The Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs recently signed a 412.3 million Saudi riyal ($110 million) contract with the Dallah Al-Baraka Works and Maintenance Group. The three-year agreement commits Dallah to uphold the maintenance of the holy places in Mecca and 60 nearby villages, reported Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
According to Minister of Municipal Affairs Mohammed Jarallah, Dallah will be responsible for the upkeep of 1,050 square kilometers of land. The contract specified that cleaning procedures during the holy month of Ramadan be intensified.
Another subsidiary of the Dallah Al-Baraka Group, the Fast Contracting company, has recently won a SR 500 million ($133.3 million) contracts package, under which it will build a large reception hall in Riyadh for official visits. In addition, the company will execute another three housing projects in the Kingdom, according to Al-Hayat .
Fast Contracting has lately gone back into business, having ceased its operations by choice a few years ago, due to the fall in oil price. Government tenders are Fast’s core source of work. The company participated in the recently launched Darah-Bahrain tourism project, through the Bahraini subsidiary of Dallah Al-Baraka. It also submitted a bid on a recently publicized tender for airport modernization projects.
Dallah Al-Baraka’s operations include maintenance, operation of airports, construction of roads, installation of electro-mechanical plants and the maintenance of two holy mosques at Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Madinah.
Founded in 1969, the Dallah Group is a seven billion dollar, Jeddah-based, multinational corporation whose 300 subsidiary companies are involved in banking, satellite broadcasting, telecommunications services, import/export, and various other commercial areas.
Sheikh Salah Abdallah Kamel, the founder of the group, is regarded as one of the pioneers of Islamic financial operations. The group entered the Islamic banking sector in 1979 with the establishment of the Jordan Islamic Bank.
In recent years, Dallah has been extensively involved in the development of trade between Islamic states under the banner of Al-Samaha and Al Baraka Saudi Companies for Export Promotion and Services. — (menareport.com)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
