Zawya.com - Power & Utilities News

ABB wins $2.8 million safety project in Qatar

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:40:08 GMT

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has signed a USD $2.8 million deal with leading Contractor BlackCat Engineering & Construction to design and develop a major integrated Safety Integrity Level 3(SIL 3) and process control solution for a gas pipeline project in Dukhan, Qatar

Emaar Industries & Investments celebrates opening of new plant

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:07:37 GMT

Emaar Industries & Investments Ltd (EII), a member of Emaar Properties PJSC, celebrated the opening of a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for low voltage and medium voltage switchboards of its subsidiary Dynergy Technologies in TechnoPark, Dubai.

Long-Term Rating On National Central Cooling Downgraded to 'CC' And Withdrawn At Issuer's Request

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:23:35 GMT

-Standard & Poor's Rating Services said today that it lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on United Arab Emirates-based district cooling company National Central Cooling Co. PJSC (Tabreed) to 'CC' from 'CCC+'. The outlook is negative.

Kuwait to have nuclear power 'within 7 years'

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:12:49 GMT

Kuwait is aiming to have a nuclear power station operational within seven years, according to a report by the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

Oman Opens Desalination Plant

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:10:48 GMT

Oman has restated its commitment to providing drinking water to citizens in every area of the country with the opening of a RO108 million desalination plant and water network in the eastern Sharqiya region.

Dewa receives 14 bids for Hassyan plant, consultant to be finalised in May

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:52:00 GMT

Dewa has received 14 bids out of the 42 firms that have bought the tender documents for the Hassyan project. They are "all reputed companies" and "serious bidders", a source close to the matter told Emirates Business yesterday.

New dam to conserve drinking water in Jordan's northern region

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:42:18 GMT

Designs for a new multimillion dinar dam in Ajloun will be completed this month in a bid to conserve drinking water in the northern region, a government official said.

$6 billion potential in Lebanon if water sector better managed

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:31:26 GMT

The spending of Lebanese citizens on water constitutes 1 percent of the national income, equivalent to $306 million, and has the ability to increase with the growth in GDP, said central bank Governor Riad Salameh Tuesday citing World Bank statistics.

Jordan rejects joint nuclear power project with Israel

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:13:14 GMT

ordan on Tuesday rejected plans for a joint nuclear power project with Israel, saying it would be "premature" to talk about atomic cooperation before resolving the conflict with the Palestinians.

Israel, Syria eye nuclear power plants

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:41:19 GMT

Israel and Syria are separately eyeing plans to develop nuclear power to meet the energy needs of the volatile Middle East, ministers told a conference hosted by France on Tuesday to promote reactors.

Middle East Water Industry Requires Major Investment

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:33:29 GMT

The continuing population boom in the Middle East is causing a sharp increase in water demand. Coupled with the arid conditions of one of the world's most water-stressed regions, meeting future demand presents more and more challenges.

Tabreed gets Dh1.3b loan

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:16:30 GMT

Tabreed, the Abu Dhabi-based district cooling company, yesterday said it has secured a Dh1.3-billion loan from Mubadala to help with its operating expenses this year after reporting a record loss of Dh1.1 billion in 2009.

Freshfields advises on Middle East IWPP Deal of the Year

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:12:19 GMT

International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has won Middle East Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) Deal of the Year 2009 at the Project Finance Magazine awards held on Thursday 4 March 2010. The firm secured the award for advising the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the Al Dur IWPP.

Desalination plant comes up in Sur

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:51:06 GMT

The Sur central water desalination plant and water supply network for the Al Sharqiyah region was commissioned here yesterday at a ceremony held under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Fatik bin Fahr Al Said.

Iran to build power plants in Ecuador

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:49:53 GMT

Iran plans to build two power plants in Ecuador, First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi has been reported as saying.

Green energy revolution expected in Saudi Arabia

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:43:21 GMT

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf signalled their intention to kick-start a renewable energy revolution in the region on Monday.

KSA: Quick and effective measures to tackle mounting garbage stressed

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:41:18 GMT

Last year, Saudi Arabia produced 13 million tons of garbage, from a population of some 28 million, at a rate of about 1.3 kg per person each day.

