MEED Middle East Economic Digest articles from July 2005

MEED Middle East Economic Digest archives from July 2005

A region of contrasts.(Tehran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory in presidential elections)
July 1, 2005... The landslide victory of the conservative mayor of Tehran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran's presidential election is a reminder of the unpredictable nature of Iranian politics. The result has wrong-footed Western diplomats and politicians, who had...

Where's the way out? Bush says the US is beating the insurgency but bombings continue.(IRAQ)
July 1, 2005... US President Bush's success in Iraq will be measured by a decrease in insurgent attacks and Washington's ability to lay the groundwork for political and economic stability, says US Middle East policy analyst Anthony Cordesman. However, one year...

On the record.(SEVEN DAYS)(political aspects)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... "All the means of the regime were used in an organised and illegal way to intervene in the election" Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani questions his rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidential election victory

Looking back ...(SEVEN DAYS)(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... 2 July 1965 Sharjah's Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan al-Qassimi is deposed and replaced by his cousin, Khalid bin Mohammed al-Qassimi 6 July 1990 OPEC lobbies overproducers to abide by their quota commitments to help increase oil prices....

Nour trial becomes opposition platform.(EGYPT)(Ayman Nour)
July 1, 2005... The trial of Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour has started despite disruption caused by pro-reform demonstrations and accusations of trumped-up charges. Protesters, who gathered outside the courthouse shouting "Change Now", "No to injustice...

Khartoum bombs eastern rebels: 24 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Sudanese air forces drop bombs on rebel positions in eastern Sudan for the second day running. The bombings occur in the Barks valley near the town of Tokar, south of Port Sudan on the Red Sea. "They are using the same [means] as they used in...

Ahmadinejad wins presidential election recall vote: 24 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Conservative hardliner and Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wins Iran's presidential elections with more than 60 per cent of the vote. Ahmadinejad defeats Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and will be Iran's first non-cleric president since 1981. He...

Qaddafi must go, says exiled opposition: 26 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Libyan opposition leaders meet in London and call for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's resignation. "We have three aims--Qaddafi must go, we must have a government based on democracy and the rule of law and we want a constitutional country,"...

No change to EU nuclear policy toward Iran: 27 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana says that there will be no change to Europe's position on nuclear negotiations with Iran in fight of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidential election victory. "I think the most important thing is to...

Washington sells military kit to Cairo: 27 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The US intends to sell 25 Avenger air defence systems to Egypt in a deal worth $126 million. The Boeing Aerospace Company is the principal contractor for the system. The units and related equipment include Stinger missiles and will replace...

Berri re-elected as parliamentary speaker: 28 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(Nabih Berri )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The new Lebanese parliament re-elects pro-Syrian Nabih Berri as its speaker by 90 votes to one. Thirty-seven Christian MPs spoiled their ballots in protest. Saad Hariri's anti-Syria Future bloc backed Berri's nomination on condition that he...

Riyadh issues new terrorist list: 28 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry issues a new list of 36 suspected militants and offers a reward of $1.8 million to anyone who assists in their capture. "These individuals have made themselves tools to distort Islam, threaten the security of...

Bandar resigns as Saudi ambassador to US: 29 June.(NEWS DIGEST)(Prince Bandar bin Sultan)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, resigns. The prince is rumoured to be seeking a senior post back in Riyadh such as the head of intelligence, which has been vacant for several months.

The new populism: the fall of Iran's presidency to a populist conservative ushers in a new political era for the Islamic republic. But with big divisions in his own camp and a multitude of promises to keep, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces a challenging agenda.(Cover Story)
July 1, 2005... In the end, only outgoing president Mohammed Khatami called it correctly. "The Iranian nation has usually defied predictions," he said, casting his vote in the first ballot on 17June. Aweek later, it was clear that another political earthquake...

Digital revolution: in less than three years Oman will have the most advanced electronic funds transfer network in the Middle East.
July 1, 2005... Oman this summer will embark on a comprehensive programme of digitalising its payments system. The objective is the complete electronic conversion of all interbank transfers and the establishment of an automated clearing house, an electronic...

Rabigh contract awards accelerate: Tecnicas to carry out both main packages.(Tecnicas Reunidas S.A.)
July 1, 2005... The joint venture of Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Company has taken a significant step in its programme to upgrade the kingdom's biggest refinery at Rabigh and turn it into a world-scale integrated refining and petrochemicals...

Aramco solicits interest for Yanbu gas plant expansion.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Saudi Aramco is preparing to release invitation to bid (ITB) documents in November for the project to expand the Yanbu gas plant, after international contractors responded to a solicitation of interest (SoI) by 28 June. The expansion is part of...

