Swiss engineering firm wins Saudi railway design work
12 November 2024
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Switzerland-headquartered Pini Group has won the preliminary design contract for the dualisation of 230 kilometres of track on Saudi Arabia’s North Railway.
The deal also covers the preliminary design and site selection of a new depot and the preparation of tender documents for the estimated SR4bn ($1.08bn) design-and-build contract, which is scheduled to be issued to selected contractors in late 2025.
Two sections featuring five loops will have the additional track. They are:
Section 1: From the Al-Zabirah 1/Nariyah Marshalling Yard to Ras Al-Khair
Section 2: From Zabirah Junction to the Hail Intermodal Yard
The Ministry of Transport & Logistic Services tendered Pini’s contract in October 2023 to provide additional phosphate ore freight capacity for Saudi Arabia Mining Company’s (Maaden) fertiliser expansion plans.
Management of the project’s construction and post-completion operations will sit with Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR).
The 2,750km-long North Railway, previously known as the North-South Railway, comprises a 1,550km freight line running from the Al-Jalamid phosphate mine and Waad Al-Shamal fertiliser production complex in the far northwest of the kingdom to Maaden’s diammonium phosphate fertiliser production and export facilities at Ras Al-Khair on the Gulf coast.
It also consists of a 1,250km-long passenger line linking Riyadh with Al-Haditha near the Jordanian border.
The deal marks the first major project win in Saudi Arabia for the 74-year-old engineering firm, which established its offices in the GCC in May 2023. It is delivering detailed design services for the Mid-Island Parkway Tunnel connecting Saadiyat Island to Umm Yifenah Island, and the Hafeet Rail project connecting UAE and Oman.
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UAE bank signs $27m financing with Yellow Door Energy
14 November 2024
Emirates Development Bank (EDB) has announced a AED100m ($27m) financing agreement with Dubai-based renewable energy firm Yellow Door Energy (YDE) to support the development and operation of more than 60 solar photovoltaic (PV) plants across the UAE.
EDB’s financing will expand YDE’s portfolio of solar PV systems, enhancing its capacity to lease solar power plants through solar leases, also known as power-purchase agreements (PPAs) tailored for industrial and commercial enterprises, the firms said in a 12 November statement.
YDE will offer leasing opportunities to major industrial players in the UAE, which will benefit from long-term access to clean electricity, significant energy cost savings and promotion of sustainable energy usage across the UAE, the firms added.
The collaboration between EDB and YDE aligns with the UAE's Net Zero ambitions and the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, which prioritises the diversification of energy sources.
EDB plans to provide AED30bn in financing to support five priority sectors, including renewables.
Since the launch of its strategy in 2021, EDB has provided a cumulative total of AED12.97bn in financing, including more than AED1.78bn to empower the renewable energy sector.
In 2022, the Dubai-based distributed solar company closed a $400m equity transaction to help fund over $1bn-worth of projects in the Middle East and Africa.
The funding was substantially provided by the firm’s controlling shareholder, London-headquartered Actis.
YDE focuses on building, financing and operating distributed solar plants across the region. The PPAs for these projects typically range between 10 and 20 years.
In addition to the UAE, YDE maintains assets in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkiye.
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Hyundai E&C signs $725m Saudi high voltage deal
13 November 2024
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South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) has won a KRW1tn ($725m) contract to build a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) network project in Saudi Arabia.
The contract forms part of a 1,089-kilometre (km), 500-kilovolt (kV) HVDC transmission line connecting Riyadh Power Plant 14 (PP14) to the Kudmi substation in southwest Saudi Arabia.
Related read: Interconnection vital to GCC energy future
The company signed the contract to build the transmission line's first package, which extends over 369km, with National Grid, the power transmission unit of state utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC).
The lump sum turnkey project is expected to be completed by January 2027.
Hyundai E&C said the project will utilise a double bipole HVDC system with a power transmission capacity of 4,000MW.
Regarded as a next-generation electricity transmission technology, an HVDC transmission system is ideal for renewable energy such as solar or wind power. It uses direct current for electricity transmission, with voltages between 100kV and 800kV.
An HVDC system is often referred to as a 'power superhighway', transporting significantly more power over greater distances than the common high-voltage alternating current line, and incurs lower power losses.
The South Korean contractor said it has completed 35 transmission line projects in Saudi Arabia in the past 50 years.
Related read: Hitachi Energy rides HVDC boom
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Chinese-led consortium wins $262m Algeria rail deal
13 November 2024
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Algeria’s Anesrif has awarded a $262m construction contract to a consortium led by the China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
The CRBC-led consortium includes China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and Algeria’s EPE SNTP.
The contract covers construction work for the Bouchegouf-Souk Ahras-Drea railway section, with a total length of 121 kilometres (km). It is scheduled to be completed in 32 months.
This contract is the latest example of Chinese companies undertaking major projects in Algeria.
MEED reported in January this year that Algeria had selected a team of Beijing-headquartered China Railway Construction Corporation and local contractor Cosider Travaux Publics for a contract to build a 575km railway line.
The line will connect the Gara Djebilet iron ore mine in Western Algeria’s Tindouf Province with the national rail network at Bechar.
