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  • Saudi Arabia and Turkiye sign railway agreements

    Administrator

    10 June 2026

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    Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the railway and logistics sectors, advancing Riyadh’s ambitions to become a global logistics hub.

    Transport and Logistics Services Minister Saleh Al-Jasser and Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu signed the agreements at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh on 9 June, following ministerial talks held with a high-level Turkish delegation. Transport General Authority president Fawaz Al-Sahli and officials from the kingdom’s transport and logistics sector were also present.

    Agreement scope

    The first MoU covers logistics services and operations, including the exchange of expertise, policies and regulations. The second focuses on railway technologies, signalling and communication systems, railway digitalisation, human capacity development, the localisation of the railway industry and measures to reduce the sector’s environmental impact.

    More broadly, the agreements cover cooperation on railway standards and related innovations, the exchange of expertise on the design, operation and maintenance of rail projects, and engineering, infrastructure and safety standards.

    The two sides will also cooperate on research and development, with provision for joint workforce training through specialist railway academies.

    Riyadh said the agreements will help support its National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services and Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to position the kingdom as a logistics bridge connecting three continents.

    Turkish projects

    Turkish contractors have already established themselves as key players in the region’s rail sector. In 2012, Yapi Merkezi secured a $2.1bn contract for work on the Haramain high-speed rail network in Saudi Arabia, while Turkish firms Mapa and Limak are leading the ongoing civil works on Dubai’s $5.5bn Metro Blue Line project as part of a China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) consortium. Turkish consultancy Proyapi Muhendislik ve Musavirlik Anonim Sirketi has also won design contracts for the 111km Kuwait National Rail Road project.

    The agreements signed by Saudi Arabia and Turkiye may also give momentum to longstanding discussions around a rail corridor linking the GCC with Turkiye. The route, which has been discussed for years, has gained renewed impetus in recent months as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed regional governments to accelerate the development of overland trade alternatives.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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    Colin Foreman
  • Joint venture tenders Algeria field development contract

    Administrator

    10 June 2026

     

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    Hassi Bir Rekaiz Group (GHBR), which operates Algeria’s Hassi Bir Rekaiz field, has issued a tender for phase 2A of the asset’s field development project.

    GHBR is a joint venture of Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach and Thailand’s national exploration and production company PTTEP.

    The scope of the contract focuses on the “provision of engineering and supervision services”, according to documents published by Sonatrach.

    The tender has been issued with a bid deadline of 16 June 2026.

    In May, GHBR signed a $1.1bn contract for phase two of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz development project.

    The contract was won by a consortium of Egypt’s Petrojet and Italian engineering and contracting company Arkad.

    Petrojet’s portion of the project was estimated to be worth around $600m, and Arkad’s portion was estimated to be worth $500m.

    The contract used the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model.

    The scope of the project contract is focused on the construction of a central processing facility (CPF) capable of processing crude oil and associated gas.

    It also includes developing off-plot pipelines, as well as related utilities and infrastructure.

    The CPF will have the capacity to process 32,000 barrels a day (b/d) and will be designed to support future expansions.

    The related infrastructure will include an extensive pipeline network spanning approximately 217 kilometres, as well as a road network.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17163750/main3325.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Algeria extends deadline for urea-formaldehyde project

    Administrator

    10 June 2026

     

    Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach has extended the bid deadline for a project to develop a new concentrated urea-formaldehyde unit in its Arzew industrial zone.

    The latest bid deadline is 15 June.  

    The contract uses the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model, and the bid deadline for technical tender submissions was originally set for early April.

    The condensed urea-formaldehyde unit will be located at the CP1-Z facility.

    The CP1-Z facility began operations in 1975 and has a capacity of 152,000 tonnes a year. It produces products including methanol, resin and formol.

    It is a two-phase tender. The first phase is a technical bid submission, and the second phase is a commercial bid submission.

    To be eligible to win this contract, companies must specialise in petrochemical industrial installation projects.

    They also need to have a share capital of at least $7m and more than 15 years of relevant experience.

    The new unit, UFC85, will have the capacity to produce 40,000 metric tonnes of concentrated and condensed urea-formaldehyde annually.

