Futaisi clarified that the delay in the construction was due to some technical problems. “We are working to accelerate the process of construction so that the airport is ready soon,” he said.

The new airport is about 65,000 sq m in size, the minister said, adding, the Salalah airport can receive international flights and this will contribute to the country’s revenues.

Al Futaisi said that Salalah airport would be the second largest airport in the sultanate and will be equipped with the latest technology.

Residential project to hit market

A view of the interior.

AL MATROOK Development has appointed a sales and marketing agent for its Address Homes, a luxury waterfront residential project comprising 16 private pool villas, at Bahrain’s Amwaj Islands.

Bahrain-based real estate company Impact Estate will be responsible for marketing and sales of the four-bedroom villas, which boast well laid-out ergonomically designed floor plans, windows that offer panoramic view, porcelain tile floors and open-style kitchen with Whirlpool appliances.

With a plot size of 300 sq m and a built-up area of 459 sq m, each house has a patio with a private swimming pool and beach access, an individual parking, an office, two living rooms, a dining room, bedrooms with sea view, five ensuite bathrooms with sanitary ware and mixers by Laufen and Grohe.

BIM solutions for transport projects

ARUP, a leading UK-based based company providing engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services, has deployed building information modelling (BIM) for its $30-million transportation projects in Doha, Qatar.

This process improvement has resulted in significant cost and time savings, said the company.

Oscar Julián, BIM manager infrastructure department, Arup, said the company has already produced the first projects using civil BIM strategy, saving 30 per cent of costs.

Arup has been using software from Bentley Systems of the US to design 90 per cent of its installations including Aecosim Building Designer for structures, buildings, and utilities; InRoads for road design; and SewerCad and WaterCad for water networks.

Louis Berger opens Doha office

LOUIS Berger, an American architectural and engineering design firm, has officially opened its new office in Doha, Qatar.

Louis Berger began its operations in Qatar five years ago with a handful of employees. Today, the headcount is approximately 340, including support and project employees executing multiple government and private sector projects. “This office expansion will allow us to support our booming employee numbers and to successfully manage the delivery of over $10 billion in construction works,” remarked Belal Deiranieh, the vice president and country director at Louis Berger.