“It represents 50% of water supplied from other desal plants to Riyadh,” the minister said, adding that Ras Al-Khair would resolve the capital city’s water shortage.

The Ras Al-Khair plant will also pump 100,000 cubic meters of water to Sudair, Zulfi, Washm, Alghat and Majmaa.

Meanwhile, Ali Al-Barrak, CEO of Saudi Electricity Company, said the linkage of Saudi Arabia with a power grid would be completed by the year 2017.

The minister said thermal insulation would be made compulsory for all residential buildings to reduce power consumption by 40 percent.

An EPC contractor, Arabian Bemco, is a leader in the power sector with over 22,000 MW of power plant capacity projects. The PP10 Power Plant is owned by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC).

The construction of the simple cycle gas turbine plant has recently been completed and consists of 40 GE Frame 7EA Gas Turbines.

Once fully operational, the SEC power plant will be the largest combined cycle power plant in the world. Ultimately, it will provide 20 per cent of the power for Saudi capital Riyadh, which has over 5.2 million inhabitants, said a statement from NEM.

With this project win, NEM has secured a position in one of the most promising HRSG markets in the world, it added.

The existing PP10 facility, an open cycle power plant, is located on the outskirts of Riyadh and will be converted to a combined cycle facility.

The new power plant will consist of ten blocks, arranged in 4-on-1 configuration. The gas turbines are site-rated at 55.91 MW per unit and will operate mainly on Arabian crude oil.

The total capacity of the power plant will be increased from approximately 2,200 MW to approximately 3,500 MW.

These steam generators with integral deaerator are of the vertical gas flow natural circulation type, the Dutch firm said.

The awarding of the contract is the result of a close cooperation between the different NEM business units in Hengelo and Leiden in the Netherlands and Dubai, it added.

The total value of awarded contracts jumped by 155 per cent to SR270 billion during 2011, surpassing the previous record value of SR207 in 2009, National Commercial Bank (NCB) said in its latest construction index report.

Nearly 70 per cent of the contracts awarded in 2010 were in the second half of the year while the fourth quarter alone accounted for more than a third, with the value of contracts standing at nearly SR93 billion.

In the second half of 2011, the value of awarded contracts reached an impressive SR188.2 billion, which was higher than the total value of awarded contracts during all of 2010, said the report, sent to Emirates 24/7.

“The unprecedented SR270 billion in awarded contracts during 2011was propelled by the amount of mega-projects that were awarded during the second half of last year…. nearly 69 per cent of the value of contracts during the year were awarded during the second half,” it said.

“Moreover, the value of awarded contracts in 2011 grew by 155 per cent over 2010 and by 32 per cent over 2009. The government took an active role to increase the private sector’s participation in strengthening the economy.

It said a drive by the Kingdom, the world’s oil powerhouse, to increase its capital expenditures coupled with a growing participation from the private sector to help implement these projects, played a crucial role in making 2011 a record year in terms of construction contract awards.

It cited data by the Saudi Ministry of Finance showing nearly 2,600 government projects were signed with the private sector at a value of about SR148.3 billion.

“The Construction Contract Index (CCI) ended the year by achieving its highest level in December, which was 453.6 points. The CCI reached 406.5 and 419.8 points during October and November, respectively.”

A breakdown showed the transportation, power and industrial sectors were the main growth drivers in the 2011 projects, contributing approximately 48 per cent of the total value of awarded contracts.

While the Eastern Province has provided the largest share of the value of awarded contracts by region in 2011, the Makkah region made a significant contribution in the fourth quarter with approximately 37 per cent or SR33.6 billion worth of contracts being awarded, it said.

The jump in the Makkah region was mainly due to large contracts in the transportation and power sectors, it added.

The report showed the Eastern Province accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the total awarded contracts as many large projects were awarded in the petrochemical and industrial sectors.

“While we project total government expenditures to decrease slightly in 2012 compared to 2011, mainly due to lesser current expenditures, the government’s ongoing expansionary policy that reflects its commitment to support the economy and enhance the Kingdom’s infrastructure will not change,” NCB said.

“Moreover, our forecast capital expenditures of SR234 billion for 2012 represents a four per cent increase over 2011’s actual capital expenditures.”

