Latest News

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  Iraq pushes to revive oil pipeline through Saudi Arabia

  Administrator

  16 April 2026

  Iraq is pushing to revive an oil pipeline that passes through Saudi Arabia, allowing it to diversify export routes.

  Saheb Bazoun, a spokesman for Iraq’s Oil Ministry, said the pipeline would help to insulate Iraq from any future blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since 28 February.

  The original pipeline through Saudi Arabia has not been used for more than 30 years and would need work to be done in order to bring it online.

  It is 1,568km long, extending from the city of Zubair in Iraq to the Saudi port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

  The pipeline was built in two phases during the 1980s. The first phase stretches between Zubair and Khurais, while the second extends to Yanbu. The pipeline’s operating capacity reached over 1.6 million barrels a day (b/d).

  Following the Gulf War, the pipeline was shut down in August 1990. It has remained out of operation for decades, despite Iraq’s several attempts to restart it.

  The original pipeline project cost over $2.6bn, including storage tanks and loading terminals.

  In the wake of the US and Israel attacking Iran on 28 February, global markets have lost 11 million barrels a day (b/d) of oil supply due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

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

  Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf economies under fire > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift > MARKET FOCUS: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift > LEGAL: Redefining the region’s arbitration landscape > QATAR LNG: Qatar’s new $8bn investment heats up global LNG race > INTERVIEW: Leyla Abdimomunova, National Development Division, PIF > LEADERSHIP: Shaping the future of passenger rail in the Middle East

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Algeria opens bidding for water treatment plant

  Administrator

  15 April 2026

  

   

  State-owned Cosider Pipelines, part of Algeria’s public infrastructure group Cosider, has issued a tender for the construction of a demineralisation plant in In Salah in Algeria.

  The contract covers the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a plant with a treatment capacity of 62,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

  The tender is open to local and international companies specialising in the design and construction of demineralisation and reverse osmosis desalination plants.

  The bid submission deadline is 26 April.

  The project will be located at In Salah, a key industrial area in southern Algeria, where treated water supply is important for both municipal and industrial use.

  Cosider said that individual bidders must demonstrate that they have completed at least one reverse osmosis demineralisation or desalination plant with a capacity of 20,000 cubic metres a day or more.

  They must also show an average annual turnover of at least AD1bn ($7.7m) for their five best years over the past decade.

  For consortium bids, all partners must share full responsibility for the contract, while the lead company must meet the technical and financial requirements.

  Recent projects

  In 2023, MEED reported that Riyadh-based water utility developer Wetico had won two contracts to develop water desalination plants in Algeria.

  Societe Algerienne de Realisation de Projects Industriels (Sarpi) awarded the contract for the El-Tarf desalination plant, while Entreprise Nationale de Canalisations (Enac) is the client for the Bejaja facility.

  Both plants were commissioned in 2025, each with a production capacity of 300,000 cm/d.

  Separately, Wetico was the main contractor on a third plant commissioned last year. The Cap Dijinet 2 seawater desalination plant in Boumerdes province covers 18 hectares and also has a capacity of 300,000 cm/d.

  Like many countries, Algeria is facing pressure on resources due to longer and more frequent droughts. Seawater desalination is seen as a key driver of the government’s strategy to guarantee drinking water supply.

  According to previous reports, the government is planning to build up to six additional plants by 2030.

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  WEBINAR: UAE Projects Market 2026

  Administrator

  15 April 2026

  Webinar: UAE Projects Market 2026
  Tuesday, 28 April 2026 | 11:00 GST  |  Register now

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  Agenda:

  • Overview of the UAE projects market landscape
  • 2025 projects market performance
  • Value of work awarded 2026 YTD
  • Impact of the Iran conflict on the projects market and real estate, assessing supply chain disruptions, material cost inflation and war risk premiums
  • Key drivers, challenges and opportunities
  • Size of future pipeline by sector and status
  • Ranking of the top contractors and clients
  • Summary of key current and future projects
  • Short and long-term market outlook
  • Audience Q&A

  Hosted by: Colin Foreman, editor of MEED 

  Colin Foreman is editor and a specialist construction journalist for news and analysis on MEED.com and the MEED Business Review magazine. He has been reporting on the region since 2003, specialising in the construction sector and its impact on the broader economy. He has reported exclusively on a wide range of projects across the region including Dubai Metro, the Burj Khalifa, Jeddah Airport, Doha Metro, Hamad International airport and Yas Island. Before joining MEED, Colin reported on the construction sector in Hong Kong.

