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The US Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has extended a warehousing and distribution contract for Kuwait’s Agility by six months, the firm said in a statement on Monday.

“(DLA) has awarded them (Agility) six months extension starting September 2010 for the warehouse and distribution service contract…with a value of around USD 25 million,” Agility said in a statement to the Dubai bourse.

Agility, formerly Public Warehousing Co, KSC (PWC) was dropped from supplying food to the US Army in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan after being accused of overcharging the military. The company held contracts worth $8.5 billion spanning more than three years.

The US government has replaced Agility as the main supplier to its troops in Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan with Dubai-based Anham FZCO LLC, awarding it a $2.2 billion contract in April.

The Kuwaiti logistics firm said in April that it would continue to supply the US military for six months “to guarantee continuity of supplies” to the army before Anham takes over.   

Opec-member Kuwait has become a major logistics base for the American military since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. -Reuters

The General Organisation of Sea Ports Bahrain (GOP) will host the Kingdom's first annual maritime festival from September 20 to 24 in support of World Maritime Day.

Announcing this strategic initiative, GOP said the event, to be held under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s 2010 theme of the 'Year of the Seafarer,' will further boost the Kingdom' s standing in the global maritime landscape.

This year’s launch event will include activities specifically geared to past, current and future generations of Bahraini sea-goers, said a statement from GOP.

The United Nations had initiated 'World Maritime Day' via the IMO to commemorate the international maritime industry’s contribution towards the global economy, specifically in the shipping and logistics sectors.

Each year, WMD is held under a different theme. This year’s IMO theme aims to spread greater awareness of the maritime industry and focus attention on the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment, it added.

It also pays tribute to the 1.5 million seafarers all over the globe for their unique contribution to society and in recognition of the risks they shoulder in the execution of their duties in an often hostile environment.

IMO member countries normally hold celebratory programmes on a day of their choice during the specified week.

Bahrain’s initiative has been designed to spread out the festivities over a longer period in order to increase accessibility and allow for more activities to be held.

On the launch of Bahrain Maritime Festival (BMF), Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa, chairman of GOP said: “We are proud to announce our plans for the launch of the GOP’s first maritime-themed festival to mark World Maritime Day 2010 and join the global initiative celebrating the 'Year of the Seafarer'.'

'Our aspiration is to hold BMF annually, each year customising the programme to fit the IMO’s chosen theme for that year.  While this year we have developed the activity line-up to target seafarers, we hope to build upon the event in the future and engage as broad an audience as possible,' he added.

Shaikh Daij said one of its key strategic objectives as laid out in Bahrain's five-year plan was to position the Kingdom as a global maritime centre, and BMF, as an embodiment of an initiative will aim to achieve this.

'Our ongoing commitment and dedication to being an active supporter of the maritime industry on an international level have helped us take a proactive approach to planning new initiatives and activities locally that will help boost out global standings”, Shaikh Daij added.

BMF 2010 will consist of four main activities spanning the week. These activities have been designed to generate greater awareness of Bahrain’s growing maritime industry among students, business executives and public, all of whom can rightly take pride in the Kingdom’s achievements and developments in the shipping and logistics industry.

The activities will include the ‘Year of the Seafarer’ Awards ceremony which will be held under the patronage of Shaikh Daij. Long-serving Bahraini seafarers who have served for twenty years and above in the maritime industry will be honoured and presented with an award during a dedicated reception.

A public campaign has been launched to call for nominations with the intention to honour all eligible Bahraini seafarers, whether current or retired.

Another unique aspect of this initiative will be the “Careers in Maritime” drive, complementing the International Maritime Organisation’s ongoing ‘Go to Sea’ campaign. This will include a tour of universities conducted jointly by GOP and APM Terminals Bahrain, the operator of Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP), said Shaikh Daij.

'Featuring a series of lectures, this tour will enable students to learn from the maritime industry practitioners who will share their experience and knowledge. The tour will aim to encourage more Bahraini students to pursue careers in the maritime industry, thereby strengthening Bahrain’s international position as a maritime centre in the long-run.'

