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France and EU sign Egypt metro funding deal

Both countries agree €940m deal to finance third phase of Cairo metro extension

The EU and the French Development Agency (AFD) has signed a €940m ($1.2bn) deal with the Egyptian government to fund the third phase of the Greater Cairo metro extension.

The financing will support the extension of metro Line 3, also known as Revolution line. The first phase of the line, which connects Attaba to Abbassia was opened in February and the second phase is due to be completed in early 2014. The 18-kilometre third phase will connect downtown Egypt to Zamalek and Giza. Once completed, Line 3 will be able to carry up to 1.8 million passengers every day.

Total costs for the project are estimated to be around €2bn, including rolling stock that is expected to be financed through external funding managed separately by the Egyptian government. The French government has stepped in to finance the feasibility studies.

The signing represents nearly half of the French commitments allocated for Egypt during the G8 Deauville summit held last May 2011, the EU said in a statement.

The project’s €940m financing package comprises a €40m grant from the EU through the Neighbourhood Investment facility (NIF), a €300m soft loan from the French Development Agency (AFD), and a €600m soft loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

It carries a 25-year tenor and an interest rate of less than 2 per cent.

International bids for the works should be launched by the beginning of 2013 and the project will take eight years to complete.

Phase one of the metro Line 3 expansion was built by a consortium led by Vinci Construction Grands Projects, comprising Bouygues Travaux Publics, Orascom and Arab Contractors.

Vinci is also working on the construction of phase 2 of metro Line 3, which is expected to be completed in early 2014.

Japan/French team sign Dubai port expansion deal

Contract covers construction of Terminal 3 at Jebel Ali port

A joint venture of Japan’s TOA and France’s Soletanche Bachy has formally signed an agreement with Dubai-based port operator DP World to build Terminal 3 at Jebel Ali port.

MEED reported in May DP World’s decision to award the estimated AED700m ($190m) contract to the joint venture.

Under the terms of the contract, the TOA-SoletancheBachy JV will design, construct, commission and equip the terminal infrastructure, including the deepening of the channel depth to accommodate super post-Panamax next generation container ships with a capacity of 18,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).  

The new terminal is set to have a quay length of 1,860 metres, a draft of 17m and a 0.7-square kilometre storage yard. It is expected to expand capacity at Jebel Ali by 4 million TEUs and will open in 2014, according to DP World.

The current capacity at Jebel Ali port, which is the busiest in the region, is 15 million TEUs a year. Terminal 1 can handle 10 million TEUs and Terminal 2 can handle 5 million.

Other companies that were prequalified for the contract included Geneva-registered Archirodon Construction, the local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct, China Harbour, the local/UK Dutco Balfour Beatty, South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Brazil’s Odebrecht, and Turkey’s STFA.

In February, DP World awarded Archirodon Construction the estimated AED150m contract to build the expansion of Terminal 2 at Jebel Ali Port. Those works involve the construction of 400m of new quay wall that will increase the capacity of Terminal 2 by about 1 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The opening of Terminal 2 in 2008 was the last major expansion at the port. It has a capacity of 5 million TEUs and is equipped with 29 super post-Panamax gantry cranes and 60 rail-mounted gantries. Hyundai completed the construction work and Belgium’s Jan de Nul completed the dredging works for the terminal.

Petrofac wins Kuwait power distribution contract

Road contract work will involve upgrading links throughout the kingdom

Saudi Arabia’s Transport Ministry has awarded 41 contracts worth an estimated total of SR3bn ($790m) for various road projects throughout the kingdom.

The contracts cover $56.8m-worth of road deals in the Mecca province, which includes building the first phase of the second ring road in Jeddah. The approved deals also include $71.5m of contracts in the Medina province, which includes the construction of the Medina al-Ula Expressway.

The projects are part of the kingdom’s efforts to expand road links.

In May, the local Saudi Binladin Group was awarded two contracts worth SR1.9bn in total to build roads and related infrastructure in Mecca.

The work will involve the construction of 19.5 kilometres of roads, bridges and tunnels in Mecca and the surrounding area. The first contract involves work on the second ring road and the second contract involves construction works on the third phase of the third ring road. The infrastructure work is part of the King Abdullah construction scheme for Mecca and will take three years to complete.

The $200m deal covers power network for electrical submersible pumping systems

State upstream operator, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded a $200m lump-sum engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) to the UK’s Petrofac, for a new power distribution network in the north of the Kuwait.

Petrofac beat rival proposals from three other firms, Hyundai Engineering & Construction of South Korea, Saipem of Italy and Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC). The deal was approved Kuwait’s Central Tenders Committee (CTC) in August.

Petrofac will now build three new substation buildings and lay approximately 900-kilometres of buried cable to connect the substations to the electrical submersible distribution system (ESPS) network.

ESPS systems are used to aid the flow of crude oil from the reservoir to the wellhead when the natural pressure is insufficient to force the trapped oil to the surface. The project is expected to be completed in 2015.

With completion expected in 2015, the new facilities will provide a more robust power supply to support the development of the onshore oil fields in North Kuwait.