The Future Pipe Industries (FPI) Group made strong gains in recent months winning major orders in the UAE and Qatar. The Dubai-based group will supply fibreglass (referring to fibreglass-reinforced plastic or glass-reinforced epoxy) pipes and fittings for two sewage treatment plants in Abu Dhabi and for Phase 2, category 2 of a project to expand a seawater cooling facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar.
For the Abu Dhabi involvement, the contract awarded by the Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company was given as $75.8 million.
In the first phase, the company is required to supply around 40 km of Fibrestrong-brand pipes with diameters ranging from 400 mm to 1,600 mm for Al Saad Wastewater Treatment Plant. Delivery of the pipes and fittings will be completed by the end of June 2009. In the second phase, FPI will deliver 135 km of Fibrestrong pipes with diameters up to 2,600 mm for Al Wathba Wastewater Treatment Plant. Delivery will be completed by December 2009.
FPI’s pipe systems will be used for the trunk sewage line and the distribution of treated sewage at both the Al Wathba and Al Saad treatment plants.
The Qatar contract is valued at over $138 million. FPI has already supplied Fibrestrong for a portion of Ras Laffan’s piping systems in connection with Phase 1 and category 1 of Phase 2. By the time Phase 2 is completed, it will have delivered approximately 176,000 m of pipes.
In June the Future Pipe Industries Group announced it planned to borrow $150 million from several banks after ditching an IPO due to unfavourable market conditions.
The group had hoped to raise $554 million through the IPO, selling up to 35 per cent of the company and listing the stock on the Dubai International Financial Exchange.
Its net profit almost doubled in 2007 to $69 million on a 57 per surge in revenue to $556.4 million.