British sign up for Bid Boland gas plant.(IRAN)(National Iranian Gas Company)(Petropars)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Two UK-led consortia signed in late June engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts totalling $2,200 million for work at the Bid Boland gas plant in Khouzestan Province. The client is National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) and the...

Haldor wins refinery technology contract.(KUWAIT )(Kuwait National Petroleum Company)(Haldor Topsoe A\S)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... State refinery operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has selected Denmark's Haldor Topsoe as the licensed technology provider for the naphtha and kerosene hydrotreater units at the state's new refinery. Under the terms of the...

MEED conferences: premier networking events.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... 3rd Middle East Capital Markets 20-21 September 2005, Dubai www.meed.com/capitalmarkets 2nd Middle East Rail Projects 27-28 September 2005, Dubai www.meed.com/rail Port of Sohar, Oman: Anchoring success 15-16 November...

Russians to build Hadjret Ennous link.(ALGERIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Russia's Stroytransgaz has been awarded the AD 16.756 million ($230 million) engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the supply and installation of a 273-kilometre-long gas pipeline from Sougueur to Hadjret Ennous. The...

PDO output exceeds forecasts.(OMAN)(Petroleum Development Oman)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Oil production from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) averaged 661,000 barrels a day (b/d) in 2004, against a target of 650,000 b/d, according to the company's annual report, released in mid-June. "The above target oil production in 2004 was...

US-led consortium takes Qarun.(EGYPT)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has awarded exploration licences to two international joint ventures led by the US' Devon Energy. A project company established between the US company, Japan's Teikoku Oil Company and Australia's...

Project Kuwait will have to wait until autumn.(KUWAIT)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The National Assembly (parliament) rose for the summer recess on 29 June without taking a vote on Project Kuwait, the state's landmark upstream initiative. Parliamentary approval of the draft enabling bill on the estimated $8,500 million scheme...

Oil prices retain highs despite advice.(REGIONAL)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Oil prices remained close to the $60-a-barrel mark in the final week of June as both OPEC ministers and the International Energy Agency (IEA) made bullish comments. However, US stocks of both crude and products rose, according to data released...

Locals win rig service contract.(OMAN)(Shaleem Oil Company)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The local Shaleem Oil Company has been awarded a five-year contract to maintain and rehabilitate oil wells onshore in the south of the sultanate for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), The deal is worth about $87 million and is Shaleem's first...

Aramco finds more Eastern Province gas.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Saudi Arabian Oil Co)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry on 28 June announced the discovery of a new gas field located about 95 kilometres west of Dhahran in the Eastern Province. The gas find was made by Saudi Aramco and was described as "capable of pumping...

Parliament objects to Yemen LNG.(YEMEN)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The fate of the Yemen LNG project, recently revived after many years on the drawing board by signature of a heads of agreement (HoA) with off-takers, has been thrown into some doubt by vehement objections from parliament. The oil and minerals...

Samsung takes Sharq EG job: award also close for world-scale cracker on the same development.(Samsung Engineering and Construction Company Ltd.)(Eastern Petrochemical Co.)
July 1, 2005... South Korea's Samsung Engineering Company has received a notice of award from Jubail-based Eastern Petrochemical Company (Sharq) to carry out the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a major ethylene glycol (EG)...

Aker Kvaerner to manage 1bn Zahr PP.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Oslo-based Aker Kvaerner is understood to have been selected fot the contract to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services to Saudi European Petrochemical Company (Ibn Zahr) for its new polypropylene (PP) project. The estimated $800...

Huntsman, Zamil sign up for speciality chemicals venture.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The local AH Al-Zamil Group announced on 28 June that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US' Huntsman Corporation to set up a joint venture plant at Jubail for the production of ethylene amines. The two firms are already...

PMD, Basell sign technology agreement, more to come.(SAUDI ARABIA)
July 1, 2005... The local Project Management & Development Company (PMD) on 26 June signed a licence agreement with Europe's Basell for the provision of technology for three downstream units planned as part of its SR 13,000 million ($3,500 million) Jubail...

KFH proposal with KJO.(REGIONAL)(Al-Khafji Joint Operations)(Kuwait Finance House)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... A team led by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) and including Uhde and Siemens, both of Germany, and the US-based Shaw International has submitted a proposal to Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO), the 50:50 joint venture between Kuwait Gulf Oil Company...

Technip wins ethane cracker job.(KUWAIT)
July 1, 2005... Paris-based Technip has received a letter of intent (LoI) for the estimated $550 million-575 million contract to build the 850,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) ethane cracker on the estimated $1,500 million Olefins II petrochemicals complex. The client...

