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UK Construction and LawThe competition regulator puts bid rigging in public procurement at 1bn to 3.5bn pounds a year and asks for losing bids to be kept
The Competition and Markets Authority published two reports on Monday 8 September 2026. The first draws together two years of work on public procurement across civil engineering, cloud computing, defence and the scale-up challenge. The second, on bid rigging, says the authority has completed seven cases since 2014, fining 31 companies more than 129 million pounds, that most involved construction, and that on a conservative prevalence assumption of 2 per cent taxpayers overpay by 1 billion pounds a year, rising to 3.5 billion. It asks government to make bid rigging an explicit procurement priority and to mandate the collection of all bid level data, including losing bids.
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UK Construction and LawRail freight must grow 40 per cent by 2040, with construction goods up 45 per cent, as the Railways Bill enters Lords committee
The Secretary of State for Transport told the Commons in a written statement on Monday 8 September 2026 that the Government is setting an additional rail freight target of at least a 40 per cent increase in net tonne kilometres by 2040, as a milestone to the existing 75 per cent by 2050, with expectations of 65 per cent growth in high value goods, 45 per cent in construction goods and 7 per cent in critical goods. The value of goods moved by rail is put at 33.7 billion pounds rising to 49.5 billion, and the carbon saving at a million tonnes a year. The Railways Bill, which lets the Secretary of State set the target for Great British Railways, entered Grand Committee in the Lords the same day.
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UK Construction and LawThe Cambourne to Cambridge guided busway order is made after a 22 day inquiry, and tendering for detailed design starts now
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UK Construction and LawApproved Documents L and F are corrected by circular, and the revised guidance takes effect on 24 March 2027
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UK Construction and LawUnited Utilities pays 964,225 pounds after a collapsed effluent pipe put raw sewage on the Fylde coast for more than 35 hours
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UK Construction and LawThe Attorney General tells government lawyers a decision is unlawful only where no tenable argument supports it
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UK Construction and LawThe Chancellor extends judicial review limits from energy to all major infrastructure and tells ministers to stop consulting by habit
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UK Construction and LawFour county reorganisations are withdrawn and fourteen more paused as the new Secretary of State orders a review
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UK Construction and LawBoth Houses approve the building safety levy amendments three weeks before the levy starts on 1 October
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UK Construction and LawThe Social Housing Bill reaches the Commons on Thursday with a 35 year right to buy bar on newly built council homes
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UK Construction and LawNo return to PFI, but more public private partnerships where they pay, the Treasury tells peers
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UK Construction and LawSection 106 obligations are legally binding and enforceable, the housing minister tells MPs as infrastructure complaints mount
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UK Construction and LawTen days to object: representations open today on 1,256 modular asylum beds at MOD Bicester
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UK Construction and LawDirectors' reports go and some medium-sized companies escape audit as a corporate reporting consultation opens today
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UK Construction and LawHousing associations forecast 16bn pounds of development in a year while quarterly interest cover falls to 59 per cent
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UK Construction and LawCreditors approve seven Ardmore CVAs and the chairman says the group is done with main contracting
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UK Construction and LawA joint building and housing guide on damp and mould adds a section on the construction causes
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UK Construction and LawSeven associated companies carry a 14.9m pound adjudication debt and the appeal against it needs the Court of Appeal
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UK Construction and LawPeers approve the nature restoration levy and regret, by 41 to 29, that viability is left out of it
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UK Construction and LawAssurances offered four years after the valuation date do not cut a 10.5m pound land take bill
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UK Construction and LawThe rail and road regulator is asked to build the Lower Thames Crossing funding framework by September 2027
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UK Construction and LawEmployment tribunal time limits double on 1 October and the appeal tribunal has confirmed a suspension keeps running
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Middle EastThe Red Sea destination's off-grid utilities reach commercial operation on a 340 MW solar plant and a 1,227 MWh battery
Red Sea Global and ACWA Power announced on 6 September 2026 the project commercial operation date for the utilities serving The Red Sea destination in Tabuk Province, after Marafiq Red Sea for Energy Company and The Red Sea Utilities Company signed the commercial operation certificate. The system runs on a 340 MWac solar photovoltaic plant paired with a 1,227 MWh battery, which the partners describe as the world's largest off-grid battery installation, and produces up to 760,000 MWh a year. It also includes three seawater reverse osmosis plants, a 16,000 cubic metre a day sewage treatment plant, a waste management centre and 32,500 refrigeration tons of district cooling. Financial close was reached in February 2022 with about 1.33 billion dollars of senior debt and total investment of around 1.84 billion dollars. The 25-year concession has now begun.
