Basma Group Sharjah has awarded the AED 120 million (US$ 32.7m) construction contract for the Novotel Sharjah Expo to Klampfer Middle East LLC, a joint venture between Basma Group and KBW Investments. The new 4-star hotel will be located adjacent to the international exhibition and conference centre in Sharjah city’s central business district. The Gulf region’s meetings, incentives, conferences and ...

Standard & Poor’s has affirmed the Emirate of Sharjah’s A/A-1 sovereign credit ratings long- and short-term, foreign and local currency, with a stable outlook according to the global rating agency’s mid-year MENA sovereign rating trends report. The report also forecasts the rate of Sharjah’s economic growth to continue to increase through to 2019. S&P began assigning sovereign credit ratings for ...

Under the directives of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has embarked on a major project to develop Heart of Sharjah as part of its efforts to protect the emirate’s valuable cultural heritage. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the 15-year restoration project is the first ...

Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia PJSC (AIRARABI:DFM), the largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, has added five new international routes since the beginning of 2016. The airline now operates flights to over 120 destinations in 33 countries across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Asia, and Europe from its five international hubs. This month, Air Arabia began operating ...

Sharjah-based food producer, distributor Iftin is expanding its storage and distribution facilities at Hamriyah Free Zone to support its fast growing dairy export business. The company expects construction of the new facilities, which include five new warehouses and office space, to begin in the near future. Iftin has leased 215,278 square feet (c. 20,000 sqm.) of additional free zone space ...

Radiant Group, an Indian petrochemicals firm, is to build a 60,000 metric tonne capacity oil distillation plant in Hamriyah Free Zone, at a cost of US$10 million (AED 36.5m). Radiant has leased 107,639 square foot of land in Phase Two of Hamriyah Free Zone and expects the new facility to be completed by mid-2017. Based in the Indian state of Maharashtra, ...

Mleiha Archaeological and Eco-tourism Project, one of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq)’s most prominent developments, is continuing its special offers for tourists and residents up until the end of Ramadan. The heritage and cultural destination’s holy month excursion packages are providing visitors with the opportunity to enjoy unique desert experiences; including evening tours, ‘dune bashing’ and dining under the ...

The American University of Sharjah (AUS) has been ranked in the top ten universities in the Arab world by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) for the second consecutive year. The university was ranked 7th in both the 2015 and 2016 QS University Rankings for Arab Region, which ranked 100 academic institutions last year and 200 academic institutions in the current report. Quacquarelli ...

Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has announced a new Sharjah Top 10 Businesses Award as an addition to the chamber’s annual shjSEEN Awards programme, which recognises outstanding business achievement in Sharjah. The new award is an invite only award to encourage performance across the private sector. The Sharjah Top 10 Businesses Award draws on the Excellence Model of ...

SOEX Group, a global leader in recycling and marketing used textiles, is to establish a recycling plant in Sharjah’s Hamriyah Free Zone at a cost of 5 million Euros (AED 21m). Expected to open in mid-2017, the 322,917 square foot (30,00 sqm.) free zone facility is the German company’s first in the United Arab Emirates and will employ 300 to 400 ...