    The project’s scope also includes the development of auxiliary equipment and installations.

    Urea-formaldehyde has a wide range of uses, including the production of laminates, textiles and paper.

    In the wood industry, it is used as a thermosetting adhesive to bond wood to create plywood and particleboard. In agriculture, urea-formaldehyde is widely used as a slow-release fertiliser.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17163657/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Contractors submit prices for Abu Dhabi offshore gas project

    Administrator

    10 June 2026

     

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    Contractors have submitted commercial bids to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) for a major project to develop the Waset offshore gas field, located in Abu Dhabi’s offshore Block 2.

    The Waset gas development project involves engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of both offshore and onshore facilities.

    The offshore EPC scope includes an offshore jacket, a nine-slot unmanned wellhead platform, over 80 kilometres of subsea pipelines, subsea cables and associated facilities.

    Onshore works involve the EPC of new processing facilities on Arzanah Island. The project will leverage Adnoc’s existing infrastructure at Arzanah Island, which also serves as the operating base for its under-construction Dalma gas project.

    Adnoc issued the main EPC tender for the Waset gas development project last year. Contractors submitted technical bids for the project by 15 January this year, while commercial bids were submitted on 5 June, sources told MEED.

    Adnoc is targeting first gas production from the Waset field by 2027, with an expected output of approximately 180 million cubic feet a day.

    Based on the production concession agreement awarded by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) in June 2025, Adnoc is the majority stakeholder in Block 2, with a 60% interest. Italian energy producer Eni and Thailand’s state-owned PTT Exploration & Production Public Company (PTTEP) hold 28% and 12% participating interests, respectively. 

    Block 2, located about 30km offshore Abu Dhabi city, covers approximately 4,033 sq km in water depths of around 30 metres.

    Offshore Block 2 is located to the west of the Ghasha field in Gulf waters, “focusing primarily on conventional gas resources”. Adnoc awarded full exploration rights for Offshore Block 2, along with Offshore Block 1, to the consortium of Eni and PTTEP in January 2019, as part of Abu Dhabi’s first-ever upstream licensing round.

    The Eni/PTTEP consortium announced two gas discoveries in Offshore Block 2 in 2022. The first discovery, announced in February of that year, was estimated to hold between 1.5 and 2 trillion cubic feet of gas resources. A second discovery of 1 to 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas was announced in July, taking the total gas resources found in the asset to 2.5-3.5 trillion cubic feet.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17158169/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Contractor puts Tadawul IPO on hold

    Administrator

    9 June 2026

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    Saudi Arabia’s Mutlaq Al-Ghowairi Contracting Company (MGC) has postponed its planned initial public offering (IPO) on the main market of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).

    The Riyadh-based contractor said it had decided to delay the offering after completing the institutional bookbuilding process and consulting with its financial advisers.

    In a statement issued on 9 June, the company said the offering had attracted significant interest from international, regional and local investors.

    However, it added: “Following the completion of the institutional book-building process and careful consideration of the objectives and strategic priorities of the company and its selling shareholders, the company has decided to postpone the offering and will continue to evaluate the most appropriate timing to proceed with the offering.”

    MGC announced plans in May to float 240 million shares, representing 30% of its issued share capital, through the sale of existing shares by certain shareholders.

    Following this, MGC set the price range for its IPO at between SR11 ($2.9) and SR12.5 ($3.3) a share, implying an offer size of SR2.64bn to SR3bn ($704m-$800m).

    The transaction was structured as a secondary sale, with MGC not issuing any new shares or receiving proceeds from the offering. Net proceeds were due to be distributed to the selling shareholders.

    The planned IPO followed approval from the Capital Market Authority (CMA), which was granted on 31 December last year.

    Founded in 1977, MGC specialises in construction, operations and maintenance services. Its core activities include water infrastructure, transport and urban development projects.

    The company said it had delivered more than 80 projects over the past five years and reported a backlog of SR10.57bn ($2.8bn) as of 31 March.

    MGC said the postponement would not affect its operations or project delivery.

    “MGC’s operational and financial fundamentals remain strong, and this decision does not impact the company’s day-to-day operations, client relationships, project delivery, or strategic priorities.”