The project will facilitate transporting materials from the Gara Djebilet iron ore mine to industrial centres and ports along Algeria’s national rail network.
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Contractors prepare prices for major Lower Zakum oil project
13 November 2024
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Contractors are preparing commercial bids for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on a major Adnoc Offshore project to boost oil production at the Lower Zakum offshore hydrocarbons concession in Abu Dhabi.
The Lower Zakum hydrocarbons zone is located 65 kilometres northwest of Abu Dhabi in the Gulf’s waters. The offshore arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Offshore) holds the majority 60% stake in the Lower Zakum asset. Foreign partners include an Indian consortium of companies led by ONGC Videsh (10%), Japan’s Inpex Corporation (10%), China National Petroleum Corporation (10%), Italy’s Eni (5%) and France’s TotalEnergies (5%).
Adnoc Offshore’s larger, longer-term objective is to raise the asset’s output capacity to 520,000 barrels a day (b/d) by 2027 and maintain that level until 2034. This strategic goal will be accomplished through the Lower Zakum Long-Term Development Plan (LTDP-1) project.
Contractors have been set a deadline of 15 November for the submission of commercial bids for the multibillion-dollar Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project, according to sources. Bidders were earlier required to submit prices in September.
MEED previously reported that contractors submitted technical bids for the project by 14 August.
Adnoc Offshore issued the main EPC tender for the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project in March, MEED reported.
Adnoc Offshore intends to award EPC contracts for the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project by the end of the year, sources told MEED.
Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project
Adnoc Offshore has divided the scope of work on the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project into three EPC packages:
Topside facilities on G Island – Civil works on process facilities and associated buildings on the artificial greenfield G Island.
Process facilities include well pads, inlet and export reception, production separation, export pumps, gas compression, dehydration and lift, produced water treatment and disposal, vapour recovery units, water injection units, riser tower, flare towers, accommodation, drilling of high-pressure flare knock out drum, power distribution facility, substations and local equipment rooms.
Offshore WHTs and pipelines – Seven WHTs will be installed: six in the east area, and one in the AGI area. Five of the WHTs are to be 16-slot, while the other two are to be nine-slot.
Das Island Terminal, ZCSC and ZWSC – The five existing oil processing trains at the Lower Zakum offshore development are to be decommissioned in 2028, with the new configuration of the main processing plant at Das Island to be:
- Two existing trains with a processing/stabilisation capacity of 110,000 b/d each
- Three new trains with a processing/stabilisation capacity of 150,000 b/d
The scope of work also covers the installation of other structures such as:
- Three high-pressure separator trains
- High-pressure scrubber
- Three low-pressure separator trains
- Low-pressure scrubber
- Three atmospheric separator trains
- Four crude charge pumps
- Three crude charge heaters
- Three cold strippers integrated with a degassing vessel
- Six stripped crude product pumps
- Common ejector with a spare for three cold strippers
- Closed drain drum with transfer pump
- Blow case vessel
Adnoc Offshore expects the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project to be commissioned by the end of 2027.
Technip Energies has performed the front-end engineering and design (feed) work on the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project. Adnoc Offshore awarded the French firm the contract in November 2022, and set a feed completion deadline of January 2024.
Adnoc Offshore began the main contract prequalification process for the EPC works on the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project in March 2023. Contractors were initially asked to submit expression of interest documents by 10 April that year, with the deadline extended to 27 April.
Adnoc Offshore started an early engagement process for the main EPC tendering process on the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project in the fourth quarter of last year.
ALSO READ: Adnoc awards Lower Zakum offshore project
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Hatta hydropower plant heads for trial operation
13 November 2024
Construction work on Dubai’s Hatta pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant is 94.15% complete, and generator installations are under way in preparation for a trial operation in the first quarter of 2025.
According to the state utility, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa), the plant’s upper dam, which includes a 72-metre-high main wall and a 37-metre-high side dam, has also been filled.
The plant will have a production capacity of 250MW, a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours and a lifespan of up to 80 years.
The state utility awarded the contract to build the plant to a consortium of Austrian firms Strabag and Andritz and Turkey’s Ozkar in August 2019.
Dewa said on 12 November that the AED1.421bn ($387m) project is expected to be fully completed by the end of the second quarter of 2025.
The hydroelectric power plant is designed as an energy storage facility with a turnaround efficiency of 78.9%.
It uses the potential energy of water stored in the upper dam, converting it into kinetic energy as the water flows through a 1.2-kilometre subterranean tunnel.
This kinetic energy rotates the turbines, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, which can be delivered to Dewa’s grid within 90 seconds to meet demand.
To store energy, clean power generated at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park will be used to pump water back to the upper dam, converting electrical power into kinetic energy during the process.
Dewa said the project is part of a comprehensive vision to develop Hatta and enhance its sustainable development, including the creation of job opportunities for Emiratis.
It added that the project “also supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050”.
Through the project, Dewa aims to diversify energy production from renewable and clean sources in Dubai. These include different available technologies, such as solar photovoltaic panels and concentrated solar power, as well as the use of renewable energy to produce green hydrogen.
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