  Click here to register

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Saudi Landbridge finds its moment in Gulf turmoil

  Administrator

  15 April 2026

  Commentary
  Yasir Iqbal
  Construction writer

  The strategic case for the Saudi Landbridge has never been more urgent. SAR’s appointment of Spain’s Typsa as lead design consultant, reported by MEED this week, is more than a procurement milestone. After two decades of delays, it reflects how the long-deferred project has become a strategic necessity.

  The conflict reshaping the Middle East has made that necessity more immediate. Red Sea transits are costly and unpredictable. The Strait of Hormuz carries risk no insurer can fully price. Saudi Arabia’s most valuable exports, including crude oil, refined products, petrochemicals and industrial goods, move almost entirely by sea through routes that are no longer reliably secure.

  The kingdom sits between two coastlines with no rail link connecting them. That gap is now an economic exposure.

  The $27bn project addresses it directly. More than 1,500 kilometres of track, anchored by a 900km railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, will provide direct freight access from King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea, with upgrades to the Riyadh-Dammam line and a new connection to Yanbu.

  Together, they create what Saudi Arabia has never had: a continuous land corridor linking Gulf industrial ports to Red Sea export terminals, entirely within its own borders.

  The commercial implications are substantial. Aramco’s downstream output, Sabic’s chemicals, and the manufacturing clusters of Jubail and Yanbu gain flexible access to both coasts.

  Exporters targeting Europe and the Americas load at Jeddah; those serving Asia pivot east to Dammam by rail, on demand, without Hormuz risk or Red Sea freight surcharges.

  No neighbouring economy has that optionality. The network also underpins a broader economic ambition. Connecting Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Jubail, Yanbu, King Abdullah port and King Khalid airport by rail positions the kingdom as a genuine logistics corridor between East and West. 

  With design now under way and construction tenders expected imminently, the Landbridge is closer to reality than at any point in its troubled history. Regional disruption did not create this project. But it has made the argument for it unanswerable.

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  MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
  > GVT &: ECONOMY: Riyadh navigates a changed landscape
  > BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
  > UPSTREAM: Offshore oil and gas projects to dominate Aramco capex in 2026
  > DOWNSTREAM: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
  > POWER: Wind power gathers pace in Saudi Arabia
  > WATER: Sharakat plan signals next phase of Saudi water expansion
  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction enters a period of strategic readjustment
  > TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure push

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Indian firm selected for Saudi sewage treatment project

  Administrator

  15 April 2026

  

   

  Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company is understood to have recently selected Indian contractor VA Tech Wabag as its preferred bidder for a contract to expand a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Al-Majmaah in Riyadh Province.

  The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) package for the Al-Majmaah STP has an estimated value of $65m.

  The scope includes the construction of sewage treatment plant units, a pumping station and an effluent surplus line. It also covers the installation of a Scada system, supervisory control systems and associated facilities.

  As MEED understands, six bids were submitted last year, including from local firms Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies, Al-Rafia Contracting, Civil Works Company, Saudi Sdn Water & Energy and Washnah Trading & Contracting.

  The project forms part of Saudi Arabia’s broader push to expand treatment and reuse infrastructure under Vision 2030, particularly across the Riyadh region.

  MEED recently revealed that NWC had awarded an EPC contract for the latest phase of its long-term operations and maintenance sewage treatment programme.

  The contract to build and upgrade sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of about 440,000 cubic metres a day was awarded to a consortium led by China’s Jiangsu United Water Technology.

  Elsewhere, a joint venture of Kuwait-based Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding and Wabag is awaiting the formal contract award for phase two of Kuwait’s Doha seawater desalination plant project.

  The firms submitted the lowest bid of $373.2m for the project last year.

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  SAR extends phosphate rail track deadline

  Administrator

  15 April 2026

  

   

  Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) has extended the bid submission deadline to 26 April for a multibillion-riyal tender to double the tracks on the existing phosphate transport railway network connecting the Waad Al-Shamal mines to Ras Al-Khair in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

  The new tender – covering the second section of the track-doubling works and spanning more than 150 kilometres (km) – was issued on 9 February. The previous bid submission deadline was 15 April.

  The new tender follows SAR receiving bids from contractors on 1 February for the project’s first phase, which spans about 100km from the AZ1/Nariyah Yard to Ras Al-Khair.

  The scope includes track doubling, alignment modifications, new utility bridges, culvert widening and hydrological structures, as well as the conversion of the AZ1 siding into a mainline track. It also includes support for signalling and telecommunications systems.

  The tender notice was issued in late November, with a bid submission deadline of 20 January 2026.

  Switzerland-based engineering firm ARX is the project consultant.

  MEED understands that these two packages are the first of four that SAR is expected to tender for the phosphate railway line. Other packages expected to be tendered shortly include the depot and systems packages.

