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Egypt seeks bidders for new housing project
24 February 2014, By Jeff Florian
A total of 1,000 housing units to be built in Ras Ghareb in Egypt
Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate housing directorate in Hurghada has issued seven tenders for the construction of 1,000 housing units in the municipality of Ras Ghareb.
The housing units are split into eight contracts that are to be completed in 12 months. Bidders need to be registered at the Contractors Federation with valid membership and classified for the required works at a suitable grade.
The deadline for bids for the seven tenders are 5 March, 6 March, 9 March, 10 March, 11 March, 12 March and 13 March.
The announcement is the latest in several tenders issued for residential projects in the country, In December, Egypt’s Housing Cooperative for Employees at Hotels & Tourist Villages in Hurghada issued a tender for the construction of a residential compound in Al-Ahyaa District in Hurghada. The scope of work entails the construction of 2,453 single-storey housing units.
Earlier in December, Egypt’s General Authority for New Urban Societies issued five tenders for the construction of 51 residential buildings as part of a social housing project in New Minya City. A total of 1,224 housing units will be built in the city as part of the development.
In late October, Egypt’s Housing Cooperative Society for Employees at the Customs Authority tendered the construction of 14 residential buildings under the first phase of a project in the eighth district of New Borg el-Arab city.
In September, the Housing Cooperative Society for the staff of Cairo University issued a tender for a residential project at the northern extension of 6 October City comprising 28 residential buildings.
Last week, Egypt’s central bank said it would allocate $1.44bn for low-cost housing projects. The money will be deposited to banks for 20 years at a low interest rate to lend it to citizens who qualify to buy houses at a yearly interest rate of 7-8 per cent.
In December, Dubai-based Arabtec Holding announced the launch of a new subsidiary to develop real estate projects in the Middle East. The new company will look to tap the growing demand for affordable housing in the region, with a particular emphasis on key markets such as Egypt.
Japan loans $380m to Iraq
19 February 2014, 10:53 GMT | By Iliana Foutsitzis
Agreement signed for rehabilitation of Khor Al Zubayr Port
Japanese development agency the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has loaned Iraq $380m for the rehabilitation of the Khor al-Zubayr Port (KZP).
The loan agreement was signed on 16 February at Iraq’s Ministry of Finance.
Work includes dredging, shipwreck removal, civil and utility works. Project management is being done by the government agency, General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI)
The agreement follows a 2008 loan made for the rehabilitation of Iraq’s Umm Qasr Port (UQP) whose dredging works between 2010 and 2011 resulted in 10,000 ton increase in cargo volume, according to sources at JICA.
The two ports are important for Iraq’s ability to handle cargoe intended for the republic’s ongoing reconstruction.
To date, Japan has provided up to $4.4bn loans for the reconstruction of Iraq.
Oman extends deadline for bids for Duqm airport terminal
17 February 2014, By Jeff Florian
Contractors now have until 3 March to submit prices
Oman’s Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad) has extended the deadline for bids for a tender for the main building works for the new airport being built in the economic zone.
The scope of work on the project’s third phase includes the construction of the passenger and cargo terminals, air traffic control complex, and related support facility buildings ensuring that the airport is fully functional and ready to use.
The deadline for the tender has been extended several times after initially being set at 19 January. The new deadline is now 3 March.
The third phase of the airport development had been put on hold in the first quarter of 2012 for undisclosed reasons.
Construction of the first phase of the project, which covers the provision of utilities and road access to the airport, was completed by Oman-based Desert Line Projects. Work on package two, which covers the construction of the runway and installation of aircraft landing equipment, is being undertaken by China’s Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.
France’s ADPI is the project manager for the first two phases as well as the designer and project manager for the third phase.
The development of the airport forms part of a larger plan to turn the central eastern port town of Duqm into a major trade and transport hub, including establishing the country’s fourth largest sea port and building a major refinery and petrochemicals complex.
In November, Oman’s Renaissance Services issued a design and construction tender for the construction of a new RO80m ($207.8m) worker’s village at the economic zone.
Oman invites prequalification for work on national railway project
17 February 2014, By Jeff Florian
Work involves providing infrastructure and IT systems
Oman Railway Company (ORC) has invited local and international companies to prequalify for work on the sultanate’s national railway project. The tender includes two lists for prequalification: infrastructure and IT systems.
The list of prequalified companies will be valid for four years. The construction tender will be for the first section of the scheme, which will be about 170 kilometres long and connect Sohar Port to the UAE border at Buraimi.
The other parts, which connect the Salalah and Duqm ports with the GCC ports, will be limited to the firms that prequalified for this tender only.
ORC has said that upon completing the prequalification stage, which will coincide with the completion of the design of the Buraimi-Sohar segment in August 2014, the company will float the execution tender to companies that have been prequalified for infrastructure, subject to whether they use the services of the firms that prequalified for the IT systems as subcontractors.
The planned 2,444km railway will connect Oman’s major ports and cities including Muscat, Sohar, Duqm and Salalah, in addition to linking with the UAE’s Etihad Railway project.
It will have 46 stations, eight marshalling yards and nine intermodal yards. It will require 12,000km of rail, 23 cubic metres of ballast and 10.2 million sleepers.
The first segment is due to start operations in 2018.
Italy’s Italferr won the deal to develop the preliminary designs for the first phase of the scheme. Separately, Grant Thornton Abu Timam Oman, part of the US-based independent assurance, tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton International, is undertaking the organisational design of ORC.
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