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Middle EastMEEZA signs a QR1 billion lease for 8 MW of data centre capacity with a global hyperscaler, the largest contract in its history
MEEZA has signed an agreement worth QR1 billion, about 275 million dollars, with a global hyperscaler it describes as one of the world's fastest-growing cloud service providers. The contract, the largest in the company's history, will provide 8 megawatts of operational capacity for data centre services under a long-term leasing agreement, supporting the customer's cloud and artificial intelligence workloads from a new data centre campus. Chief executive Mohammed Ali al-Ghaithani said the company is on track to quadruple its current data centre capacity, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Qatar Digital Agenda 2030. The customer, the site, the lease term, the capital cost and the date on which the capacity comes into service have not been stated.
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Middle EastKistos takes legal title to a fifth of Oman's Blocks 3 and 4 after Royal Decree 78 of 2026 ratifies the Mitsui transfer
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Middle EastMiral adds three Harry Potter lands to Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, 63,000 square metres for completion in 2029
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Middle EastBaladna lists 536 million new shares after a QR541 million rights issue is fully taken up on the Qatar Stock Exchange
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Middle EastEtihad opens a year-round Abu Dhabi to Red Sea service from 4 October with flights of just over three hours
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Middle EastPIF launches Gulf Coast Development Company to build 16,000 homes and 1,400 hotel keys on the Al-Khafji coast
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Middle EastAbu Dhabi launches the Gulf's first blockchain-verified Digital Skills Card so employers can check a certificate by QR code
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Middle EastThe UAE Ministry of Investment signs with Sunstone to bring a 300 million dollar anode plant into operation
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Middle EastSaudi construction activity rises for a fourth month as the August index reaches 55.4 and residential work leads
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Middle EastDubai's property show opens with a Dh700 million robotics-led tower and a pledge of eleven projects in eleven months
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Middle EastAlba reaches 50 million working hours without a lost time injury across its employees and contractors
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Middle EastA Qatari logistics group completes one of Oman's first frozen bulk vessel operations and takes a long-term cold storage contract
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Middle EastOman signs its participation contract for Expo 2030 Riyadh and walks the plot set aside for its pavilion
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Middle EastBritain says it is ready to sign the Gulf trade agreement within weeks, with legally guaranteed procurement access in the UAE and Bahrain
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Middle EastGulf listed companies post a record 74.8 billion dollar quarter, with real estate, materials and transport among the gainers
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Middle EastA Dubai developer passes 50,000 home handovers and awards Dh10 billion of construction contracts in six months
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Middle EastPort of Duqm adds 25 hectares of vehicle parking as Ro-Ro arrivals reach one every two days
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Middle EastA main contractor is appointed as structural works start on branded residences at Dubai Islands
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Middle EastOQ Alternative Energy and Asyad sign a green hydrogen offtake term sheet at Duqm
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Middle EastEquinox Resort AMAALA opens at Triple Bay with 128 rooms and 21 branded residences
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Middle EastAl Masaood becomes a private joint stock company and names an interim group managing director
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Tech and AIAn OpenAI system claims Navier-Stokes in 88 hours, and the mathematician it raced goes public
OpenAI published on 8 September 2026 a claimed resolution of the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem, one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems, together with a Lean formalisation. It says an internal model more capable than GPT-6 Astra drove a group of about 10,000 concurrent agents which reached the result on Saturday 5 September, about 88 hours after launch, using around 130 billion output tokens on this problem alone. It does not intend to claim the prize. The same day Tristan Buckmaster, a professor of mathematics at New York University, released three blow-up results with Levent Alpoge and a four page statement saying the company's effort started after information about their work reached it, describing two Sunday calls, two proposals he declined, and a remark he attributes to an OpenAI researcher: why would you ruin your career. He says he is accusing nobody. The company says it saw none of their work until it was public and congratulates them.
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Tech and AIMinisters will legislate to stop children taking or sharing nude images on their devices after Apple and Google fall short
Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, told the Commons on 8 September 2026 that the government will introduce primary legislation requiring major technology platforms to build device-level protections that prevent children taking, sharing or viewing nude images, and will require apps used by children to block nudity as well. Apple and Google were challenged in June on a three-month timeline; she said both have developed meaningful changes at operating system level but that the proposals do not meet the scale of the crisis. She cited the Internet Watch Foundation's finding that 91 per cent of such images are self-generated by children, around 9,000 child sexual abuse offences a year with an online element, and under-18s as the subject of almost a quarter of online blackmail. She has instructed officials to begin working up the legislation and said it will be reassessed if the companies implement solutions first. The NSPCC's chief executive called the plan a necessary move.
