Romanian civil engineering company Hidroconstructia has won a $115mn contract with Jordan’s Arab Potash Company, the world’s eighth largest potash producer.

Hidroconstructia was founded in 1950 and has carried out engineering works at 135 major dams and 125 power plants across Romania including country’s largest ones at the Iron Gates, Vidraru and Bicaz.   

However, the Romanian construction company was recently forced to look abroad for contracts as neither the state nor private investors have carried out large-sized investment projects in the past several years, Hidroconstructia’s general manager Mihaita Fundeanu said in a January 22 statement. The contract in Jordan is a first major step, and the company plans to become active in other regions in the world, he added.

"Our efforts are beginning to bear fruit, winning this contract in Jordan is a first step in this direction. There are countries and regions around the globe that promote generous project portfolios, the vast majority of new, securely funded investments, and we will continue to participate in other external auctions involving complex work,” Fundeanu commented. 

Bucharest-based Eximbank announced that it will provide two letters of guarantee of $11.5mn each.

According to Eximbank executive chairman Traian Halale, the contract with Arab Potash is one of the most significant secured by a Romanian company in the Middle East in recent years, and could open the way for Romanian companies to work on other projects in the region. 

Hidroconstructia will work with the Jordanian company, which began the exploitation of potassium at the Safi site in 1983 using a set of artificial lakes exposed to solar radiation that cause water evaporation. The water is brought by a pumping station via Dead Sea feed channels.

In the project for Arab Potash, Hidroconstructia will carry out special earthworks, over a length of more than 10 km, membrane waterproofing works, metal construction works (a pumping station, piping of large diameters, connections, bypasses), other works necessary for the supply of water (protected open channels), construction monitoring operations, mechanical works (high-power pumps), electrical works (pumping station supply), site construction work (roads, material storage, accommodation, car workshops, quarries).