Top 10 tallest towers in the region
2 October 2023
> This package also includes: Saudi’s Jeddah Tower reaches for new heights
1. Burj Khalifa, UAE
The construction of the world’s tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa, began in 2006 and reached its pinnacle in 2009.
The 829.8-metre-tall tower was developed by Dubai’s Emaar Properties and designed by US-based Skidmore Owings & Merrill and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.
Construction was led by a consortium of South Korea’s Samsung C&T, the local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct and the local Arabtec Construction. The $875m main construction contract was awarded in December 2004.
The 163-storey tower took 22 million man-hours to build. Overall, the project cost about $1.5bn to complete.
2. Mecca Royal Clock Tower, Saudi Arabia
The 601-metre-tall Mecca Royal Clock Tower is the landmark feature of the Abraj al-Bayt complex.
The development comprises seven towers overlooking the holy site of Kaaba, with a total built-up area of more than 1.4 million square metres and 15,000 apartments.
Saudi Binladin Group was the main contractor for the project.
The $800m contract for the clock tower was awarded in 2003 and the complex completed in 2012.
3. Marina 101, UAE
Marina 101 is the second-tallest building in Dubai.
Construction began in 2007 when Turkish contractor TAV was awarded the estimated AED800m ($218m) main contract.
The project involved building a 101-floor tower with a height of 425 metres and a total built-up area of 144,000 sq m.
The project has witnessed several setbacks over the years and remains unoccupied. The construction works were partially completed in 2017.
4. Princess Tower, UAE
Princess Tower is the second-tallest residential building in the world.
The 107-storey tower stands 413 metres tall and is located in Dubai Marina.
The project was announced in 2005 and the foundation works were completed in 2007.
The main contractor for the project was the Lebanese Arabian Construction Company.
The Princess Tower was the world’s tallest residential building from 2012 to 2015, when it was overtaken by 432 Park Avenue in New York City.
5. Al-Hamra Tower, Kuwait
The 80-floor Al-Hamra Tower is the tallest building in Kuwait and the 36th tallest in the world, at 412 metres. It was built by the local Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading Company. Construction works started in 2005 and were completed in 2011. The project was designed by US-based architectural firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Callison and the local Al-Jazirah Engineers & Consultants.
6. 23 Marina, UAE
The 392-metre-tall 23 Marina is the fourth-tallest building in the UAE and the 40th tallest in the world. Dubai Civil Engineering constructed the 88-floor tower. The construction works started in 2005 and the project was completed in 2012. US-based KEO International and Indian Architect Hafeez Contractor designed the tower.
Jeddah Tower restart is watershed moment
7. PIF Tower, Saudi Arabia
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) Tower is located within Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District. US-based HOK Architects, Canadian WSP, Hyder Consulting and the local Omrania Associates designed the 385-metre-tall, 80-storey tower. The construction works began in 2009 and were finally completed in 2022. Saudi Binladin Group was the main project contractor.
8. Iconic Tower, Egypt
The 385-metre-tall Iconic Tower is the centrepiece among the 20 buildings of the Central Business District in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. The construction of this 80-storey tower started in 2019 when China State Construction Engineering Corporation was appointed as the main contractor. The construction works on Africa’s tallest skyscraper were completed in 2022. Lebanese engineering company Dar al-Handasah was the project consultant.
9. Burj Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE
Completed in 2014, Abu Dhabi’s tallest building measures 381 metres and consists of 88 floors. The tower, part of the Abu Dhabi World Trade Centre, was announced in 2004. The construction works started in 2007 under the government’s redevelopment plan. The consultants involved in the development included Arup, Mott MacDonald, Foster & Partners, AtkinsRealis and Callison. Lebanese contractor Arabian Construction Company undertook the construction works.
10. Elite Residence, UAE
Dubai Marina’s Elite Residence, a 91-storey residential building, is the sixth-tallest building in the UAE. The 380-metre-tall tower was announced in 2006 and designed by Lebanese Khatib & Alami. The construction works began in 2007 when Arabian Construction Company was awarded the main construction contract. The tower has been operational since 2012.
SOON TO JOIN GCC countries’ quest to build tall towers is not over yet. Several upcoming developments are likely to overthrow some of the tall towers on our list. These schemes include:
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Tallest towers in the world
Jeddah Tower image (top): Jeddah Economic Company
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EBRD and IFC acquire stakes in Bank of Palestine
27 August 2024
London-headquartered European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) are making equity investments in Bank of Palestine, which accounts for over 30% of the Palestinian banking sector.
Under the new investment agreement, Bank of Palestine will issue additional shares, with the EBRD acquiring a stake of up to 3.92% and the IFC taking a stake of up to 5% through primary issuance.
The respective investments aim to support the Palestinian economy in challenging times, EBRD said in a statement on 27 August.
Photo credit: EBRDIt added: “The EBRD’s investment will help Bank of Palestine to proceed with its plan to expand in the region and support the bank’s financial inclusion work in the Palestinian economy.
“Bank of Palestine is the leading banking group in the West Bank and Gaza and is deeply committed to financial inclusion, with a strong focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the empowerment of women and young people.”
The Palestinian economy has faced numerous challenges since the latest war in Gaza started in October 2023.
While the economic outlook for 2024 remains uncertain, a further contraction is expected.
