MILAN: A consortium led by Salini Impregilo Group has won a 963 million euro ($1.29 billion) contract to build part of a new coastal highway in Libya, in a sign of a rapidly growing order book for the soon-to-be merged group.
Impregilo and Salini are completing a tie-up to create a global construction player focused on large civil engineering projects from roads to hydroelectric dams in over 60 countries, including the Middle East, the Americas and Australia.
While shareholders are expected to clear the merger only in September, the companies have already set up joint structures to bid for tenders under the name Salini Impregilo.
The stock rose more than 3 percent on the Libya announcement to reach an 11-week high and was up 3.42 percent at 3.5 euros by 1323 GMT, outperforming a 0.16 percent fall in the Dow Jones global industrials index.
Salini Impregilo has a 58 percent stake in the contract.
“We believe this new intake in Libya might pave the way for the execution of the currently frozen “Lidco” backlog (1 billion euros), which relates to infrastructure jobs in the country,” Kepler Cheuvreux, which has a “buy” rating on the stock, said in a note.
The Salini Impregilo consortium, which also includes Italian firms La Societ‡ Italiana per Condotte díAcqua, Impresa Pizzarotti & C. and Cooperativa Muratori & Cementisti, will build the first 400 km section of the highway from the city of Marj in Libya to Emsaad, on the Egyptian border.
The project was initially awarded more than two years ago to a consortium led by Italian oil services group Saipem, following a tender in which Impregilo also participated.
That contract, however, was never formally signed before the civil war erupted in 2011, a source close to the matter said.
The source added that Saipem had asked to renegotiate the price for its contract, which was set at 835 million euros, following the conflict.
This led to the body that manages the project going into private talks with the various original bidders and awarding the contract to Salini Impregilo.
Neither Saipem, which is 43-percent owned by oil major Eni, nor Impregilo were able to comment.
The Salini Impregilo contract is part of an accord signed between the governments of Italy and Libya in 2008 and will be funded by the Italian government.
The entire highway will run across Libya for 1,700 km between the Tunisian and Egyptian borders.
The contract comes at a time when investor enthusiasm in Libya has been dampened by renewed security concerns, even though the country has the money to pay for its vast infrastructure, health and education needs.
Salini Impregilo team wins $1.3bn Libya contract
Salini Impregilo team wins $1.3bn Libya contract
Closing Bell: Saudi stocks slip as Tadawul falls 1% amid broad market weakness
RIYADH: Saudi stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, with the Tadawul All Share Index closing down 108.14 points, or 1.03 percent, at 10,381.51.
The broader decline was reflected across major indices. The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index slipped 0.78 percent to 1,378.00, while Nomu, the parallel market index, fell 1 percent to 23,040.79.
Market breadth was strongly negative on the main board, with 237 stocks falling compared to just 24 gainers. Trading activity remained robust, with 164.7 million shares changing hands and a total traded value of SR3.19 billion ($850.6 million).
Among the gainers, SEDCO Capital REIT Fund led, rising 2.73 percent to SR6.77, followed by Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., which gained 2.69 percent to SR20.20.
National Medical Care Co. added 1.72 percent to close at SR141.60, while Alyamamah Steel Industries Co. and Thimar Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Co. advanced 1.57 percent and 1.13 percent, respectively.
Losses were led by Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co., which tumbled 8.36 percent to SR24.65. Raoom Trading Co.fell 6.75 percent to SR64.20, while Alkhaleej Training and Education Co. dropped 6.60 percent to SR18.12 and Naqi Water Co. declined 5.51 percent to SR54.00. Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Co. closed 5.44 percent lower at SR3.65.
On the announcement front, Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co. signed a multiyear insurance agreement with Saudi Electricity Co. to provide various coverages, expected to positively impact its financial results over the 2025–2026 period. The deal will run for three years and two months and is within the company’s normal course of business.
Meanwhile, Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance Co. announced a one-year health insurance contract with Saudi National Bank, valued at SR330.2 million, covering the bank’s employees and their families from January 2026. Despite the sizable contract, Bupa Arabia shares fell 0.8 percent to close at SR137, weighed down by the broader market weakness.
In contrast, United Cooperative Assurance Co. revealed an extension of its engineering insurance agreement with Saudi Binladin Group for the Grand Mosque expansion in Makkah. The contract value exceeds 20 percent of the company’s gross written premiums based on its latest audited financials and is expected to support results through 2026. However, the stock came under selling pressure, ending the session down 4.51 percent at SR3.39.
