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  • Bankability key to Saudi PPP pipeline

    Administrator

    2 October 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP) holds structured talks with bidders and lenders before launching transactions to ensure projects in its pipeline are bankable, according to a senior official.

    Speaking on a panel at MEED’s Shaping Mega Projects conference in Riyadh on 28 September, Tariq Alghaziri, executive vice-president at the NCP, said the centre carries out market sounding with potential bidders and debt providers, including commercial and Islamic banks, before announcing deals.

    “Bankability is a key word for us,” he said. “You can structure the deal in the way you want. You can have whatever technicalities and technologies are required, but is it suitable for the private sector to deliver? That’s the big question.”

    Alghaziri said the national privatisation strategy, approved at the end of 2025 and published at the start of 2026, sets the NCP’s targets up to 2030 and outlines its project pipeline. The strategy coincides with the third phase of Vision 2030, which he said is focused on measuring impact after earlier phases established the legal framework and enabled the private sector.

    Public-private partnership (PPP) contracts typically run for 25 years and, in some cases, more than 40 years, he said, which makes early engagement essential. “When we launch it, all the bidders, suppliers, EPC contractors, banks and ECAs are on the same page, and then they just have to align on commercial points and not negotiate legal aspects.”

    Risk transfer

    Jonathan Looker, managing director for Saudi Arabia at UK consultancy Mott MacDonald, said the public and private sectors often perceive risk very differently.

    "Can you put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re trying to transfer risk to?” he said. “There isn’t one single allocation model that is fit for every project.”

    Looker said failure to agree on risk can prevent projects from reaching financial close. "I’ve unfortunately been involved in a number of projects where we just can’t get the deal done because there is not a meeting of minds around a specific aspect of risk.”

    Alghaziri said Saudi regulations now state that the party with the capacity to manage a risk should take it, but that risk carries a cost. “You cannot just give the risk without pricing it,” he said. The NCP has trained more than 300 people over the past five or six years, including through a PPP professional certification it introduced in the kingdom.

    Early planning

    Hesham Ouf, senior director of finance at Roshn Group, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary, said risk management begins at the feasibility stage. “You need to have the stage gates right from the beginning until the project is delivered,” he said.

    Ali Al-Kuwari, senior manager of export development at Qatar Development Bank (QDB), said early disclosure of procurement needs allows lenders to assess project risk. “For me, the answer is very easy. I’ll ask for a sovereign guarantee,” he said.

    Wesley Thomson, partner and head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) at UK property consultancy Knight Frank, said climate exposure is becoming a central risk for long-life assets. “Mitigation is not the right word any more. I prefer to say adaptation, because the truth is you need to adapt to what we’re seeing.”

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

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20207592/main.png
    Colin Foreman
  • Financing hinders progress at major Iraqi refinery project

    Administrator

    2 October 2026

     

    Financial problems are hindering progress at Iraq’s Al-Faw Investment Refinery project, according to industry sources.

    Despite the main contract being signed more than two years ago, construction of the main refinery units has yet to begin because of ongoing financial issues, sources said.

    In May 2024, a statement released by the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office said that Iraq’s state-owned Southern Refineries Company and China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC) had signed a contract to develop the project.

    Iraq’s Oil Ministry previously said the project would be worth $7bn-$8bn.

    The project has struggled to make progress even after direct intervention by Iraq’s previous prime minister.

    On 6 August 2025, 15 months after the May 2024 contract signing with CNCEC, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, then prime minister, chaired a special meeting to resolve administrative and technical obstacles preventing the project from starting.

    At the time, Al-Sudani said the refinery project would have significant financial returns and would be “a breakthrough in the oil industry”.

    While the meeting in 2025 is believed to have solved some of the administrative issues blocking progress, financial problems with the project remain, sources said.

    The Al-Faw project is part of the Iraqi government’s plan to increase Iraq’s refining capacity, attract foreign investment and increase domestic production of petroleum products.

    Under existing plans, the refinery will have a capacity of 300,000 barrels a day and will produce oil derivatives for both domestic and international markets.

    The project will be carried out in two stages.

    The first phase will involve refining operations, while the second will involve constructing a petrochemicals complex with a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year.

    The project also includes building a 2,000MW power plant and establishing the Al-Faw Academy for Refinery Technology to train 5,000 Iraqi workers who will eventually work at the facility.

    Hualu, a subsidiary of CNCEC, signed a preliminary principles agreement for the project in December 2021.

    Due to material price inflation since December 2021, some insiders believe the project value may now be significantly higher than the previously estimated $7bn-$8bn.

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

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20207119/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Saudi pre-budget leans on borrowing to fund projects

    Administrator

    2 October 2026

    Saudi Arabia plans to spend SR1.39tn ($371.2bn) in 2027, according to the Finance Ministry’s pre-budget statement. That is 3% less than the estimated outturn for 2026, after regional conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed this year’s expenditure well past its allocation.

    The ministry now expects 2026 spending to reach SR1.44tn, which is SR122bn or 9.3% above the SR1.31tn approved in the budget. Revenues are estimated at SR1.19tn, SR43bn above budget, leaving a deficit of SR245bn, equal to 4.9% of GDP. The original budget assumed a SR165bn deficit, or 3.3% of GDP.