Additionally, a maritime photography exhibition will be held throughout the week which will be open to the public and will feature historic and contemporary sea-related images that will serve to capture the life of the seafarers at sea, and Bahrain’s ever-evolving maritime landscape, said a GOP statement.

Finally, a Seafarers’ Welfare Day is being organised by APMT, to be held at KBSP especially for seafarers visiting the port.  A special service offering free medical check-ups for all incoming seafarers will be provided, and a blood donation campaign will be held for APMT and GOP staff members.

The GOP joins many countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States to celebrate World Maritime Day. The event’s date varies by year and country but it is always celebrated during the last week of September, it added.-TradeArabia News Service

Iraq’s oil ministry said on Sunday the agreement Germany’s RWE signed with the Kurdish Regional Government, which included possible future gas supply for the Nabucco pipeline project, is illegal.

“The export of crude oil, gas and their derivatives are exclusively under the authority of the Oil Ministry of the central government in Baghdad and State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO),” oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said, reading a statement from the ministry.

“Any contracts signed outside of that legal framework are considered void and illegal.”    

On Friday, Germany’s RWE said it had signed a gas cooperation agreement with Iraq’s Kurdish regional government. The deal envisaged RWE helping develop and design domestic and export gas transport infrastructure and create a route to market for Iraqi Kurdistan’s gas.

The RWE statement quoted Iraqi Kurdistan’s natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami as saying that up to 20 billion cubic metres of gas a year could be fed into the Nabucco pipe to bring gas to Turkey and Europe.

The Nabucco project aims to transport up to 31 billion cubic metres of gas a year from the Caspian region to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia, which supplies Western Europe with about a quarter of its natural gas.

Iraq needs to develop its gas sector and open it to foreign investment.
 But unilateral oil and gas deals negotiated by the Kurdish authorities are opposed by the Arab-led government in Baghdad in a long-running row over energy resources and revenue sharing.   

Baghdad’s opposition to oil deals the semi-autonomous Kurds have signed independently with foreign firms has halted oil exports from Kurdish oilfields.
   
Exporting gas is also controversial in Iraq due to inadequate public electricity supplies 7-1/2 years after the US-led invasion.

The oil ministry has pledged that domestic gas needs will first have to be covered, in particular the future needs of gas turbine powered electricity plants, before any gas is exported. - Reuters

Beximco, the largest private sector industrial conglomerate in Bangladesh, said it has set up a joint venture with a Saudi firm to invest nearly $1 billion for upgradation of Bangladesh's sole oil refinery.

'Beximco and Marasel Company of Saudi Arabia will jointly submit interest for funding an upgradation project of the Eastern Refinery Limited,' a statement from Beximco said.

State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) invited offers in July from international firms and financial institutions to finance the $900 million project near Chittagong port.

'The fund from Beximco and Marasel are likely to be accepted if the terms and conditions are found favourable,' a senior official of BPC told Reuters. Beximco's businesses range from textiles to pharmaceuticals.

Its subsidiary Beximco Pharmaceuticals is listed in London. The Marasel Company is owned by Saudi Prince Salman Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud and has large investments in different sectors, mainly in energy.

'In line with its business diversification objectives, Beximco Ltd is now poised to enter into the oil and energy sector, and has mobilised necessary resources for this purpose,' the statement said.

Beximco owns the single largest stake in a Bangladesh private bank and a local private airline, a senior executive of Beximco said. But he could not give the size of the conglomerate in terms of equity.

The refinery upgrade will increase ERL's production capacity by 200 per cent to 4.5 million tonnes per year from 2013.

It presently produces 1.5 million tonnes of petroleum products from imported crude to meet 30 per cent of the country's requirement of 3.8 million tonnes a year.-Reuters

Abu Dhabi has registered a 16 per cent jump in the number of guests staying in the emirate’s 116 licenced hotels and hotel apartments in July compared to the same period last year, said its top tourism official.

Guest numbers rose to 137,714 with the numbers of nights stayed totalling 376,439 – up 24 per cent over last year. The average length of stay also increased by 6 per cent to stand at 2.73 nights, said Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general of
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).

