October 2018 was a busy month for construction contractors in the Middle East, with investors and developers from various sectors – such as real estate and oil and gas – awarding high-value contracts during the month.
Construction Week rounds up the top 10 contracts that were awarded in the Middle East last month.
10. McDermott beats stiff competition to win $1bn oil and gas deal in Abu Dhabi
October 2018 kicked off with market intelligence stating that US contractor McDermott had been picked to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for the UAE capital’s $1bn (AED3.67bn) Belbazem offshore project.
McDermott was, as per one report, “in pole position” to win pre-feed and concept reselection works from Al Yasat Petroleum Company, beating off fellow EPC giants such as Larsen & Toubro (India), Technip FMC (UK), and Doris Engineering (France) for the contract.
Other bidders said to be interested in the project included Mott MacDonald (UK), Wood Group (UK), Engineers India, National Petroleum Construction Co (UAE), Worley Parsons (Australia), Ramboll (Denmark), and KBR (US).
Read more about this contract here.
9. Contractor picked to build Zaha Hadid-designed Sharjah project
Modern Building Contracting Company (MBCC) extended its work with Sharjah-headquartered developer Arada last month. On Day 1 of Cityscape Global 2018 in Dubai, Arada announced that MBCC would build the 17.7ha Central Hub, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, within its Aljada megaproject.
The contract follows MBCC’s previous deal to build four Areej Apartments blocks for Arada, included within Phase 1 of Aljada. At the time of Arada’s announcement, MBCC had mobilised on site for Phase 1 of Central Hub, which spans 3ha and is due to complete at the end of Q1 2019.
A tender for Central Hub’s Phase 2 will be issued in Q3 2019, and Phase 3 tendering will begin in Q1 2020, an Arada spokesperson told Construction Week.
Click here to read more about Central Hub.
8. Final set of roadwork contracts awarded for Expo 2020 Dubai
On 7 October 2018, it was announced that Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) had awarded the final set of road construction contracts for Expo 2020 Dubai. The winning contractor for the project has yet to be revealed, but RTA announced that the $171m (AED630m) contracts cover Phases 5 and 6 of the scheme to improve road connections to Expo 2020 Dubai.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued a directive to speed up road and transport infrastructure development, following which RTA’s contracts were announced.
Both phases will see improvements being made to Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road. The intersection between Emirates and Jebel Ali-Lehbab Roads will also be enhanced as part of the final phases.
Read this news story for more details about the works to be implemented under each phase.
7. Two contracts awarded for Nakheel developments
Dubai developer Nakheel recorded progress on its Palm 360 and Deira Islands projects last month, with major construction contracts being awarded for both schemes.
The Dubai branch of Germany’s Bauer Spezialtiefbau, which counts Burj Khalifa within its portfolio, was awarded a $6.5m (AED23.7m) piling contract for the mixed-use Palm 360 at Palm Jumeirah.
Bauer’s scope includes driving almost 600 piles, as far as 54m below-ground, for Palm 360, which upon completion will be Palm Jumeirah’s tallest structure.
Separately, RTA awarded contracts worth $121.7m (AED447m) to build three bridges connected Deira Islands to Dubai’s mainland. The bridges will be built at the main entrances and exits of the 17km2 beachfront scheme, with intersections on Al Khaleej Street to Abu Baker Al-Siddique and Abu Hail streets covered by the contract.
Flyovers and ramps will also be built from the entrances of Mina Street, parallel to Port Rashid.
Click here for the full story about Palm 360, and read this story to know more about the Deira Islands contracts.
6. Indian builder wins Kuwait EPC project
India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said its power and distribution business had received “major orders” to build 22 substations in Kuwait. Each station will have a capacity of 132/11kV.
The substations are to serve housing projects that Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare is developing in South Al Mutala and South Abdullah Al-Mubarak.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water is acting as the project’s consultant. L&T said the orders form part of $253.6m EPC orders recently received by its business.
More information about L&T’s other recent EPC wins, including projects in its domestic market of India, is available here.
5. Chinese, Korean contractors win big in Saudi Arabia
Two Asian contractors had a particularly profitable month in Saudi Arabia this October – China’s Wison Engineering won a $150m (SAR562.7m) EPC deal for Sabic’s Technology Centre expansion projects in Jubail.