According to EBRD, the country’s GDP is set to shrink by anywhere between 6.5% and 9.6% owing to employment losses and rising security tensions, which are continuing to affect mobility and business activity.
Francis Malige, the EBRD’s managing director for financial institutions, said: “We are fully committed to supporting the Palestinian economy. Our aim with this investment is to help Bank of Palestine maintain its position as the leading local institution, leaving it well placed to capture any future growth stemming from reconstruction efforts.”
The two banks’ equity investment investments help “boost our capital … enabling us to support the economic recovery that will be required after the devastating war and economic crisis that our economy is enduring,” said Hashim Shawa, chairman of the Bank of Palestine Group.
“This investment is important for our future growth, sending a message of hope and partnership, confidence in the future role that the bank intends to play in the local economy and faith in the bank’s planned regional expansion.”
Since the start of its activities in the West Bank and Gaza in 2017, which are conducted through a trust fund, the EBRD has approved 27 transactions worth a total of €142m.
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Ras Al-Khaimah plans sewage treatment plant PPP
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Ras Al-Khaimah's Public Services Department (PSD) and Investment and Development Office (IDO) have invited prequalified companies to bid for a contract to develop and operate a sewage treatment plant (STP) in the UAE's northern emirate.
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The beginning of the end
27 August 2024
Commentary
Edmund O'Sullivan
Former editor of MEEDOn 10 November 1942, UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared, following a British victory in Egypt, that: “[T]his is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
This epigram can be applied to events in the Middle East this autumn.
There have always been only four possible solutions to the Palestine tragedy. The first – a continuation of the occupation that has prevailed since 1967 – has always flown in the face of international law and Palestinian and Arab wishes. But what has killed it is Israel’s response to last year’s assault from Gaza. The majority in Israel is now rejecting occupation in the form that existed before and wants something different.
The second option – a two-state solution – enjoys almost universal international support, but this too is moribund. It was always fanciful that an agreement could be reached that dealt with the borders and powers of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem, demands for the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and the growing number of Israelis living in the West Bank who have vowed never to leave.
The most credible attempt to deliver a Palestinian state, launched in Madrid in October 1991, was wrecked more than 30 years ago by former US president Bill Clinton. It was buried with the election of Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time, in 1996.
Nothing in human affairs is inevitable. But hard choices are unavoidable
In July this year, Israel’s parliament voted against the establishment of a Palestinian state, but that is unsurprising. Only a minority of Israelis have ever been prepared to accept it in a form that satisfies even the lowest Palestinian aspirations.
The reality is that there are only two options, though it will take at least a generation for that to be finally acknowledged.
A single state where citizens have equal rights looks hopelessly impractical in light of entrenched views on all sides. Its advocates are deemed to be naive, stupid or malign – and probably all three.
But nothing can be more unacceptable than option four: ethnic cleansing and the brutality it must entail.
It will soon be the first anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attacks. A year is a short time in the Middle East. And yet there has been change in a process that too many still believe – despite all evidence – will not end in catastrophe.
Nothing in human affairs is inevitable. But hard choices are unavoidable.
If we have learned anything since last autumn, it is that however bad the options are, they will be inescapable in due course.
Recognising this truth is not the end, nor even the beginning of the end. But it is not a bad start.
Connect with Edmund O’Sullivan on X
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Mitsubishi Power to supply Najim gas turbine
27 August 2024
Japan's Mitsubishi Power has received an order from South Korea's Samsung C&T Corporation to provide its M501JAC hydrogen-ready combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) for the Najim industrial steam and electricity cogeneration plant in Jubail in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
Assembled in Dammam, the M501JAC gas turbine will enable the new cogeneration plant to generate up to 475MW of power and approximately 452 tonnes an hour of steam.
According to Mitsubishi Power, its J-class gas turbines have an efficiency rate of more than 64%. This will provide the new plant with "flexibility, faster startup times, and load-following capabilities to help balance electricity supply and demand, ensuring a stable low-carbon power supply and supporting Saudi Arabia's industrial growth and decarbonisation targets".
Samsung C&T is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project, which is being developed by a team comprising Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Japanese power generation company Jera.
Taqa owns a 51% stake in Najim Cogeneration Company, the special-purpose vehicle for the project, while Jera owns the remaining 49%.
The project was previously called the Amiral cogeneration independent steam and power plant.
The team announced reaching financial close on the project on 22 August.
Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (Satorp) entered into a power and steam purchase agreement with the developer team in March this year.
The 25-year build, own, operate contract is extendable by five years on mutual agreement.
Regional project tracker MEED Projects estimates that the scheme will require an investment of at least $400m.
Taqa and Jera will also undertake the plant's operation and maintenance (O&M) through an O&M special purpose entity.
The Naim cogeneration plant is expected to be operational by 2027. It will cater to the Amiral petrochemicals complex in Jubail.
Steam cracker complex
Integrated with the existing Satorp refinery in Jubail, the new complex aims to house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the Gulf, capable of producing up to 1,650 kilotonnes a year of ethylene and other industrial gases.
This expansion is expected to attract more than $4bn in additional investment in various industrial sectors, including carbon fibres, lubricants, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts and tires. It is also expected to create about 7,000 local direct and indirect jobs.
Saudi Aramco owns a 62.5% stake in Satorp, while France's TotalEnergies holds 37.5%.
Photo credit: MHI
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