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Tech and AIA bill to prohibit superintelligent systems passes its first reading in the Commons
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Tech and AIASML and TSMC lead the move to 12-inch photomasks, with a pilot line by 2031
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Tech and AIAustralia publishes a digital duty of care with an opt-out from the algorithm and fines up to 109 million dollars
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Tech and AIIreland's media regulator opens its first Online Safety Code investigation, into X
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Tech and AIASML breaks ground on a 350,000 square metre second campus in Eindhoven for up to 20,000 workplaces
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Tech and AIOpenAI's chief scientist says no lab has solved alignment well enough to keep scaling at full speed
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Tech and AIBerlin says the attackers have published a second package, including login credentials
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Tech and AIPeers press for a free national cyber response service for small suppliers and are pointed to Cyber Essentials
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Tech and AIThe research agency chair who joined a model developer steps down after all
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Tech and AIA fire at a 3.2 billion dollar data centre found three dry hydrants and no alarm panel
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Tech and AIThe design economy counts 2.27 million jobs and its leaders say AI is the intern, not the replacement
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Tech and AIEurope's first privately built rocket reaches orbit on its second attempt
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Tech and AIThe regulator opens a compliance inquiry hours after a driverless taxi with no pedals goes on sale
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Tech and AITwo lawmakers ask the Pentagon's inspector general why troop locations are still for sale
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Tech and AIAn audit of 624 gambling websites finds 86 per cent breaching data protection law at the cookie banner
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Tech and AIA senator and a congressman propose to ban superintelligent systems and pause frontier development
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Tech and AIThe developer admits the wiki incident and says the reporting standard does not exist
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Tech and AITwo more newspapers sue over the training of models on their journalism
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Tech and AITwo hundred and sixty four acres in Hyderabad for a one gigawatt campus
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World NewsThe UK bans settlement goods, calls the occupation unlawful, and Israel orders the British consulate in Jerusalem closed
The United Kingdom announced on Tuesday 8 September 2026 that it will ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, create designation powers against individuals and companies that support, assist or profit from settlement activity, and ban the advertising of land and property in settlements. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told the House of Commons that the official view of the British government is now that the occupation is unlawful, in line with the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion, and extended the arms export ban to all licences that materially contribute to the occupation. A joint statement by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Mark Carney committed the three countries to ban settlement goods, and twelve countries in all confirmed national or EU measures or said they were considering them. Israel's Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, announced the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, the expulsion of British diplomats from the centre monitoring the Gaza ceasefire, an end to British training of Palestinian Authority forces and an entry ban on 12 British officials.
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World NewsAmerican forces strike Iranian tankers off Jask and Kharg, and Tehran says it seized an American underwater drone
United States forces struck several Iranian tankers tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday 8 September 2026, a US official said, in response to new attempted missile attacks on a US Navy warship. Iranian state television reported that tankers were attacked near the southern port of Jask and in the anchorage off Kharg Island, from which most of Iran's oil is exported, and that the crews were evacuated by lifeboat; an Iranian agency said a small tanker was hit four miles from Kharg with no casualties. The Revolutionary Guard's naval forces warned crews of tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to leave their vessels. Earlier in the day the Guard said it had captured an American unmanned submarine at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz; Central Command said an older underwater drone had malfunctioned more than a day before and carried no classified equipment. The UAE's Minister of Foreign Trade told a forum in Abu Dhabi that no country owns the Strait of Hormuz and that a toll on it is a red line for the Gulf.