Wison Engineering Services, the Chinese company’s UAE subsidiary with an office in Abu Dhabi, will work on the project.
According to a statement, the expansion’s completion will make the facility the largest of Sabic’s 21 global technology and innovation hubs.
Also in October, Saudi Arabia Mining Co (Ma’aden) awarded an $892m (SAR3.35bn) contract to South Korea’s Daelim for the development of an ammonia plant in Ras Al-Khair.
Daelim Industrial and Saudi Daelim will work on the EPC contract that will span 38 months, with Daelim tasked with design, equipment, and materials for the project.
Click here to read about the Wison contract, and visit this story for more on Daelim’s deal.
4. UAE’s Northern Emirates see construction activity
A contract was awarded for a project in the UAE’s northern emirate of Umm Al-Quwain, while a Sharjah contractor was picked to work on a Dubai project last month.
The UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change awarded Emirates RDF Company the agreement to build a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) facility in Umm Al-Quwain. Emirates RDF comprises Belgian construction giant Besix, Ajman-based Tech Group Eco Single Owner, and Finland’s Griffin Refineries.
A statement by Besix revealed that the RDF facility will be developed through a public-private partnership agreement, and be co-financed by the UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs.
Read more about the Umm Al-Quwain facility here.
Not far from Umm Al-Quwain is Sharjah, which also saw one of its contractors winning a construction deal in Dubai. Intermass Engineering & Contracting was named late in October to build Mag Lifestyle Development’s high-end tower in Business Bay.
Dutch Foundation has already completed shoring and piling works for Mag 318, located close to Dubai Fountain and the new Dubai Mall extension. The project is due to complete in Q2 2020, in time for Expo 2020 Dubai.
Check out this story for more information about Intermass’s contract.
3. Samsung-Petrofac award Duqm deal to Galfar
Samsung and Petrofac as a joint venture (JV) awarded a $50.6m (OMR19.5m) EPC contract to Oman’s Galfar Engineering and Contracting for Duqm Refinery’s construction scheme.
As the project’s main contractor, the JV has awarded the EPC deal for the main contract’s Packages 1 and 3, with the value subject to adjustment based on measurements and payments against the bill of quantities.
Galfar said the project is scheduled to complete within 23 months from its commencement on 7 October 2018.
For full details about Muscat-listed Galfar’s latest contract, check out this story.
2. Ghantoot wins Abu Dhabi’s Bazar Al Mafraq contract
Ghantoot Transport and General Contracting has won Abu Dhabi City Municipality’s (ADM) contract to build Bazar Al Mafraq, a project expected to cost approximately $2.2m (AED8m).
Due for completion by the end of 2018, Bazar Al Mafraq will serve 480 traders, offering space to food trucks, frozen meat and fish vendors, painters, and sculptors.
The agreement with Ghantoot is one of the “series of agreements” that ADM has signed with the private sector, according to general manager, HE Saif Badr Al Qubaisi.
Read more about Bazar Al Mafraq here.
1. Arabtec scoops major construction work with Expo 2020 Dubai and Damac
UAE-headquartered Arabtec Holding announced on 24 October 2018 that it had won contracts from two high-profile local developers – Expo 2020 Dubai and Damac Properties.
Arabtec Construction, a subsidiary of the UAE construction group, won an $84.7m (AED311m) contract to build Expo 2020 Dubai’s public realm concourses and arrivals plazas.
Its scope includes construction work across 26.8ha of public concourses, including entrance plazas, landscaping, and water features, among other elements. Arabtec was due to begin work on the project last month, with completion set for Q4 2019.
On the same day, Arabtec revealed it had won an $81.4m (AED299m) deal to build villas within Damac’s Akoya Oxygen residential community. Arabtec Construction will build 478 villa homes for Damac through the deal, which is its third contract for the project.
Akoya Oxyen, the community featuring a Donald Trump-backed golf course, is located in Dubailand. Arabtec said its scope on the project would complete within 16 months.
Find full details about Arabtec’s latest and previous Expo 2020 Dubai contracts here. For details of Arabtec’s Damac contracts, check out this story.
