Upcoming Mega Projects Middle East

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Project: Jubail Island Master Development
Value: USD 1,300,000,000
Client: Jubail Island Investment Company (JIIC)

The 400-acre low-density community is designed to appeal to wellness and nature enthusiasts, and includes residential, retail, hospitality, entertainment, and education offerings. The project has been designated as an Abu Dhabi investment zone and features six investment zone villages - Marafaa Al Jubail, Nad Al Dhabi, Seef Al Jubail, Ain Al Maha, Souk Al Jubail and Bed’a Al Jubail.

The 13-kilometre waterfront project would comprise a mix of serviced plots, high-end and midrange properties that would cater to nationals and the rental market, and would house a resident population of 5,000-6,000 residents after completion. The project is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2022 with plot handovers starting in the first quarter of 2021.

Other elements of the project, include Town Centre hub, featuring apartments, an office park, office villas, and a hotel, as well as F&B outlets, a beach club, a business centre, a sports centre, schools, supermarkets, nurseries, a community club, specialised clinics and other commercial establishments.

Gulf Contractors Company won the enabling works contract for the Jubail Island project in the UAE capital. Enabling works generally involve major earthworks and grading of a site, ahead of the installation of infrastructure such as roads, utilities, and other facilities. Over 2.5 million cubic meters of material will be excavated and placed to create the formation level for over 40-kilometre of roadways and more than 800 residential properties as part of the contracted work.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Project: Dubai - Al Ain Road Improvement Project
Value: USD 544,500,000
Client: Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)
Website: www.rta.ae

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has approved Dubai-Al Ain Road Improvement Project worth $544.5 million (AED2 billion), which will improve the road’s link with several highways, such as Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Road and Emirates Road.

The improvements will double the number of lanes from three to six lanes in each direction over a 17-kilometre sector. Project works also include upgrading six interchanges as well as constructing new bridges and service roads on both sides, and the scheme will improve road intake from 6,000 to 12,000 vehicles per hour, as well as cut transit time from Emirates Road interchange to Oud Metha Street from 16 to eight minutes. 

Phase 1, worth $354 million (AED1.3 billion), spans 7-kilometre from the interchange of Emirates Road to the interchange of the Mohammed bin Zayed Road. This phase includes upgrading the junction with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, which currently witnesses high traffic volumes. Works include constructing four ramps to serve traffic movement in four directions, which is planned to be completed in H1 2020. It involves the construction of a flyover of four lanes in each direction crossing over Dubai-Al Ain Road, with a possibility of widening it to five lanes in future. Works include improving the existing ramp to serve the inbound traffic from Dubailand Residential Complex heading westward to the Dubai-bound sector of Dubai-Al Ain Road. 

Phase 2 includes upgrading the Nad Al Sheba interchange by upgrading the existing bridge to serve the traffic from Dubai-Al Ain Road to Nad Al Sheba and vice versa and improving inward and outward surface roads at Nad Al Sheba.

SAUDI ARABIA

Project: The Avenues Riyadh
Value: USD 3,500,000,000
Client: Shumoul Holding Company
Website: www.mabanee.com

The project is a mega mall which houses more than 1,300 stores and consists diverse districts designed with different themes that bring several cities into one. It also includes five multi-purpose towers consisting of hotels, exhibition, conference halls, residential apartments, offices and medical facilities, making it one of the largest commercial complexes in the Middle East. 

The contractor has been selected and the client is in the final stages of preparing the contract and will announce the name during the signing. The shopping mall is slated for completion in 2023, followed shortly by the office tower and the Waldorf Astoria hotel tower and the remaining three towers. The Avenues - Khobar Project will be determined only after the design stage is completed.

Shomoul Holding Co. has secured bank funding of SAR 5.6 billion ($1.49 billion) for the The Avenues - Riyadh. The funding has been obtained from nine GCC banks, other options such as sukuk and bonds are also being explored. 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Project: Dalma Gas Processing Plant Project
Value: USD 450,000,000
Client: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
Website: www.adnoc.ae

The development of gas field located in the offshore shallow waters, southwest of Abu Dhabi City. The oilfield is located to the west of Abu Dhabi’s offshore territory between Dalma Island and the maritime border with Qatar. The planned capacity for the development is 350 million cubic feet per day.

The objective of the project is to deliver a more sustainable and economical gas supply by implementing a fully integrated gas master plan that increases productivity, performance, and delivery.

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is expected to award the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for its $450 million gas processing plant project for Dalma ultra-sour gas offshore field by the third quarter 2019. The technical bids have been submitted and the last date for commercial bid submission was 20 May 2019. The EPC contract is expected to be awarded in August 2019 with project completion and commissioning expected by the first quarter of 2022.

BAHRAIN

Project: Budaiya and Janabiya Highway Expansion
Value: USD 80,000,000
Client: Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning
Website: www.works.gov.bh

Both highways will get two extra lanes, becoming three-lane highways in each direction. There are also plans for new side roads to hard-to-reach neighbourhoods, while a separate project being studied by the government involves a new traffic artery that would connect Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway with Saar Avenue.

Work is now due to go ahead as soon as new sewerage networks are completed and ground cables are relocated. The project includes improving existing intersections near the Northern Town, adding new ones and providing new exits and entrances for villages if it is necessary and improves access. The project will also include rainwater channels on Janabiya Highway, as well as improved lighting, beautification and relevant safety requirements. 

BAHRAIN

Project: Sheikh Zayed Highway Development Project
Value: USD 62,000,000
Client: Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning
Website: www.works.gov.bh

The project will help reduce traffic congestion in A’ Ali and Salmabad areas. It is aimed at improving Bahrain’s road capacity and solving traffic congestion on Sheikh Zayed Highway as well as Salmabad’s Street No.12, which are used by some 4,000 vehicles during peak hours and over 50,000 vehicles throughout the day.

The Phase One will involve expansion of various streets to three lanes in each direction, as well as the installation of new traffic lights, lighting, roadblocks, traffic signs, street renovation, landscaping, and rainwater drainage. It is a key part of Bahrain’s efforts to improve its road network.

Funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development Fund (ADFD), the highway is a strategic project that connects A’ Ali, Salmabad and Zayed City to Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Street. On completion, the highway’s capacity will increase to 80,000 vehicles per day and 6,000 vehicles during peak hours, while waiting times at intersections will be reduced by over 60 per cent.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Project: Volvo Buses to Improve Mobility
Value: USD 129,000,000
Client: Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)
Website: www.rta.ae

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has placed an order for 373 buses with Volvo Bus to help improve mobility in the city. The deal for Volvo SB3 buses, which are compliant with Euro 6 standards, is valued at AED474 million ($129 million). 

The buses are fitted with interactive touchscreens to display instant information about the journey. In addition, buses are also equipped with Raqeeb driver behaviour monitoring system, which uses the latest technology to monitor drivers’ fatigue signs to help make bus journeys safer. Furthermore, the buses are equipped with Rasid automated passenger counting system to record the actual number of passengers and match it with the automated fare collection system. 

Each bus can accommodate 74 passengers. From the total 373, almost 99 buses have a unique interior setting and offer more room for standing passengers and help accommodate more riders for short-distance commuting. 

These buses fall under UN Class II Vehicle classification, which allows flexibility in operating buses on inter-city routes or long hauls. Buses are compliant with ITxPT system that enables interoperability between IT systems in public transport, thanks to the availability of bus information database saved in the UAE (UAE Cloud).