UAE: Subcontracts to be Awarded Soon

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:23:20 GMT

KEPCO will start awarding contracts to start building the first nuclear reactor in the country in about two months, a senior executive said.

S. Korea eyes more nuclear power plant projects in Abu Dhabi

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:22:11 GMT

South Korea, which through a consortium signed a landmark agreement to build four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates, hopes to build four more, the country's ambassador said.

NWC aims to cut Riyadh water loss

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:03:52 GMT

National Water Company (NWC) is aiming to reduce the volume of water and revenues that are lost to leakage to a more sustainable 20 percent in Riyadh.

Kepco Will Award $10B Contracts To Korean Firms

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:34:41 GMT

Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco), the winner of a $20.4 billion (Dh74.87 billion) order to build nuclear plants in the UAE, said it will award $10 billion of engineering and construction sub-contracts to Korean companies.

BMI: Saudi Arabia Infrastructure Report (Feb-10)

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:52:00 GMT

Developing infrastructure continues to be a top priority for Saudi Arabia. Government funded investment

complemented by a number of public private partnerships is fuelling real growth in the industry. We are

forecasting the construction industry to grow by 5.89% year-on-year (y-o-y) in 2010 to reach a nominal

value of SAR82.64bn (US$22.07bn).

This represents increased growth on 2009 estimates, which we have also revised upwards to better reflect

the level of activity recorded over the past year. However, 2010 is anticipated to return higher growth due

to the number of contracts which will get under way during the year. A number of large-scale utilities

One of the most important developments for Kuwait at the turn of 2010 was the recovery in oil prices to

US$70 ? US$80 per barrel. The rebound has cushioned the regional impact of the Dubai debt crisis, and

should help Kuwait generate a budget surplus of KWD6bn in 2010. This would be the 11th consecutive

budget surplus recorded by Kuwait. However, this has also highlighted continued disappointment with

the level of spending in the infrastructure sector. In recent years this has been linked to the global

financial crisis, with Kuwait?s economy contracting by 2.4% in 2009.

BMI: Iran Infrastructure Report (Feb-10)

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:21:00 GMT

After an anaemic Q409 in Iran?s infrastructure sector, growth is set to accelerate in 2010 as a combination

of increased government spending, easing inflation and even subsidy reform leads to a boost in

construction for the near-term. However, the pick-up in real growth is not likely to be sustained for long

and BMI believes that growth should start to slow after 2011.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered the new March 2010-March 2011 budget to the Majilis

(parliament) in January 2010, which allocates around US$110bn ? or 30% of the US$368.4bn total ? to

construction spending. The budget includes the issuance of up to EUR9.5bn in bonds over the year to

Egypt scores below average for the region in our Infrastructure Business Environment ratings. Overall,

the country is ranked in second to last place, ahead of only Yemen, in our 10-country index. Egypt is let

down by a poor score for the Infrastructure Market variable, due to its limited sector growth prospects.

This undermines relatively good scores for Country Structure, Market Risks and overall Country Risk.

Real growth in the country?s construction sector slowed from nearly 16% in 2007 to 0.5% in 2008, before

a real contraction of nearly 14% in 2009, according to our current estimates. The substantial sector

averda announces entry into Saudi market

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:32:05 GMT

averda, a leading regional environmental services company, has announced the launch of its operations in Saudi Arabia.The company, which is now ready to offer a full collection and disposal service for the private sector in Saudi Arabia, is currently showcasing its comprehensive range of services at stand H02.

Iran, Qatar to Set Up Electric-Board Factory

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:07:13 GMT

Iran and Qatar are to build a joint electric-board manufacturing plant in the next three months.The announcement was made during a meeting between governor-general of Iran's southern province of Bushehr Abutaleb Shaffeqat and Qatari Minister of State for International Cooperation and Conferences Khalid Bin Mohammad.

Iran to Build 2 Power Plants in Ecuador

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:05:17 GMT

Iran plans to build two power plants in Ecuador, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said.

SEC Names Bidders For Riyadh IPP

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:18:23 GMT

The Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) has named France's GDF Suez and Saudi Aljomaih Group as its preferred bidders for its Independent Power Project (IPP), called Riyadh PP11.