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World NewsHungary expels ten Russian diplomats for activities it says breach the Vienna Convention, and Moscow promises a response
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World NewsChina's exports rise 25 per cent in August and the monthly surplus reaches 119 billion dollars ahead of the Xi visit to Washington
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World NewsThe air war resumes after the envoys leave Kyiv, and Putin tells Trump that Russia has no aggressive plans against Europe
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World NewsA Brazilian Supreme Court justice removes the head of the federal police and eleven of its directors offer to resign
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World NewsAlternative for Germany has 39 of 83 seats in Saxony-Anhalt and goes looking for three more
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World NewsThe coalition says Houthi attacks on four southern Saudi cities wounded 73 civilians and the Energy Ministry reports fires at several sites
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World NewsNepal lowers its flags on the thirteenth day as the flood toll passes 1,300 and 5,000 are still missing
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World NewsLebanon's President says three days of strikes that killed 27 undermine the June framework agreement
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World NewsThe EU signs a declaration with Greenland and Denmark in Nuuk and puts 200 million euros behind it
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World NewsSerbia buries Ratko Mladic with military honours and proposes dissolving parliament on the same day
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World NewsRussia and North Korea open their first road bridge, one kilometre across the Tumen, 16 months after the first pile
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World NewsAlternative for Germany takes 44 per cent in Saxony-Anhalt and falls short of a majority
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World NewsFive dead as a Boeing 767 freighter overruns the runway at Miami and hits vehicles on the road
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World NewsIran says it will declare an exclusion zone from the American blockade line to the Strait of Hormuz
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World NewsWitkoff and Kushner press for a return to three-way talks after their first visit to Kyiv
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World NewsAsh from Anak Krakatau closes Jakarta's airport and seven others, stranding 170,000 passengers
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World NewsYemen's government says 84 of its troops died in a day as the Houthi push towards Bab al-Mandab passes 300 dead
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World NewsCentcom strikes three Iranian tankers after missiles are fired at two American warships
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World NewsJoint trans-Tasman standards rise by 30 per cent and a trade mission is aimed at Brisbane 2032
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1Canada's counter-tariffs take effect as Washington bars its goods from federal contracts
Tariffs of 15, 25 and 50 per cent on 27.6 billion Canadian dollars of United States goods took effect on Tuesday, matching the American rates line by line, the Department of Finance says. President Donald Trump directed the General Services Administration to declare Canadian products ineligible for large long-term federal contracts until Canada allows reciprocity.
2Two Renoirs still missing after a three-minute theft on the Riviera
Two thieves cut a fence and climbed through a window at the Renoir Museum at Cagnes, between Nice and Cannes, before 6am on Tuesday and took four paintings, dropping two in the garden as they fled, the prosecutor's office said. Two portraits are still missing; the mayor valued the four works at 9 million euros.
3Jakarta's airports reopen after two days under Anak Krakatau's ash
Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports and three regional airports reopened just after midnight on Tuesday, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said, after ash closures halted nearly 3,000 flights. Every aircraft had to be inspected first. The operator counted 324 flights by Tuesday afternoon and expected 896 movements and 113,000 passengers by the end of the day.
4US Treasury sanctions 36 targets in Iran's aviation sector
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 36 targets on Tuesday for supporting Iran's aviation sector, which it says the state uses to move weapons, personnel and cargo, under what the Treasury calls Operation Economic Outcast. Its financial crimes network alerted banks and is examining third-country firms assisting Mahan Air, already under sanctions.
5Australia proposes a legal right to switch off the social media algorithm
Platforms would have to notify every user over 16 and offer a choice between a personalised feed and one showing only accounts they follow, under Digital Duty of Care legislation Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday. Penalties would reach 109.2 million Australian dollars, and services would have to protect under-18s from harmful content.
6Singapore raises ministers' pay for the first time in 15 years
Ministers and other political office holders receive a one-off rise of up to 9 per cent from 15 October, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told Parliament on Tuesday, taking the lowest ministerial grade from 1.1 million to about 1.2 million Singapore dollars. The benchmark for that grade becomes 1.8 million, with no automatic step to it.
Contract News
Contract awards, project launches, tenders and appointments across the industry.
Robertson wins 12.5 million pound Gamble Building main works in St Helens
Robertson Construction North West takes the two-stage design and build main works to refurbish and extend the heritage building. Ten tenders were received.
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Network Rail proposes 20 million pound direct award to Vertiq for lifts
A transparency notice proposes an 18 month direct award to Explore 2050 Engineering, trading as Vertiq, for off-site built lifts, with a break at month 12.
Read the full reportRobertson wins 12.5 million pound Gamble Building main works in St Helens
Robertson Construction North West takes the two-stage design and build main works to refurbish and extend the heritage building. Ten tenders were received.
Read the full reportNetwork Rail proposes 20 million pound direct award to Vertiq for lifts
A transparency notice proposes an 18 month direct award to Explore 2050 Engineering, trading as Vertiq, for off-site built lifts, with a break at month 12.
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Norfolk County Council to launch 84 million pound highways professional services procurement
A planned procurement notice confirms the competitive flexible procedure opens on 28 September 2026, with requests to participate due by 2 November 2026.