    The company added that it remains committed to its growth strategy and supporting infrastructure projects across Saudi Arabia in line with Vision 2030.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17158043/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Consortium wins Ajman sewage treatment contract

    Administrator

    9 June 2026

     

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    A consortium led by India’s VA Tech Wabag has won a contract for the proposed Ajman sewage biorefinery plant phase 3 in the UAE.

    The contract was awarded by Ajman Sewerage Private Company, Wabag said in a filing to the Indian stock exchange.

    According to a source, the consortium includes Indian contractor Kalpataru Projects International, formerly Kalpataru Power Transmission.

    The scope covers the design, engineering, procurement and construction of a 60 million-litre-a-day sewage treatment plant.

    The project, which marks Wabag’s first major award in the UAE, includes associated inlet works, primary and secondary treatment systems, sludge management facilities and power generation systems.

    According to the Wabag filing, the facility will use activated sludge process technology for biological treatment. Tertiary treatment will be provided through disc filtration systems.

    Ajman Sewerage has been expanding its wastewater treatment infrastructure to accommodate population growth and rising sewage flows in the emirate.

    The latest contract follows earlier phases of development at the company’s treatment and biorefinery complex, including a $50m phase 2 expansion completed earlier this year.

    A joint venture of Darwish Engineering Emirates (UAE) and Veolia (France) carried out the engineering, procurement and construction works for this phase.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17156257/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Sharjah developer launches Al-Mamzar towers scheme

    Administrator

    9 June 2026

    Local real estate developer Alef Group has launched a mixed-use development in the Al-Mamzar area of Sharjah. The Linar project is valued at AED4bn ($1.1bn) and comprises five residential towers and one commercial tower. Across the development, the 50- to 55-floor towers will offer a total of 2,620 residential units.

    With 325 metres of sea-facing frontage overlooking Al-Mamzar Beach, the development also includes retail and service spaces. Tower A, which forms part of Phase 1 of the project, is expected to be completed from 2030 onwards. 

    In a statement, the developer said that following strong demand for expressions of interest (EoIs) in Tower A, Alef Group expanded EoIs to include towers B and C. All Phase 1 EoIs have now been fully reserved, representing a total of 1,572 residential units with a combined value of over AED2bn. The group is preparing to open EoIs for towers D and E.

    In April, Alef Group awarded Abu Dhabi-based construction firm A&M International a AED750m contract to build the next phases of its Hayyan residential community in Sharjah. The scope includes the construction of more than 700 villas and townhouses across three clusters – Samr 1, Samr 2 and Deem – along with Hayyan Mall, a clubhouse and associated infrastructure works.

    The Hayyan masterplan includes seven residential clusters: Alma, Arim 1, Arim 2, Arim 3, Samr 1, Samr 2 and Samr 3.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17157150/main1720.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Record investment drives Jordan’s utilities market

    Administrator

    9 June 2026

     

    In April, Jordan signed the final technical and legal agreement for its landmark National Water Carrier Project, paving the way for the financial close of the kingdom’s largest planned water infrastructure project to date.

    The agreement represents a significant step forward for the scheme, which is now projected to reach $5.6bn in total costs, including financing, up from earlier estimates of $3.5bn.

    Paris-based investment and utility firms Meridiam and Suez were awarded the contract last year to develop the project in partnership with Jordan’s Water & Irrigation Ministry.

    Since then, multiple large-scale financing agreements have been put in place for the project, which is expected to supply about 40% of Jordan’s drinking water needs.

    While new contract awards have been limited in 2026, the successful execution of the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance scheme will help reassure the market that large-scale infrastructure projects of this nature can move forward.

    The project is set to reduce the benchmark water cost from about $3 a cubic metre in 2024 to approximately $2.7 and is crucial to addressing Jordan’s severe water scarcity.

    Prime Minister Jafar Hassan recently said that the scheme, along with the Aqaba Port railway project, represented “the largest level of foreign investment in the kingdom’s history”.

    For its part, the government has said it will contribute $722m to the Aqaba-Amman project, representing the largest single capital expenditure in the state budget.

