Six of the best: projects to keep an eye on

Haramain High Speed Railway Project.
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Although many freehold residential projects across the region are ‘on hold’, regional governments are continuing to commit money to infrastructure and other public projects.

Saudi Arabia, for example, has allocated a reported US $36.5 billion of its US $144 billion (SR 540 billion) 2010 budget to education, including construction work on new institutions and premises already under construction. US $3.17 billion has been set aside for construction of 6400 kilometres of roads.

In Dubai, where many freehold residential projects remain in limbo, the Road & Transport Authority has allocated US $2 billion for project development. The money will cover around 129 jobs, 13 of which will be new.

In Kuwait, the government has proposed an ambitious US $125 billion five year spending bill. Amongst the plans awaiting funding are Silk City, a new town whose blueprint includes the world’s tallest tower; a new container harbour and 25km causeway; a railway and metro system; and Project Kuwait, a complete overhaul of oil production infrastructure.

The bill still requires a second reading in the country’s parliament, which has a history of opposing the government.

The bottom line is that work is still out there, but it may be in a different place and different in nature to what has gone before. Here, we look at six ‘mega’ projects that are active and handing out contracts, or are set to begin picking up steam.

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1 Abu Dhabi International Airport
Developer: Abu Dhabi Airports Company
Description: The Abu Dhabi International Airport expansion will increase the airport’s capacity to 20 million passengers per annum. Work on the expansion of the airport began in 2005 and is scheduled to finish by 2015.

The centrepiece of the project is the Midfield Terminal Complex, which will serve as the base of operations for Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE. The terminal will sit between two operational runways. The opening of the terminal is scheduled for early 2015.

In January 2010, the Supervision Committee for the Expansion of the Abu Dhabi International Airport invited contractors to ‘express interest’ in the main Midfield Terminal Building package. Pre-conditions for expressions of interest included annual turnover of US $5 billion and ‘successful completion’ of five similar projects in the last ten years, two of which must be worth more than US $1 billion.

Several construction tenders are listed as pending, including ‘Airport wide Utilities & Infrastructure’ and ‘Police Fixed Wing Apron’. Pending design tenders cover maintenance facilities, a cargo campus and duty free facilities.

2 Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University for Women
Developer: Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Higher Education
Description: The university will cover a reported 8 million m² and will have a total built up area of around 3 million m². It will have administration and faculty buildings, a 700-bed student hospital, laboratories, research centres and residential buildings. It will also have its own light railway system.

Saudi Oger was awarded the first and most valuable construction package worth SR12.5 billion; Saudi Binladin Group and El-Seif Engineering & Contracting won subsequent packages valued at SR10 billion and SR8 billion respectively. The contracts cover the majority of construction on site, including low-rise faculty buildings, infrastructure and associated works.

A fourth package, valued at SR1.5 billion, covering an 11-km monorail network to link the facilities, was awarded to a consortium led by Saudi Binladin Group and Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda, part of Italy’s Finmeccanica Group.

Saudi Binladin Group has awarded Vision Electro Mechanical Company an SR1.31 billion (US $349mn) MEP sub-contract.

Next: Haramain High Speed Railway Project and South of Shamkha