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Powys signs 3.17 million pound contract for 16 Welshpool bungalows
Sixteen council bungalows, four two-bedroom and twelve one-bedroom, on the former school site in Welshpool. Signed 18 May 2026, running to August 2027.
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TfGM extends deadlines on 40 million pound Bury Interchange housing funder search
Deadlines in the residential funder competition move back one week: clarifications by 14 September, invitation to participate submissions by 25 September.
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Alliance Leisure named sole supplier on 6 billion pound UK Leisure Framework
Denbighshire Leisure Ltd has awarded the 2026 to 2034 framework after one tender. Standstill ends 16 September; signing from 18 September; start 1 October.
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Hounslow opens market engagement on 300 million pound Convent Way regeneration
The council seeks a development and investment partner for 550 to 568 homes over up to five phases, plus interim repairs. Interest due 25 September 2026.
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Wigan tenders 110 million pound EV charging concession for its car parks
A 13 year concession, extendable to 15, to supply, install, operate and maintain public charging points in council car parks. Tenders close on 30 November.
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Seven bids open for Sultan Haitham City roads, lowest OMR 117.92 million
Oman's housing ministry opened bids for Phase 1 package WP16, road links to Sultan Qaboos Road with bridges, drainage and utilities. Top bid OMR 169.51m.
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Grovy breaks ground on Ramada Residences at Dubai Islands, Jaseera appointed
Enabling works are complete and structural works are under way on the Wyndham branded scheme with USquare Luxe Properties. No value or unit count is given.
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TfL tenders 19 million pound Elizabeth Line tunnel ventilation maintenance
Rail for London Infrastructure seeks a three year maintainer for the tunnel ventilation and controls system under central London. Requests in by 9 October.
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Welwyn Hatfield tenders 80 million pound responsive repairs contract
A ten year contract from October 2027 covering responsive repairs to approximately 9,500 council homes. Requests to participate are due by 5 October 2026.
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Together Housing lets 13.44 million pounds of fire safety contracts
Ashley and McDonough takes passive fire and fire door work at 7.44 million pounds and GTM Fire Protection takes sprinklers at 6 million, from 1 September.
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Great Places signs seven repairs contracts worth 11.54 million pounds
Seven contractors take five year lots from 21 September 2026, led by GOS Heating's 3.94 million pound North multi-trade contract. All sit below estimate.
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KEC and Kaden sign for SAR 2.5 billion Multaqa Al Madinah 2
A memorandum of understanding for 1,527 homes, offices and retail north of the first phase, through a fund in which the listed company holds 75 percent.
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West Highland Line to close for 13 million pounds of November works
Nine days of track, drainage and structures work between Helensburgh, Fort William and Mallaig. Buses replace trains from 9 to 17 November 2026.
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Bristol Brabazon station enters its final stages before an autumn opening
Copings, lift cladding, canopy and platform surfacing are in. Network Rail invites residents to a drop-in on 22 September before the Henbury Line reopens.
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W H Kirkwood takes St Fillans Church fabric repairs at 499,619 pounds
The Diocese of Paisley concluded the contract on 1 September for roofing, leadwork and stone repair to a Category B listed church in use. Seven firms bid.
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AECOM joins the Worley team on the Ontario Pumped Storage Project
Worley has engaged AECOM for the underground works and hydraulic systems on the proposed 1,000 megawatt scheme at Meaford, ahead of an investment decision.
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UGL wins engineering and asset management across nine Quantem terminals
The CIMIC Group company will deliver EPCM services for Quantem's bulk liquid storage network in Australia from November 2026. No value is published.
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Falkirk tenders insulation, reroofing and stone repairs at Newtown, Bo'ness
The 200,000 pound single stage works contract runs five months and is judged 80 per cent on price. Tenders close at 2pm on 25 September 2026.
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Meraas lets 590 million dirham main contract for Crestlane Phase 3
Parkway International Contracting will build 394 apartments in four buildings at City Walk Crestlane, Dubai. Work has begun; completion is due by Q3 2028.
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Sefton names Dowhigh for 54 million pound highways term maintenance
The eight year HM10 reactive maintenance contract runs from December 2026 with one hour call out and gritting support. Five bid; standstill ends 16 Sept.
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Sharjah public works completes a 400 pupil school in 60 days
The Department of Public Works reports Muhadhab School built on a 30,000 square metre site, two early years centres expanded and four nurseries under way.
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