The report said it believes the government’s plan to spend heavily for the development education and healthcare sectors will be the driving force in the growing value of awarded contracts in 2012.

“Consequently, the government’s 2012 budget includes plans to construct 742 new schools and the renovation of 2,000 schools along with the construction of numerous new hospitals and social/welfare centers. Furthermore, heavy capital spending sectors such as power, petrochemicals, oil & gas and real estate will continue to anchor the CCI throughout 2012.”

Actual Saudi government spending peaked at around SR804 billion in 2011, sharply higher than the budgeted expenditure of nearly SR580 billion. But actual revenue also nearly doubled to about SR1,110 billion, reversing a forecast SR40-billion deficit into a surplus of SR306 billion, the second highest positive balance after the 2008 record surplus of SR560 billion.

The two parties coordinated to hold another meeting in order to take a decision in this regard.

Engineer Mohammed Farhan said that the visit of the Japanese delegation is in the context of mutual cooperation between the Kingdom and Japan in the realm of commerce and industry. He confirmed that the establishment of a water desalination plant that pumps a daily one million cubic meters of water at a lesser cost than the huge projects in case of execution which requires several phases before signing the contract.

As per the deal, Centrotherm, a leading technology and equipment provider for the photovoltaic industry, will offer the technical know-how and basic engineering design for the upcoming polysilicon and solar wafers manufacturing complex.

The project will be the largest manufacturing facility in the Middle East for the production of highly-pure polysilicon with a total capacity of up to 10,000 tons per year, of which 2500 tons will be converted to solar wafers.

IPC plans to issue tenders for the engineering services and supervision of the project, said Marwan Al Ghurair, chairman of the board of Idea Polysilicon after signing the deal with Dirk Stenkamp, COO of Centrotherm Photovoltaic.

“During the past four years the company has worked with the relevant authorities to provide all the factors that will enable the project to succeed including the allocation of land for the plant, gas, provision of electricity and all other facilities necessary to operate the plant,’ Al Ghurair noted.

‘In addition, we have conducted studies on quality standards and market requirements, as well as the choice of technology in collaboration with engineering companies worldwide,’ he added.

Dr Basel Abu-Sharkh and Dr Abdul-Basit Andijani, consultants to IPC, said the plant capacity was optimized and the most advanced technologies have been selected in order to save on energy and raw materials and lower the capital cost, making the plant a global cost leader that will be very competitive.

A memorandum of understanding was also signed to supply all the raw materials required for this industrial project.

The industrial complex will contribute to Saudi’s strategic aim of diversifying its non-oil economy and developing the renewable energy sector to provide alternative sources of energy, in addition to creating 1,000 local job opportunities in its various facilities, observed Al Ghuraiar.

The company also has future plans to expand into the production of solar cells and panels as well as establishing solar powerplants, he added.

The projects include the project of transfer and treatment of sewage water from the eastern region “Al-Khobar” of which execution started last year and will finish in 1436 H. it includes the establishment of mechanical units for the treatment of sewage water in A-Khobar through Dhahran and Damam, then Bagaig in which a pumping plant will be established. The line will reach Al-Ahsa’a  at 156 km. After completion this project will provide two hundred thousand cubic meters of agriculture irrigation water to be used by farmers on Al-ahsa’a.

Also an intensive study is being carried out to establish a plant for irrigation water pumping to sector “5” of Al-Ahsa’a agricultural oasis so that it is used by farmers in the eastern sector of the oasis. It is still under study and necessary plans are being prepared so that it will soon be announced for bidding. Also, an amount of 40 million Saudi Riyals is assigned for executing the project of covering all drainage trenches in line with the construction progress in Al-Ahsa’a.

Manager Public Relations at Irrigation and Drainage commission in Al-Ahsa’a Mr. Farhan bin Fahad Al-Ogail explained that the project of developing and improving 3 of Al-Ahsa’a springs which are Al-Hara, Um Saba’a and Al-Jowharea which are well known historically. He explained that the development included many services and support facilities and also every spring has a tight fence with a gate and a number of shades and a number of cement seats , tables and pavements surrounded by lantern shaped light poles and toilets and buffet which are according to the specifications and measurements. Thus, the springs are made tourist locations which assist and encourage tourism in Al-Ahsa’a governorate. The value of the project amounts to SR 2.5 million.

The Jeddah projects represented the first batch of other government projects to be executed in Makkah province during the year 2012-2013.

The department will review the budgets of these projects, the execution timing, the expected risks and all their pros and cons prior to forwarding them to the province’s council.

The team assigned to follow up the implementation of the projects asked the municipality to give top priority to the supervision and monitoring of these projects, thorough application of specifications and standards when subletting them and the execution schedules.

It asked the municipality to avoid creating congestions and bottlenecks so as to ease traffic for citizens and residents.

The municipality presented a number of vital municipal schemes consisting of flyovers, tunnels, roads, parks and others.

The municipality announced that it had contracted a number of repute international companies with immense experience to carry out these projects according to the latest and most modern international standards. It said it had ensured enough human resources to safeguard that nothing would delay the implementation of these projects.

The municipality said it would resort to the technology of road asphalting and constructing sewage systems that had been successfully used by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu during the last 30 years.

The meeting is organized by the Council of Saudi Chambers in collaboration with Japan Cooperation Center for Middle East (JCCME) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

The Saudi delegation to the meeting was led by Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry.

Meanwhile, Minister of Economy and Planning Dr. Mohammed bin Suleiman Al-Jasser chairs the 11th meeting of Saudi-Japanese Joint Committee which is set to discuss the available cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

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The Qatar minister said this while delivering the keynote address at the opening of the Power-Gen Middle East Conference at the Qatar National Convention Centre. The exhibition and conference is being held in Qatar for the second time.

Calling upon entrepreneurs to avail of the investment opportunities in strengthening the region’s utilities sector, Dr al-Sada said since the region doesn’t have any natural source of fresh water supply, the member states have to bear huge costs in the desalination of water. “So there is immense scope for investing in cost effective but high quality technologies which would reduce generation costs along with ensuring uninterrupted supply of fresh water for the region’s residents.”

Even while exploring the scope of solar energy and nuclear power in Qatar, more initiatives would continue to be made in the desalination segment in the coming years, said the minister. Al-Sada also disclosed that the country would seriously explore the effective treatment of waste water as part of its efforts to ensure adequate drinking water to its people in the coming years.

Acknowledging that the region faced mounting challenges in the water and power sectors, the minister however said each member state is committed to ensure fair and uninterrupted supply of water and electricity to its populace through the adoption of the latest technologies.

“The consumption of electricity at the global level has doubled since 1980 and at the prevailing rate there is every reason to believe the consumption would double from the present levels by 2030. The growth in consumption levels could be even higher in countries such as Qatar,” added Dr al-Sada.

The minister said investments worth at least $ 14tn needs to made in water and power sectors to support a global economy worth $ 130tn by 2030. “Along with this, nations need to cope with issues such as the types of power plants to meet their requirements, fuel of choice and physical safety of mankind.”

While lauding the reforms made in the power and water sectors in the country in the last two decades, which saw the setting up of a number of new plants and capacity strengthening of the earlier plants, the minister said such initiatives came though the vision and farsightedness of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, which has left Qatar with the largest power reserve margin in the whole of the region. It could thus effectively supply power to its GCC neighbours in the event of an emergency.

However, Qatar would not rest on its achievements and would continue to make more investments in the coming years to meet its own increasing industrial and other requirements through more power generation and water desalination, said al-Sada.

“All this shows there are unlimited opportunities for investors in the water and power sectors,” he added.

Later, the minister, accompanied by officials made an inspection tour of the exhibition being held along with the conference. Representatives from more than 160 companies from 23 countries are taking part in the event and many leading firms have set up their pavilion at the exhibition.

With the oil sector remaining the main source of revenue for the kingdom, the price of oil is forecast to remain at above $100 per barrel, an Emirates NBD study was quoted as saying by an Arab News report.

‘Overall our view of the Saudi market is positive,’ said Gary Dugan, chief investment officer at Emirates NBD private banking. ‘Population demographics should have a positive effect on the economy, benefiting the telecoms sector in particular, whilst the Saudi banking sector benefits from the fact that the balance sheets of its banks are mostly domestically-driven.’

On the equities front, the bank foresees the outlook for Saudi petrochemicals, banking and telecoms sectors to have the greatest impact on market performance, given their dominance in the Tadawul Index, the report said.