Utilities

Contract signed for US$ 1.2bn fertilizer complex in Abu Dhabi

In pursuit of its vision 'To be the First Choice Company producing and supplying environment friendly industrial fertilizers' FERTIL and Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd. of Korea signed a contract worth US$1.2 billion to construct a fertilizer complex in Ruwais. The contract is to construct Ammonia and Urea plants at its fertilizer complex in Ruwais, about 250km west of Abu Dhabi City in the United Arab Emirates. FERTIL-2 project shall expand its fertilizer complex production capacity from 0.65 to 2 million tons per year. The Project is slated for completion by Q1 2013. The new single stream Ammonia plant will have a capacity of 2,000 metric tons per day (MTPD) and the single stream Urea plant a capacity of 3,500 MTPD of granulated Urea.

ABB wins USD38m power deal from Saudi Electricity Company

Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB Ltd said it will improve the power efficiency of 22 distribution substations in Saudi Arabia in a USD38m deal from state-run utility Saudi Electricity Company. ABB will design, engineer, supply, install and commission technologies to improve the substations' power factor, which is an indicator of the usable power available in the grid. The project, which covers substations in the areas of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah and Ta'if in western Saudi Arabia, is due for completion by 2011. The Swedish company will supply products including capacitor banks of various ratings, medium-voltage switchgear, protection and control equipment, and a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to help manage power flow in the network.

Egyptian Orascom eyes Copebrás assets

Egyptian company Orascom Construction Industries could make an offer to acquire Brazilian fertilizer producer Copebrás, a unit of London-based resources group Anglo American. Orascom president Nassef Sawiris said the company plans to increase its ammonia production by 30 per cent and is also in the process of obtaining licenses to produce fertilizers in India, the report read. In October this year, Anglo American announced the restructuring of its business, which includes the divestiture of Copebrás.

Iraqi Dinar 33bn water project in Karbala underway

Works are underway on a water project in al-Hindiya, eastern Karbala, with a total capacity of 2,000 cubic meters/hour and a cost of 33 billion Iraqi dinars, the province's governor said. "A local firm has started the project in al-Hindiya city, (20 km) east of Karbala, which involves the construction of an integrated water-filtering station, a ground reservoir with a capacity of 12 cm/h and an 11-km-long pipeline," Amal al-Din al-Hirr said. "Works on the project are expected to take a year," he said, referring to plans to provide drinking water to several areas in the city.

Oman Water Ministry inks US$41.6m deal for public works

Oman Water Resources Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Salim al Rowas signed agreements for sanitary drainage, municipal and water projects that cost more than RO16 million (US$41.6 million). The projects include paving internal roads, developing and construction of public utilities, sanitary drainage water network and construction of recharge dams. The agreements also included the construction of public park in Al-Buraimi Governorate, approving the variation order for the sanitary drainage plant network in the wilayats of Nizwa, Sumail, Al Buraimi and Sur in the Southern Al Sharqiyah region. The new agreements also included the construction of three recharge dams in wadi Nam, Aqidah and Al Rassa in the wilayat of Al Qabil in the Al Sharqiyah region. The dams will benefit from wadi water and provide protection to farms and property behind it as they will retain the rainwater..

Kuwaiti fund, Cuba sign loan agreement at KD4.4m

The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) signed a loan agreement with Cuba, at a value of KD 4.4 million to finance a project to rehabilitate the drinking water system in Holguin City. A KFAED statement added that it was represented in the signing ceremony by the Deputy Director General of KFAED Ghanem Al-Ghenaiman, while the Cuban side was represented by National Institute of Water Resources Rene Mesa. It added that the projects aims at improving the living conditions of Holguin City residents, by comprehensive rehabilitation of the drinking water system, and that the project is due to finish in four years.