Manama, 12 July, 2015: In line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa to relocate the aviation fuel tanks away from the residential areas in Arad to a new complex at Bahrain International Airport (BIA), Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) and The Oil and Gas Holding Company BSC (nogaholding) have entered into a Consultancy Services Agreement with global engineering management and development specialists, Mott MacDonald for the provision of holistic design and management services for the new Fuel Farm Complex and Fuel Hydrant.

The BD1.4 million agreement was signed by all related parties in the presence of Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of nogaholding, Mr. Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, Chief Executive Officer of BAC and Mr. Albert Allan, Managing Director, Oil Gas & Petrochemical Unit, at Mott MacDonald Limited, at the nogaholding headquarters in Manama.

Commenting on the awarding of this significant contract, Shaikh Mohamed, stated "The appointment of leading experts Mott MacDonald as the main consultants on the new Fuel Farm Complex, supports the vision of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister and echoes the commitment of both nogaholding and BAC to deliver this ambitious national venture within the defined timeframe and with the highest quality of standards. The solid cooperation between nogaholding and BAC has enabled us to move full speed ahead on this project which will positively impact the Arad residents and result in superior services for the entire airport community."

Mott MacDonald was appointed following a rigorous tender process and thorough assessment of all six submissions received by the shortlisted bidders. All bids were evaluated on cost and technical merit and Mott MacDonald came out on top for providing the most competitive proposal in terms of budget, timelines, design and overall implementation.

Awarding of this contract follows on from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between BAC and nogaholding earlier this year to establish a national joint venture company responsible for the overall management and operation of the fueling complex at Bahrain International Airport.

According to Mr. Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, Chief Executive Officer of BAC, "Assigning the first consultants on the Fuel Farm Complex within a few months of signing the MoU stands testament to the efforts exerted by BAC and nogaholding to fast-track this project and ensure transfer of the fuel farm into a state-of-the-art facility at BIA within the stated period of 24 to 30 months. Establishing the new modern complex within the BIA premises is a strategic move and will greatly benefit the airlines in specific and BIA's customers overall".

BAC is the authority responsible for enhancing BIA and increasing the airport's contribution to the local economy in line with Bahrain's Economic Vision.  In its operational role, BAC is responsible for elevating the airport's operations, infrastructure and services. This is set to improve BIA's capabilities and cater to the growing number of passengers as well as the changing demands of stakeholders.

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© Press Release 2015