  In 2023, MEED reported that SAR was planning two projects to increase its freight capacity, including an estimated SR4.2bn ($1.1bn) project to install a second track along the North Train Freight Line and construct three new freight yards.

  Formerly known as the North-South Railway, the North Train is a 1,550km-long freight line running from the phosphate and bauxite mines in the far north of the kingdom to the Al-Baithah junction. There, it diverges into a line southward to Riyadh and a second line running east to downstream fertiliser production and alumina refining facilities at Ras Al-Khair on the Gulf coast.

  Adding a second track and the freight yards will significantly increase the network’s cargo-carrying capacity and facilitate increased industrial production. Project implementation is expected to take four years.

  State-owned SAR is also considering increasing the localisation of railway materials and equipment, including the construction of a cement sleeper manufacturing facility.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Kuwait awards $565m upstream oil contract

  Administrator

  15 April 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Kuwait’s Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) has been awarded a contract for flowlines and associated works in North Kuwait by the state-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).

  In a statement to Kuwait’s stock exchange, Heisco said it had received a formal contract award letter for the project, valued at KD174.2m ($565m).

  The contract was awarded under Tender No. RFP-2141028 and was approved by Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders.

  Heisco was the fourth-lowest bidder for the contract.

  In its stock market statement, Heisco said that the financial impact of the contract will be determined at a later stage, with further updates to be provided as the project progresses.

  Heisco has also signed a renewal agreement with a local bank for a KD50m ($165m) loan.

  The company said in a disclosure statement that the loan is intended to finance Heisco’s activities in Kuwait and other countries.

  “Our company has renewed the credit facilities agreement with one of the local banks to finance its activities,” it said.

  Earlier this month, Heisco submitted the lowest bid for a project to upgrade part of the Mina Abdullah refinery’s export infrastructure.

  It submitted a bid of KD11,919,652 ($38.6m) for the project to implement renovation works on the artificial island that forms part of the port at the refinery.

  The only other bidder was Kuwait’s International Marine Construction Company (IMCC), which submitted a bid of KD12,480,113 ($40.4m).

  Kuwait is currently seeing significant disruption to its oil and gas sector due to fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

  The Mina Abdullah refinery was integrated with the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery as part of the $16bn Clean Fuels Project, which came online in 2021.

  Several units at the Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery were shut down after the refinery was hit by drone attacks last month.

  ---

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

  Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf economies under fire > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift > MARKET FOCUS: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift > LEGAL: Redefining the region’s arbitration landscape > QATAR LNG: Qatar’s new $8bn investment heats up global LNG race > INTERVIEW: Leyla Abdimomunova, National Development Division, PIF > LEADERSHIP: Shaping the future of passenger rail in the Middle East

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16394808/main.png

  Wil Crisp
• 
  Sirte oil projects expected to progress in Libya

  Administrator

  15 April 2026

  

   

  Three oil projects located in Libya’s Sirte basin are expected to be prioritised in the wake of Libya’s recent budget deal, according to industry sources.

  The projects are being developed by Libya’s Waha Oil Company, a subsidiary of the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC).

  All three projects will develop Libyan reservoirs that have not yet been tapped.

  The projects are known as:

  • NC98
  • Gialo 3
  • 6J North Gialo

  Together, the projects are expected to double Waha’s production from around 300,000 barrels of oil a day (b/d) to 600,000 b/d.

  The Waha concession covers 13 million acres.

  The stakeholders in Libya’s Waha concessions include France’s TotalEnergies, which has a 20.41% stake, and US-based ConocoPhillips.

  In March, MEED revealed that South Korea’s Daewoo had pulled out of the tender process for Libya’s 6J North Gialo oil field development project.

  Daewoo had formed a partnership with Egypt’s Petrojet to participate in the tender process.

  The only other company to submit a bid for the project was UK-based Petrofac, which filed for administration in October last year.

  In September last year, MEED reported that two bids had been submitted for the project and were under evaluation.

  The 6J North Gialo project was the first to be tendered; it was expected to be followed by NC98, with the Gialo 3 project likely to be tendered last.

  The NC98 field is located in the southeast area of Libya’s Sirte basin. Waha Oil Company ran a technical workshop for the NC98 project in June 2023.

  The workshop included a presentation of a study conducted by TotalEnergies that considered different development options for injecting gas and water, as well as exporting gas.

  At the time, Waha Oil said that the project to develop NC98 was one of its “major strategic projects” and by implementing it, it hoped to raise production by an average of 60,000 b/d.

  The Gialo 3 project scope includes installing surface facilities to channel output to a new production unit. Three existing production units will also be upgraded as part of the project.

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  Wil Crisp