    Upcoming projects

    Looking forward, there is a healthier pipeline of new water projects, led by a two-phased wastewater treatment project at Wadi Zarqa.

    The first phase will have an initial capacity to treat 150,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of wastewater by 2030.

    The $150m second phase covers an independent sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 200,000 cm/d. Both tenders are expected to be released in the coming months.

    Two larger projects, valued at $300m each, are currently in the planning stages. Both are managed by Yarmouk Water Company and involve major transmission pipeline works in Ajloun and Irbid as part of the Jordan Water Sector Efficiency Project.

    The Jordan Water Sector Efficiency Project is a World Bank-backed programme aimed at reducing water losses, improving utility performance and enhancing the efficiency of water services across the kingdom.

    Power contracts

    Jordan’s power sector is set for a record-breaking year following the announcement that a $900m combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant will be developed in partnership with Etihad Development Company, a subsidiary of the UAE’s Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE).

    The project will be developed under a build-own-operate model with Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco) purchasing electricity under a 25-year power-purchase agreement.

    For context, Jordan’s power sector saw just $33m in total contract awards in 2025, according to MEED Projects.

    The full-year total last exceeded $100m in 2022, when there were $111m of contract awards. The plant is expected to meet about 10% of Jordan’s electricity demand once operational.

    The kingdom has also been looking at other forms of power generation, such as Jordan’s first 450MW pumped hydroelectric energy storage project near Al-Mujib Dam.

    Earlier this year, US-headquartered K&M Advisors and France’s Artelia were appointed as transaction advisers to carry out the final feasibility study for the project, which is expected to be tendered in the third quarter of 2026.

    The Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources (MEMR) is also planning to undertake the construction of a 1,000MW wind power plant and battery energy storage system near the Port of Aqaba in Jordan.

    The renewable energy scheme could potentially support the kingdom’s emerging green hydrogen industry, including a separate planned $1bn green ammonia and hydrogen project in Aqaba.

    In May, the project became the first publicly announced green ammonia project in Jordan to receive development approval from the Council of Ministers.

    The project would be developed by Jordan Green Ammonia, a special-purpose vehicle funded by the UAE-based 7Fidelity Group and Poland’s Hynfra.

    The project in Aqaba is expected to produce 100,000 tonnes a year of green ammonia from 2030

    Of approximately $6bn-worth of power projects in the pre-execution phase, it is worth noting that about $4.4bn are still in the early study or feed stages.

    Near-term awards are likely to come from several smaller substation and power generation schemes.

    Jordan-Syria power link

    Among the wider pipeline of regional opportunities, Jordan’s power sector could also benefit from efforts to restore electricity connectivity with neighbouring Syria.

    Syria’s Public Establishment for Transmission & Distribution of Electricity recently tendered a contract to repair the 400kV high-voltage interconnector transmission lines between the two countries.

    The works form part of Syria’s $146m Electricity Emergency Project, which is being financed through a World Bank grant and aims to restore critical electricity infrastructure across the country.

    The rehabilitation of the Syria-Jordan interconnector is expected to enable the import of up to 600MW of electricity and represents one of several initiatives under way to rebuild Syria’s power network following years of conflict and underinvestment.

    More broadly, Syria is emerging as an active power market in its own right. In April, Germany’s Siemens Energy signed manufacturing agreements for major power plant projects being developed by a consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Holding.

    The contracts cover combined-cycle power packages for the Zayzoun and Deir Azzour power plant projects, announced last year as part of a $7bn memorandum of understanding between the consortium and Syria’s Ministry of Energy.

    The May 2025 agreements include four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants in Traifawi, Homs and Zayzoun, Deir-Azzour and Mehardeh in Hama with an installed capacity of 4GW.

    Additionally, a 1GW solar power plant will be developed in Wedian Al-Rabee in Syria’s southern region.

    Most of these projects, awarded under concession agreements following a strategic memorandum of understanding framework, are due to come online in 2029.

    After years of inactivity, this is considerable progress. The next step is attracting sufficient interest in new and upcoming tenders. This will signal whether international contractors are ready to re-engage with the country’s power sector.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17157016/main.gif
    Mark Dowdall
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