The figures, just released by ADTA, make July the ninth consecutive month of double-digit guests growth for the emirate with, for the first time, international market growth of 29 per cent outstripping domestic growth, which turned in a 4 per cent rise.

According to Al Muhairi, the UAE still accounted for the largest number of guests in July with some 63,027 staying in the emirate’s hotels while the UK came in as the largest international market with some 7,101 guests – a 27 per cent rise over the same period last year.

Saudi Arabia also turned in substantial growth of 47 per cent with some 4,682 guests from the Kingdom staying in Abu Dhabi’s accommodation during the month while guests from France increased 36 per cent to 2,070, he stated.

He said additional room capacity continued to drive down overall occupancy levels which are 13 per cent lower than July 2009 with average room rates down by 23 per cent.

'Hotel apartments achieved a healthier 72 per cent occupancy rate against their hotel counterparts which managed 54 per cent,' he added.

“Growth in what is traditionally a slow summer month for Abu Dhabi is immensely encouraging,” said Al Muhairi. 'Our guest performance this year has now gone over the million mark leaving us well placed to meet, if not exceed, our 2010 target of 1.65 million,' he added.

'We are confident because of what lies ahead in the coming months for Abu Dhabi with the October launch of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi which we believe will have strong regional and international appeal and November’s staging of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is shaping up to be an thrilling finale for the F1 season,' the ADTA chief said.

“In addition we have a strong business tourism line-up with a highlight being this November’s staging of the inaugural World Green Tourism Summit Abu Dhabi which has a powerful international speaker and exhibitor line-up,” he added.

Some 1,074,293 guests have stayed in Abu Dhabi’s hotels and hotel apartments from January to July end this year registering a 16 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The food and beverage revenues have grown 14 per cent over the same comparative period and now account for 35 per cent of all hotel revenues.-TradeArabia News Service

Priority Pass, a leading independent airport lounge program, has added over 50 new lounges to its program this year making it the largest selection of lounges ever offered to its members in the Middle East region.

Within the Middle East, new lounges are now available to members in Jeddah (Al-Fursan Golden Lounges), Riyadh (Al-Fursan Golden Lounges), Abu Dhabi (Dana Lounge) and in Muscat (Plaza Premium Lounge).

These additions mean that there are now 26 lounges available to Priority Pass members in the Middle East – the largest independent coverage of airport VIP lounges in the region – as well as over 600 throughout the rest of the world.

Soukalin Ghosh, business development manager Mena at Priority Pass, said, “We are delighted to offer a comprehensive lounge program to our customers in the Middle East. Whether they travel within the region or internationally, they can rely on their Priority Pass membership to provide access to an oasis of calm where they can relax, catch up on emails and prepare for their journeys.'

'We will continue to build our coverage to meet the needs of our customers and to work closely with our lounge partners to make our customers' journeys a pleasant experience,' Ghosh said.

For Middle Eastern passengers travelling elsewhere in the world, there are 11 new lounges in the UK, which include 6 FlyBe lounges, the Escape Lounge at Manchester and the British Airways Terraces lounge in Jersey.

Also joining the program is the No.1 Stansted lounge, from the same stable as No.1 Gatwick, which is already proving a hit with Priority Pass members.

When travelling to the US, members can now enjoy 3 new United Red Carpet Clubs (in Chicago, Washington and Minneapolis) as well as the Air France Graf Lounge in Boston.Other new lounges include 8 locations added in Brazil, 7 in China and 3 in India, the official said.

Priority Pass was launched in 1992 with the goal of providing frequent travelers with airport lounge access, regardless of their class of travel, airline flown or existing membership in an airline frequent flyer program.

In 18 years Priority Pass has become the world's largest independent airport lounge access program.

Starting with just 55 lounges, today Priority Pass works with over 600 lounges in more than 300 cities throughout the world – and the network of lounges continues to grow, Ghosh added.

Priority Pass has millions of members in all corners of the world and works with major blue-chip organisations to offer the product as a valued benefit to their customers.-TradeArabia News Service