Utilities

Iraq's Garden of Eden waterway facing catastrophe

Iraqis living alongside the ancient Shatt al-Arab waterway, the site local legend says of the Garden of Eden, face an environmental catastrophe because of massive dams built by neighboring Iran. A vibrant fresh water lifeline teeming with fish has become a salty, polluted channel which is driving people away from its banks and where fishermen struggle to make a living, local residents and officials say. At the centre of the dispute is the Karoun river, which this year has been completely staunched by Iran to stop its water feeding into the Shatt al-Arab just above the Iranian oil city of Abadan, local people say. "Iran completely cut the water from the Karoun and diverted it to the Bahman Shir," an Iranian river, said Oun Dhiab, director of the Iraqi National Centre for Hydro Resources. "Iranian dams had reduced the flow since 2002, but this year not a drop has reached us. This shortage of water and the increasing saltiness will cause a huge environmental crisis, and is changing the Shatt al-Arab environment," he said.

Doosan inks deal for work on plant in Saudi Arabia

Doosan Heavy Industries has nailed down a US$243.5 million power plant order in Saudi Arabia. The Korean company said that it has signed a contract with Hanwha Engineering and Construction to supply two 250-megawatt boilers and two steam turbines for Marafiq's thermoelectric power plant in the Middle Eastern country. Hanwha is the primary contractor for the design and construction of the power plant, which was commissioned by power and water utility firm Marafiq. The facility, located in the Yanbu industrial complex located 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Jeddah, is scheduled to be completed in 2012 after 36 months of construction. "This order will help speed up Doosan's further advancement in the Saudi Arabian power plant market," said Suh Dong-soo, vice president of Doosan Heavy Industries.

ID160m allocated for water scarcity in Wassit

The Wassit local council allocated 160 million Iraqi dinars to address the lack of water in the province, head of the media committee of the council said. "The council decided… to allocate 160 million Iraqi dinars to deal with the water scarcity which faces the agricultural projects in western Kut," Sundus al-Dhahabi said. "The council decided to divide the amount between Hawar and al-Mazak projects in western Kut with ID80 million for each project," she said.

GE and Hyundai get US$2.65bn Kuwait power contract

GE Energy, a unit of General Electric Co., said that it and Hyundai Heavy Industries received a US$2.65 billion contract to build a 2,000-megawatt power plant in Kuwait. GE, whose share of the contract is valued at US$1.3 billion, said it will supply equipment and long-term services along with three combined-cycle power blocks. Also, GE will operate and maintain the government-owned plant for seven years after it goes online sometime in 2011.

Saudi Electricity to award US$2bn deals by 2012

Saudi Electricity has given approval to award SAR7.64 billion (US$2.03 billion) worth of contracts out of SAR80 billion it plans to spend by 2012 to boost capacity, the company said. It did not give details of the projects it would award in a statement on the Saudi bourse website but said its generation capacity would increase by around 13,000 megawatt. Saudi Electricity (SEC) currently produces around 37,000 MW. SEC, the Gulf's largest utility firm by market value said in June it would issue Islamic bonds that could be worth about SAR5 billion to help it fund expansion.