ALDAR issues souk prequal: main package out to bid.(ALDAR Properties)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... ALDAR Properties has begun prequalification for the main package on the estimated $325 million redevelopment of Abu Dhabi's central market. The client is also close to awarding the first construction package on the development, covering the...

Bids in for Qatofin marine works.(QATAR)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Technical bid evaluation is under way at the local/French Qatofin for the marine works package on its downstream petrochemical project at Mesiaeed. Bidders for the estimated $30 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract...

IPIC ups Borealis stake.(UAE)(International Petroleum Investment Company)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) has increased its stake in Copenhagen-based Borealis to 65 per cent after it and Austria's OMV bought out the 50 per cent stake held by the remaining shareholder, Norway's Statoil,...

Cebarco sails the dhow.(bags construction contract from Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The local Cebarco has been issued with a letter of intent for the main construction contract on the project to build a new headquarters for Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry, having submitted the lowest bid of BD 8.5 million ($22.4...

USACE awards prison work.(Army Corps of Engineers)(Prime Projects International)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has awarded Channel Islands-based Prime Projects International (PPI) a $23.9 million contract to design and build a detention facility at Camp Cropper in the Camp Victory complex near Baghdad. Under the...

New KOTC HQ in the works.(Kuwait Oil Tanker Company SAK )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... State-owned Kuwait Oil Tankers Company (KOTC) has issued a tender for the construction of its new headquarters in the Sharq district of Kuwait City. Eleven local grade 1 contractors have been invited to bid by 28 August for the estimated KD 12...

The Gate opens for work.(Al-Bahar Construction for Trading & Contracting Co. started working on Al-Shaya Group contract)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The local Al-Bahar Construction for Trading & Contracting Company has started work on the excavation, shoring and dewatering works package of the Gate of Kuwait project The client, the local Al-Shaya Group. is expected to issue by the end of...

Daewoo signs up for Duqm port.(Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Company Ltd.)(Oman National Economy Ministry )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has signed an agreement with the National Economy Ministry to build and operate a ship repair yard at Duqm port. The plan is understood to include a post-graving dock able to handle...

Three compete for Viva Bahriya design work.(United Development Co.)(WBTL Architects LLP)(Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart and Associates Inc.)(Zeidler Partnership Architects)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Three international architectural firms--SRSS & Associates, and WBTL Architects, both of the US and Canada's Zeidler Partnership Architects--have been selected to compete in the design contest for the Viva Bahriya marina district on the...

DSC prequals kick off.(Dubai Sports City is putting tenders for its sports facilities)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Dubai Sports City (DSC) has launched prequalification for the main construction works on its four stadia at Dubailand, inviting applications by 9 July. The client is planning to tender the stadia in two separate packages, both of which are due...

Jebel Ali dredging out.(Jebel Ali International Hotels)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The dredging package has been released for tender on the new Jebel Ali container terminal project, with prequalified companies invited to submit bids on 25 July. Evaluation of bids is already under way at Dubai's Ports, Customs & Free Zone...

Wade wins interchange 5 overhaul.(UAE)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The local Wade Adams Contracting has been awarded the contract for the retendered fifth interchange reconstruction project on Shaikh Zayed highway in Dubai. The existing interchange, which links Dubai Marina with Emaar Properties' residential...

NDIA terminal package goes for bid.(New Doha International Airport putting tender for its construction)
July 1, 2005... The passenger terminal complex, the largest package on the $2,500 million New Doha International Airport (NDIA) project, has been issued for bid. The 11 prequalified groups have been given until 11 September to submit design and build bids for...

SaudConsult appointed for Shamieh.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Saudi Consulting Services (SaudConsult) has been awarded a contract to carry, out engineering works involving a major infrastructure development project at Shamieh in Makkah. The scope of works includes construction of roads, bridges, spines...

Project managers line up for PMC mega contracts.(Ministry of Public Works is awarding contracts for construction work)
July 1, 2005... Project managers are preparing to submit bids by 28July for two four-year major project management consultancy (PMC) contracts covering all current and future building construction work tendered by the Ministry of Public Works (MPW). An award...

Awards near on landmark buildings.(QATAR)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Contract awards are expected in July on two major building contracts. Final prices were due to be submitted in early July for the estimated $350 million-400 million contract to build the 7,000-seat convention centre at Education City for the...

Malaysians get first private university contract.(Ahmad Zaki Resources Berhad )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Malaysia's Ahmad Zaki Resources Berhad (AZRB) has been awarded the SR 386 million ($103 million) contract to build the kingdom's first private university in Riyadh's Nasseriyah district. The client is the King Faisal Foundation. The...

