Iran Construction Industry Report 2022

Scion

Iran’s construction industry is expected to grow by 2.5% in real terms in 2022, following annual growth of 1.8% in 2021. It is then expected to register an annual average growth of 3.6% between 2023-26, supported by government investments on the energy, oil and gas, petrochemicals, infrastructure and industrial sectors.

Over the year, the industry’s output will be supported by government expenditure under the 2022 Budget which was announced in December 2021. The government released a budget of IRR36.3 quadrillion ($864.3 billion), projecting IRR9.3 quadrillion ($221.5 billion) in revenue and IRR13.9 quadrillion ($332 billion) in spending.

Of the total budget, the government allocated IRR20.1 trillion ($478.6 million) to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, IRR158 trillion ($3.8 billion) to the Ministry of Education and IRR349.5 trillion ($8.3 billion) to defense infrastructure and strategic research, among others.

Over the remainder of the forecast period, the industry’s output will be supported by construction of major projects, including the 300,000-barrel Shahid Ghasem Soleimani oil refinery project with an investment of IRR483 trillion ($11.5 billion), the Khuzestan refinery with an investment of IRR189 trillion ($4.5 billion) and the development and stabilization of the Abadan refinery, with an investment of IRR84 trillion ($2 billion).

Additionally, an investment of IRR45 trillion ($1.1 billion) over the next four years, to develop 10 key motorways, will improve the transportation network across the country. Moreover, the country’s talks with the Taliban to resume work on the Khaf-Herat link project, connecting northeastern Iran with northwestern Afghanistan, could help in enhancing the railway network and improving trade relations between the countries.

However, there are key political and economic risks that could impact on investor confidence. On May 5 2022, the government increased prices for basic food items, which has compounded financial challenges for households and led to the protests against President Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei across many areas of the country.

Source:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221024005596/en/Iran-Construction-Industry-Report-2022-Market-is-Expected-to-Grow-by-2.5-in-Real-Terms-in-2022-Following-Annual-Growth-of-1.8-in-2021—Forecasts-to-2026—ResearchAndMarkets.com

Former yacht club in Muscat to be redeveloped into Four Seasons resort and private residences

Leading luxury hospitality firm Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and the Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN Group), which is the executive arm of the Sultanate of Oman for tourism development, have revealed plans for the development of a Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Muscat in Oman.

The luxury development will comprise of an urban style resort in a mountain and seaside setting, as well as a collection of private residences with sweeping views of the Sea of Oman.

“The Middle East continues to be an integral part of the Four Seasons growth strategy, as we look for opportunities to offer unmatched Four Seasons experiences in exciting and dynamic destinations such as Muscat,” said Bart Carnahan, the president of Global Business Development and Portfolio Management at the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

“We are excited to be a part of OMRAN Group’s long-term vision for the future development of Oman’s tourism landscape, further accelerating the strategic growth of its capital city and continuing to attract luxury guests and residents from around the world with a brand new Four Seasons offering.”

Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Muscat in Oman will be created through the redevelopment of a former yacht club and marina into 200 rooms and suites and 100 private residences.

Guests and residents will enjoy access to a private beach, five dining outlets, and both indoor and outdoor pools with cabanas.

In addition to water sports offered at the onsite beach, the resort will provide many additional activities through its tennis centre, spa and fitness facilities, and a dedicated Kids For All Seasons area and young adults centre.

The property will also feature extensive indoor and outdoor meeting and event spaces, as well as a bride’s room, business centre, business departure lounge, and prayer rooms.

“Muscat is a destination filled with history, natural beauty, business, tourism, and so much more, and we look forward to showcasing all it has to offer through this exceptional new project with Four Seasons,” said Dr Hashil Obaid Al Mahrouqi, the CEO of the OMRAN Group.

“By bringing this iconic brand to Muscat, we continue to drive forward the Oman Vision 2040 and our National Tourism Strategy, solidifying this wonderful country as a preeminent luxury destination for locals and global travellers alike.”

Oman is located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, along the Sea of Oman. It’s capital city of Muscat bears an idyllic landscape, marked by the backdrop of the Al Hajar Mountains with views of the Arabian Sea.

In addition to the tranquil setting, travellers to Muscat enjoy local attractions such as museums, mosques, and heritage sites.

Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Muscat, Oman joins Four Seasons growing collection of properties in the Middle East, including the upcoming Four Seasons Private Residences Dubai at Jumeirah and Four Seasons Hotel Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/travel-hospitality/former-yacht-club-and-marina-in-muscat-to-be-redeveloped-into-four-seasons-resort-and-private-residences

Rain Financial cuts jobs amid crypto sell-off

Rain Financial Inc, a crypto exchange in the Middle East with several customers from Saudi Arabia, UAE & Bahrain, announced axing 30 of its Bahraini employees in various markets, citing challenges in the global cryptocurrency.

The company informed its staff this week about the decision, where the cuts impact a range of departments. “As cryptocurrencies and global markets continue to slow down, this has, in turn, impacted businesses across the globe,” Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Dallago said in a statement.

The move, the company said, aims at fulfilling its operational requirements under the circumstances in the international markets. Rain further said it is confident in overcoming the challenges and moving forward “stranger than ever.” Cryptocurrency prices have declined this year from the highs reached in early November.

Source:https://www.gulf-insider.com/bahrain-rain-financial-cuts-jobs-amid-crypto-sell-off/

Progress for Saudi women is uneven, despite cultural changes and more jobs

Scion

At the cramped shop where Kholoud Ahmed sells the traditional Muslim women’s gowns known as abayas, the rainbow of colors is a revelation.