Desalination plant for Al-Khafji

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:13:00 GMT

A solar-powered desalination plant will be established in Al-Khafji city, Assistant Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman told Arab News on Thursday ahead of a three-day international forum and exhibition on the environment and sustainable development in the Gulf, which begins on Sunday in Jeddah.

Yemen: Sanaa Could Run Out Of Water In 15 Years

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:10:59 GMT

The Sanaa water basin could dry up within 15 years due to excessive irrigation in, a World Bank expert has warned.

Abu Dhabi Stands By State Firms

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:31:23 GMT

The government of Abu Dhabi said it would continue to support government-owned business entities despite a downgrading by credit rating agency Moody's.

Moody's Cuts Ratings On Seven Abu Dhabi Companies

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:50:01 GMT

Moody's Investors Service Inc. Thursday downgraded the ratings of seven Abu Dhabi-based companies by a notch or more saying there's "no explicit formal" government guarantee to support them, after being prompted to put them on review in December because of restructuring at Dubai World.

UAE water conservation law under final review

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:42:05 GMT

The UAE's first water conservation law set to reign in water misuse and group together utility companies across the country is under final review, and environment officials are hopeful it will be passed in 12 months.

Kuwait: Contract signed with foreign company for assessment, repair of Mishrif station

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:51:36 GMT

A 15 million Kuwaiti Dinars contract have been signed recently with two foreign companies for the assessment of damages and rehabilitation of the Mishrif Sanitary Treatment Station, the Ministry of Public Works confirmed on Wednesday.

BMI: Libya Infrastructure Report (Jan-10)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:00:00 GMT

The tremendous growth in Libya?s construction sector since 2003, when UN sanctions were lifted, was

blunted in 2009 by the global recession. After seeing year?on-year (y-o-y) growth as high as 28% in

2007, industry value real growth fell into negative territory at -1.18% for 2009. The sector still remains

relatively small ? valued at just US$3.84bn ? but growth is expected to return in 2010 with sector value

rising to US$6.12bn by 2014. Total capital investment as a percentage of GDP is set to remain constant

over the forecast period at 8.58%.

Major projects have continued to focus on Libya?s utilities sector as foreign companies have entered the

Big water project opened in Ninewa

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:36:04 GMT

Iraqi Ministry of Housing and Construction on Tuesday opened a big water project that supplies the western part of Ninewa province with drinking water.

No programmed power cuts this year in Kuwait

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:04:13 GMT

This year citizens and residents will experience freedom from programmed power cuts. "Our situation is comfortable. We have enough reserves, but the Ministry will continue with the rationalization campaign even if we had enough reserves.

QEWC posts QR922m profit

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:40:30 GMT

The Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) reported yesterday a net profit of QR922m for 2009, a 22-percent increase from the previous year, which is QR757m.

Dewa signs contracts to build utility projects

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:50:39 GMT

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has signed several contracts worth Dh3 billion to develop new utility projects, Saeed Al Tayer, CEO of Dewa, said.

Dubai's Dewa Plans Roadshow For Bond From March 15

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:56:48 GMT

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, better known as Dewa, plans to launch a roadshow in mid-March as part of plans to raise up to $1.5 billion through a bond issue, the state utility's chief executive said Tuesday.

BMI: Morocco Infrastructure Report (Dec-09)

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:05:00 GMT

Morocco?s construction industry has survived the global downturn in surprisingly good shape with the

sector remaining in positive growth territory for the year. In 2009 year-on-year (y-o-y) growth fell to just

0.78% from 4.75% in 2008, but this still represents strong performance given that a large number of

countries in the region were contracting. Total capital investment grew for the year rising to US$28.25bn.

This is part of a long-term trend that sees total capital investment more than triple, from US$12.30bn in

2004 to US$38.10bn by 2014.

In 2009 Morocco benefitted from investment designed to improve links between

BMI: Oman Infrastructure Report (Dec-09)

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:07:00 GMT

Industry Forecasts

Oman?s infrastructure sector has been one of the most resilient in the world to the global economic

downturn. We estimate that real construction sector industry value will increase by 13.2% in 2009 (to a

total industry value of OMR1.31bn/US$3.39bn), against a backdrop where many countries experienced

significant negative real sector growth. This relatively strong performance, however, should be

considered against real growth of 31% in 2008 and 28% in 2007 ? so in absolute terms, this is still quite a

slowdown.