Tenders due for new hospitals.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... A tender is due to be issued by late July for a contract to build a speciality hospital in downtown Riyadh. Estimated to be worth SR 100 million ($27 million), the contract will cover the construction of a 100-bed facility, car park,...

Award approaches on Burj Dubai MEP.(UAE)(mechanical, electrical and plumbing)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Contractor selection is expected by the end of July for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) package on the Burj Dubai tower project. Companies competing for the award, valued at more than $200 million, include a group of the UK's...

More packages out on Al-Reem.(UAE)(Davis Langdon & Seah International)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Two more construction packages are out to tender on the Al-Reem island project in Abu Dhabi being promoted by the local Tamouh Investments. Package 3, covering block C, calls for the construction of five apartment and office towers ranging in...

Prequals in for Raha gardens.(UAE)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Prequalifications were submitted in late June for the first-phase packages on the Raha gardens development in Abu Dhabi. About 15 contractors were asked to apply for prequalification for one or more of the five phase 1 packages, which comprise...

Saudi Oger signs up for diabetes centre.(UAE)(contracts)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Saudi Oger Emirates was awarded in late June the estimated AED 30 million ($8.2 million) contract to build the Imperial College Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi. Four other local contractors were competing for the contract, which is due to be...

Labourers get some summer respite.(UAE)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The federal Labour & Social Affairs Ministry announced in late June that outdoor labourers will be given a four-hour break, starting at 12,30 pro, in July and August, when temperatures can reach 47[degrees]C. Companies ignoring the directive...

Airport shuts for two days over payment.(IRAQ)(Baghdad International Airport)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Baghdad International Airport was closed for two days on 25-26 June as the UK firm employed to provide security at the installation withdrew its services because of a dispute over payment. London-based Global Strategies Group, which provides...

OSC signs up for new LNG vessel.(OMAN)(Oman Shipping Company)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has signed a joint venture agreement with Osaka Gas, NVK and K Line, all Japanese, for the ownership of a seventh liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker to serve the Oman LNG project. OSC will own 40 per cent of shares...

BMI flies to Riyadh.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... UK carrier BMI on 28 June announced that it would start operating a three-flight-a-week service to Riyadh from London Heathrow from 1 September. BMI will be the only UK carrier to operate flights to Saudi Arabia and will offer a three-class...

July ITB for Khorramshahr steel project: Turnkey firms may also part finance the project.(invitation to bid)(Ahwaz Rolling & Pipe Mills Co.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The invitation to bid (ITB) will be issued in early July to international turnkey steel contractors for the Ahwaz Rolling & Pipe Mills Company (ARPMC) project in Khorramshahr. The company is also in negotiations with Italy's Arvedi to help...

Five bid for Salco smelter.(IRAN)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Five proposals have been submitted for the South Aluminium Corporation (Salco) smelter project at Bandar Abbas. Technical evaluation is under way and prices are to be opened in mid-July, allowing a contract to be finalised and work to begin by...

Alba CE0 appointed.(Ahmed Saleh al-Noaimi appointed as a chief executive officer.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Ahmed Saleh al-Noaimi has taken over as acting chief executive officer (CEO) of Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), replacing Bruce Hall, whose contract expired on 30 June, Al-Noaimi has worked at Alba since 1974. Hall has been CEO for the past four...

Tripoli focuses on lack of cement supply.(LIBYA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The country's seven existing cement plants continue to run at just 50 per cent of total capacity, resulting in demand severely out-stripping supply, a senior industry official told the MEED Middle East Cement conference held in Dubai in late...

ADWEA launches T&D privatisation programme: O&M for Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi distribution arms.(UAE)(Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority)
July 1, 2005... Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) has invited expressions of interest by 15 July and prequalification applications by 27 July from international companies for two eight-year contracts to operate and manage its 100 per cent-owned...

Algiers to let city water network concessions.(ALGERIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The management of water networks and systems in all of Algeria's cities is to be passed to the private sector, the government has announced, with operation and management (O&M) contracts expected to be signed for networks in seven cities by the...

Substation job awarded.(BAHRAIN)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The team of France's Areva T&D and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation has been awarded the $85.2 million switchgear package on the project to improve the kingdom's Dower Eansmission network, entailing the construction of 15 66-kV substations and the...

New substation work in the pipeline.(IRAQ)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The Project & Contracting Office (PCO) has issued presolicitation nohces for the supply and construction of new substations and overhead line distribution networks across the country. The first contract covers the construction of a 400-kV...