In the past, women in Riyadh typically dressed in the same black abaya no matter where they were going. Now, observed Ahmed, 21, there’s a differently colored or styled abaya for every occasion: weddings, meeting friends at a cafe, visiting parents.

“Colored abayas used to be a strange thing for us in Riyadh, something unusual,” said Ahmed, the store’s clerk. “Within a year it has significantly changed. It has become normal nowadays.”

Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader more than four years ago, he has promised new opportunities for Saudi women as part of a broad modernization plan called Vision 2030.

The plan, which is advertised across Riyadh on posters and flags, is meant to wean the kingdom away from its historical reliance on oil and shift it toward new industries, including technology, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

But to create more job opportunities for Saudis and draw international investors and corporations to the desert monarchy, Crown Prince Mohammed is also chipping away at the conservative culture that has kept many women close to home for years and scared away many foreigners.

Over the last five years, the percentage of women working outside the home has almost doubled, according to official statistics, to 32% from nearly 18%. Women today serve as customs officials at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, client relationship managers at banks and hostesses at restaurants.

In addition to changes in the workplace, public space is becoming less strictly segregated by sex. In coffee shops in Riyadh like Overdose (motto: “Caffeine, it’s my drug of choice”), male and female customers can now sip lattes in mixed company.

Women can attend certain sporting events at stadiums, which was forbidden until a few years ago. They are no longer required to use separate entrances from men although some establishments still use them. They can also now apply for passports, live by themselves and travel on their own.

But the progress has been uneven.

The guardianship system, which despite some recent reforms is still in place, means that women must rely on permission from men — often their fathers or husbands, but in some cases their sons — to enter into marriages and make key decisions.

One prominent women’s rights activist was jailed for three years after pushing publicly for some of the very changes Crown Prince Mohammed wanted to make — including allowing women to drive. She has since been released and has published a research paper on the status of Saudi women.

Those fits and starts are also evident in quotidian ways. Women’s attire in Riyadh, though more relaxed than a few years ago, is still far from liberal; even women who avoid abayas wear clothes with long sleeves, high necklines and low hemlines.

They may be using money from their newly earned paychecks to shop for kitten-heeled boots and slip dresses at Zara, but such outfits are still worn only in private settings.

“It’s not like before, like you have to wear, like, hijab and everything,” said Marwa, a 19-year-old university student who was shopping at Ahmed’s shop, referring to the traditional head scarf worn by Saudi women. “Now you can have free choice, but limited. It’s not like you are showing parts of your body.”

However much things have changed, the culture remains sufficiently conservative — and cautious of angering the authorities — that Marwa, like many of the Riyadh residents interviewed for this article, declined to give her full name.

Marwa said other cultural changes, like allowing store owners to remain open during prayer time to accommodate both merchants and shoppers, created problems of their own.

Some people who are devout and would pray no matter what, she said, could be offended by the business-as-usual attitude. “It’s like you’re not respecting the prayer time,” she said. Her friend Alaa — who wore sweatpants and sneakers under her abaya and sported a wrist tattoo that said “Trust no one” — nodded.

During the call to prayer a few minutes later, a number of male store workers nearby locked their doors and walked to the mall’s prayer room on an upper floor. On the ground floor, about 10 women, patrons who were wearing black abayas and hijabs, took rugs from a corner pile and knelt on them to pray. Other women sat quietly on benches, watching their children ride around in battery-operated toy cars.

A 52-year-old father of six, who gave only a nickname, Abu Abdullah, said he saw the benefits of more flexible prayer times and new opportunities for women. “During traveling, we don’t pray,” he said. “Even women, they don’t pray for seven days,” referring to the fact that women are forbidden to pray when they are menstruating.

Several of Abu Abdullah’s five daughters were standing nearby, eating buttered corn and French fries. One of them, Nout al-Qahtani, 13, said she was thrilled about the changes for women in Saudi Arabia. “I want to work,” she said. “I really want to be a doctor.”

Her father noted that not every dream job would be appropriate.

“Some jobs don’t fit for some women,” he said, citing roles in plumbing and construction work as examples. “It’s better to put her in the right place,” he added.

Five miles north of the mall, a local soccer club, Al Shabab, was playing an out-of-town team at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium. It was a mild evening, and the crowd was animated when the home team scored. On the men’s side of the stadium, hundreds of men jumped to their feet, chanting and clapping for the players.

Across the stadium on what’s known as the family side, where women and children were directed to sit, Najiba, a nurse at the hospital complex King Fahd Medical City, was watching with two colleagues. Although women have been able to go to sports events in Saudi since 2018, it was only her second time at a match.

Najiba, 34, and her friends said that they were seeing far more Saudi women working at the hospital in recent years, and that the idea of women in medical careers had become more palatable to families who might previously have considered a mixed-gender working environment problematic.

“Now the family accepts if they have a daughter or a wife working in health care,” said Najiba, who was a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit for years before taking on an administrative role.

Below the nurses, a few children were playing in the front row. One child, who had been running around and yelling, was scolded by a female security guard.

Several female spectators said they never missed a match. One, a 29-year-old manager at the Saudi British Bank attending with her brother, spoke highly of Riyadh’s new entertainment options and the growing economic opportunities for women. “We’re so excited,” she said.

A little after 9:30 p.m., the match ended in a 3-0 victory for Al Shabab.

At one point, he held his hands in a heart shape in front of him. A clutch of men encircled the player, some with children hoisted on their shoulders. But one woman, her pink-tinted sunglasses atop her hijab, walked to the front of the crowd, raised her phone and got the shot.

Source:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/saudi-arabia/progress-for-saudi-women-is-uneven-despite-cultural-changes-and-more-jobs/articleshow/88193702.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst