Company Insights Besix Construction Besix Overview Besix is a multi-national contractor, operating in more than 25 countries across the world. It is 50 percent owned by the Egyptian construction major Orascom and 50 percent owned by Belgian nationals. Besix was founded in 1909 by the Stulemeijer family under the name Société Belge des Bétons (SBB). Originally helping to reconstruct Belgian public infrastructure after the First World War, it first expanded into other European countries, and then across the world including the Middle East. In 2004 a number of SBB managers, backed by Orascom, carried out a leveraged management buyout. Following this, the group was delisted from the stock market and renamed Besix Group. Notable construction projects include the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the European Parliament buildings in Brussels and the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. It was further chosen to build the planned Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi. Besides construction Besix offers services in real estate development (mainly in Western Europe) and concessions and assets in Europe and the Middle East. Besix News Infrastructure Egypt awards $885m contract to upgrade Cairo metro A consortium led by Orascom Construction, listed on Dubai, Egypt and Nasdaq stock exchanges, will commence the modernisation of the Cairo metro line 1 next month. The €800 million ($885 million) project will be completed in 64 months without disturbing commercial operations. The consortium has signed a contract with Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels to […] September 3, 2024 Business of Sport Construction starts on Aramco football stadium in Al Khobar Construction has started on the Aramco football stadium in Al Khobar, one of the venues for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. Belgian construction group BESIX made the announcement on its website over the weekend, saying the goal of delivering the 47,000-seat stadium by 2026 would be “challenging”. BESIX is working with Riyadh-based contractor […] September 2, 2024 Construction Orascom Construction’s US revenue softens Mena decline Egypt’s Orascom Construction has reported a decline in its second-quarter revenues after a 25 percent drop in Mena revenue was softened by growth in its US business. Volatility in the value of the Egyptian currency also drove a decline in net profit for the Cairo-based company, from $92.8 million in the same period last year […] August 28, 2024 Agriculture UAE fish farm angles for $200m to produce Atlantic salmon A fish farming company in the UAE aims to raise $200 million to produce Atlantic salmon locally. Ocean Harvest needs the investment to build a 100,000 square metre facility in Ras Al Khaimah. Jawad Jamil, co-founder and CEO of Ocean Harvest, said they were appealing to sovereign wealth funds across the Mena region, impact and […] September 7, 2023 Energy UAE waste-to-energy plant starts transmitting electricity The first electricity transmission to the UAE’s national power grid has been delivered from Dubai’s $1 billion waste-to-energy facility as the emirate seeks to reduce its landfill dependence. Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) and its joint venture partner Besix made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that the Dubai Waste Management Centre will power 135,000 homes in […] July 19, 2023 Construction Construction titan to cement its place in the GCC Construction company Besix Group has revealed plans to further expand across the GCC as the region embraces public-private partnerships for key projects. The Belgian-French group, which is based in Brussels, is one of the world’s leading international contractors and announced on Wednesday a 20-year high in turnover of over $3.7 billion in 2022. Bexis said […] April 27, 2023 Banking & Finance Saudi public-private partnerships worth billions Public-private partnerships in Saudi Arabia are driving the kingdom’s economic growth and diversification plans. A pipeline of 200 projects spanning 17 sectors, involving more than $50 billion in investment, have been approved by Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Privatization and PPP (NCP). Projects include four airports, seven desalination plants, six wastewater treatment plants, 10 strategic […] April 14, 2023 Analysis Energy Sharjah wins waste-to-energy race as rest of region cleans up its act Dubai had the Gulf’s first “seven-star” hotel and Abu Dhabi hosted the inaugural “day-night” Formula One Grand Prix. The emirate of Sharjah can claim a UAE first too – one that is less glitzy but potentially more transformative – the first waste-to-energy power plant. The Sharjah waste-to-energy facility, officially inaugurated in May, adds another dimension […] August 23, 2022 Analysis Economy GCC embraces public-private partnerships to drive projects Public-private partnerships will become more important across a wider range of sectors in the Gulf region as countries continue to diversify their economies, say experts. With the total value of planned and unawarded projects in the GCC countries expected to reach $2 trillion, governments are seeking more private sector support in infrastructure projects delivery. “Both […] July 28, 2022 Posts navigation
Infrastructure Egypt awards $885m contract to upgrade Cairo metro A consortium led by Orascom Construction, listed on Dubai, Egypt and Nasdaq stock exchanges, will commence the modernisation of the Cairo metro line 1 next month. The €800 million ($885 million) project will be completed in 64 months without disturbing commercial operations. The consortium has signed a contract with Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels to […] September 3, 2024
Business of Sport Construction starts on Aramco football stadium in Al Khobar Construction has started on the Aramco football stadium in Al Khobar, one of the venues for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. Belgian construction group BESIX made the announcement on its website over the weekend, saying the goal of delivering the 47,000-seat stadium by 2026 would be “challenging”. BESIX is working with Riyadh-based contractor […] September 2, 2024
Construction Orascom Construction’s US revenue softens Mena decline Egypt’s Orascom Construction has reported a decline in its second-quarter revenues after a 25 percent drop in Mena revenue was softened by growth in its US business. Volatility in the value of the Egyptian currency also drove a decline in net profit for the Cairo-based company, from $92.8 million in the same period last year […] August 28, 2024
Agriculture UAE fish farm angles for $200m to produce Atlantic salmon A fish farming company in the UAE aims to raise $200 million to produce Atlantic salmon locally. Ocean Harvest needs the investment to build a 100,000 square metre facility in Ras Al Khaimah. Jawad Jamil, co-founder and CEO of Ocean Harvest, said they were appealing to sovereign wealth funds across the Mena region, impact and […] September 7, 2023
Energy UAE waste-to-energy plant starts transmitting electricity The first electricity transmission to the UAE’s national power grid has been delivered from Dubai’s $1 billion waste-to-energy facility as the emirate seeks to reduce its landfill dependence. Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) and its joint venture partner Besix made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that the Dubai Waste Management Centre will power 135,000 homes in […] July 19, 2023
Construction Construction titan to cement its place in the GCC Construction company Besix Group has revealed plans to further expand across the GCC as the region embraces public-private partnerships for key projects. The Belgian-French group, which is based in Brussels, is one of the world’s leading international contractors and announced on Wednesday a 20-year high in turnover of over $3.7 billion in 2022. Bexis said […] April 27, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi public-private partnerships worth billions Public-private partnerships in Saudi Arabia are driving the kingdom’s economic growth and diversification plans. A pipeline of 200 projects spanning 17 sectors, involving more than $50 billion in investment, have been approved by Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Privatization and PPP (NCP). Projects include four airports, seven desalination plants, six wastewater treatment plants, 10 strategic […] April 14, 2023
Analysis Energy Sharjah wins waste-to-energy race as rest of region cleans up its act Dubai had the Gulf’s first “seven-star” hotel and Abu Dhabi hosted the inaugural “day-night” Formula One Grand Prix. The emirate of Sharjah can claim a UAE first too – one that is less glitzy but potentially more transformative – the first waste-to-energy power plant. The Sharjah waste-to-energy facility, officially inaugurated in May, adds another dimension […] August 23, 2022
Analysis Economy GCC embraces public-private partnerships to drive projects Public-private partnerships will become more important across a wider range of sectors in the Gulf region as countries continue to diversify their economies, say experts. With the total value of planned and unawarded projects in the GCC countries expected to reach $2 trillion, governments are seeking more private sector support in infrastructure projects delivery. “Both […] July 28, 2022