Prequals invited for wastewater O&M.(OMAN)
July 1, 2005... Applications for prequalification have been invited by 25 July from companies interested in forming an operation and maintenance (O&M) joint venture with Oman Wastewater Services Company (OWSC) for the Muscat Wastewater project. The selected...

Privatisation beckons for sewerage, waste sectors.(UAE)(Abu Dhabi Sanitary Sewage Services Co. formed)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... A major shake-up of Abu Dhabi's sewerage sector was announced in late June, with the establishment of Abu Dhabi Sanitary Sewage Services Company (ADSSC). The new entity., to be owned by Abu Dhabi Water & ElectricityAuthority (ADWEA), will take...

Single body planned for water sector management.(ALGERIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Algiers is to overhaul the structure of its water sector, with the establishment of a single water holding company to manage the industry's existing government agencies, Water Resources Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has announced. The new...

Hamma desal finance sealed.(Overseas Private Investment Corp., Ionics Inc. to finance Hamma Water Desalination's Hamma desalination plant )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Financing for the landmark 200,000-cubic-metre a-day (cm/d) Hamma desalination plant was completed on 25June. Three-quarters of the total will come from a $200 million loan from the US' Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The...

MTN aims to fill Turkcell's shoes: Tehran says Turkcell is still in the race.(MTN Group)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... South Africa's MTN said in late June it was confident of winning a 49 per cent stake in a consortium to develop Iran's first private GSM network. Turkcell was originally awarded the contract last year 'after winning a tender in which MTN came...

Waste treatment plant shapes up.(EGYPT)
July 1, 2005... The local Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Company) has invited firms to bid by 18 July for the contract to design, supply and supervise the construction of a new liquid industry waste treatment plant south of Port Said. Arab Contractors...

Shuwaikh desal PQ list expands.(KUWAIT)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Three international contractors--Spain's Pridesa Austria's VA Tech Wabag and Italy's Fisia Italimpianti--have been added to the prequalification list for the construction of the 30 million-gallon-a-day desalination Plant at Shuwaikh. The three...

Qurrayat cancelled.(SAUBI ARABIA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has informed contractors that it has cancelled the tender for the contract to expand the existing power plant at Qurrayat in the northwest. No further details have been given but it is understood that SEC will...

SSEM signs up for $200 million worth of work.(SAUDI ARABIA)(Saudi Services for Electro-Mechanical Works Company)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Saudi Services for Electro-Mechanical Works Company (SSEM) has been awarded two contracts worth a total of SR 737 million ($197 million) for the construction of power transmission lines for Saudi Electricity Company. Under the contracts. SSEM...

M station bids opened.(UAE)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) opened in late June consultancy bids for the grassroots Jebel Ali M power and desalination complex. According to the bid opening prices for the overall scope of works, the local Prestige Engineering is...

Baghdad to unveil GSM licensing plans.(IRAQ)(Global System for Mobile Communications (cellular phone technology) )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Baghdad has announced that it will hold a telecoms conference in London on 21-22 July to reveal plans for its mobile and fixed-line networks. During the conference it is expected that telecoms regulator, the National Communications & Media...

Three in for fixed-line services.(Correios e Telecomunicacoes de Portugal EP)(Meditel)(Orascom Telecom Holding SAE)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Three companies have submitted bids for three types of fixed-line licences offered by telecoms regulator Agence Nationale de Reglementation des Telecommunications (ANRT). Licences were on offer for local loop, backbone and international...

Tunis plans PPPs for major upgrades: Enfidha airport concession tops the list.(TUNISIA)
July 1, 2005... Tunis is planning a series of public private partnerships (PPPs) to realise a raft of new infrastructure projects as part of its 2002-06 economic programme, Development & International Co-operation Minister Mohamed Nouri Jouini told MEED in...

Budget approved.(BAHRAIN)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The National Assembly (parliament) in late June approved the revenue side of the 2005-06 budget, projecting income of BD 1,240 million ($3,263 million) in 2005 and BD 1,250 million ($3,290 million) in 2006. Oil revenues were estimated at BD 890...

Mashreq millionaires balloon.(increasing oil prices contibutes to the growth of rich people in Middle East)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Rocketing oil prices have been the main contributor to creating a new class of millionaires across the Middle East, according to the latest annual World Wealth Report. The study, conducted by Merill Lynch and the Capgemini Group, claims that...

Dolphin MLAs appointed: $2,000m conventional tranche and a $1,000m Islamic facility.(Dolphin Energy Ltd.)(mandated lead arrangers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) are understood to have been appointed for the second tranche of the Dolphin gas project bridge financing. Because the response was so strong, the borrowing will take out the previous $1,360 million bridge loan,...