2007-06-29 KONE Wins Several Major Orders in the Middle East

KONE has won four major orders in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

One of the developments is the world’s largest mosque, the Holy Harram (Holy Mosque), located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The other three projects represent new architectural landmarks in the Middle East. The combined value of the orders exceeds EUR 40 million.

In Saudi Arabia, KONE will supply 128 heavy-duty escalators and 14 elevators for the Holy Harram located in the city of Mecca. The mosque, also known as Al Harram Al Sherriff, is currently being further expanded to handle the growth of religious tourism in Saudi Arabia. The installation of the equipment will start in September 2007 and is estimated to be completed in March 2008.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), KONE has signed a contract with Bando Engineering and Construction Co. of South Korea to supply 36 customized elevators in the new U-Bora Tower development located in the heart of Dubai’s Business Bay.The highest tower of the three-building complex will reach up to 263 meters. When installed, the elevators will travel up to speeds of 8 m/s. The installation of the elevators will start in February 2008 and is estimated to be completed in January 2009.

In Qatar, KONE has won a contract to supply all elevators and escalators for two new office, residential and retail centers in Doha; The Twin Palm Towers and the West Bay Lagoon Plaza.

The Twin Palm development consists of two office towers reaching up to 246 meters. Both towers will be equipped with 52 high-rise elevators travelling at maximum speeds of 8 m/s. The installation of the elevators will start in March 2008 and is estimated to be finished in April 2009.

The West Bay Lagoon Plaza forms a modern residential and commercial area combining two architecturally impressive high-rise towers. KONE will supply a total of 26 elevators and 8 escalators for the 143-meter building complex. The installation of the equioment will start in November 2007 and is estimated to be finished in June 2008.

Earlier this year, KONE won an order of 36 units for the five-tower multi-purpose office center Capital Plaza in Abu Dhabi, UAE with the first double-deck elevators in the Middle East.

Sender:

Eric Maziol
Executive Vice President,
Area Director, West and South Europe

Minna Mars
Senior Vice President,
Corporate Communications & IR

For further information, please contact:
Minna Mars, SVP, Corporate Communications & IR, tel. +358 (0)204 75 4501 or +358 (0)50 384 9440

KONE is one of the world’s leading elevator and escalator companies. It provides its customers with industry-leading elevators and escalators, with innovative solutions for their maintenance and modernization. KONE also provides maintenance of automatic building doors. In 2006, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 3.6 billion and approximately 29,000 employees. Its class B shares are listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Finland.