    For 2027, the statement projects revenues of SR1.2tn and a deficit of SR191bn, or 3.6% of GDP. Expenditure is forecast to rise to SR1.48tn in 2028 and SR1.54tn in 2029, with deficits of SR177bn and SR192bn projected for those years. On the ministry’s figures, the kingdom will run cumulative deficits of SR560bn ($149.3bn) between 2027 and 2029.

    The economic backdrop has deteriorated sharply. The ministry expects real GDP to contract by 3.6% in 2026, driven by a 21.8% fall in oil activity, while non-oil activity grows by 3.2%. It forecasts a rebound to 12.8% real growth in 2027.

    Capital spending

    The statement does not publish a capital expenditure figure or a sector breakdown. Those will follow with the budget in Q4. It does signal that project spending will continue. As Vision 2030 enters what the statement calls its third phase, the government says efforts will focus on “accelerating the pace of delivery and capitalising on growth opportunities through continued government capital expenditure”. It also wants a stronger role for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the National Development Fund in stimulating domestic investment.

    The ministry says it will “implement infrastructure-related programmes” and direct resources “towards priority programmes and projects”. It also commits to “maximise the utilisation of existing government assets and investments”. That wording points to a sharper focus on completing and monetising existing schemes rather than launching new ones.

    The medium-term debt strategy is designed to ensure “the continuity of the implementation of priority projects without being linked to the fluctuations of the economic cycle”, according to the statement.

    The government’s revenue scenarios hold expenditure at SR1.39tn in all three cases. Under the lowest revenue case of SR1.13tn, the deficit widens to SR259bn. The highest case of SR1.26tn narrows it to SR132bn. Any change falls on borrowing rather than on spending.

    The ministry says debt will deliberately rise by the end of 2027, and the borrowing plan will be disclosed by the end of this year. Alongside bonds, sukuk and loans, the government plans to expand “alternative government financing, including financing of projects, infrastructure and export credit agencies” in 2027 and over the medium term.

    Private capital

    The statement presents private investment as a growing share of project delivery. Investment in privatisation and public-private partnership (PPP) projects reached about SR180bn by the end of 2025. The National Privatisation Strategy was approved in November 2025. Ten privatisation and PPP projects have been launched under it in the first half of 2026, including the Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz International Airport PPP in Qassim. Contracts were signed for the Sabic Mental Health Hospital and the Jubail Container Terminal, taking the total to 83 partnership contracts. Private capital investment has exceeded SR56.2bn, against a target of SR240bn by 2030.

    The National Infrastructure Fund has committed SR10.5bn since 2022 to projects with a combined value of about SR59.3bn, of which SR44.1bn is private investment. Projects it has backed include the Neom green hydrogen project, the Shuaibah solar photovoltaic plants, the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport expansion, the Jubail-Buraidah independent water transmission pipeline and the Ezditek data centre. The fund plans to expand into healthcare, education, sports and artificial intelligence.

    PIF’s domestic investments totalled about SR750bn between 2021 and 2025. The statement lists several recent contracts across its portfolio. Diriyah Company, the PIF-owned developer of the Diriyah gigaproject, awarded a SR1.8bn contract to a consortium of local companies to build the Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art. PIF-owned Soudah Development signed a SR1.3bn agreement with National Grid SA, the transmission subsidiary of Saudi Electricity Company, to deliver electricity infrastructure for the Soudah Peaks project. Saudi Entertainment Ventures, also owned by PIF, plans 14 destinations across 13 cities, with investment of more than SR45bn. The Saudi Export-Import Bank plans to provide SR41.6bn of financing and insurance to non-oil exporters in 2027.

    Logistics investment has also become a priority since the disruption to Gulf shipping. The share of non-oil exports passing through Red Sea ports rose to 40.7% during the crisis, from 19.3% before it. In July, the General Ports Authority signed contracts worth up to SR1bn for seven logistics centres at Jeddah Islamic Port and Al-Khumrah. A separate logistics corridors initiative connects Gulf ports to the Red Sea by road and rail.

    The final 2027 budget is due for approval in Q4.

    MEED’s October 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Saudi projects hold steady
    > GOVERNMENT: Riyadh looks to reset its regional defence outlook
    > ECONOMY: Conflict bolsters case for Saudi economic diversification
    > BANKING: Saudi lenders readjust to lower lending and deposit climate
    > UPSTREAM: Aramco upstream spending gathers pace
    > DOWNSTREAM: Sabic steps up Saudi petchems investment
    > POWER: Saudi Arabia’s power award activity slows
    > WATER: Saudi water sector hits sharp slowdown
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction defies the headwinds
    > TRANSPORT: Saudi infrastructure pushes forward amid conflict
    > DATABANK: Saudi data indicates project spending shift

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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    Colin Foreman
  • Jordan begins prequalification for Shallala wastewater plant

    Administrator

    2 October 2026

    Jordan’s Water Authority has invited contractors to prequalify for a contract to rehabilitate and expand the Shallala wastewater treatment plant in Irbid governorate.

    The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) issued the invitation for prequalification on 28 September.

    The project will increase the plant’s average treatment capacity from 13,700 cubic metres a day (cm/d) to 30,500 cm/d. It is designed to accommodate projected population growth and increased wastewater flows associated with the National Water Carrier project.

    EBRD is financing the project via a sovereign loan, along with a European Union grant and Jordanian government funding for operation and maintenance (O&M) components.

    Submissions are due by 16 November, with a contract award scheduled for June 2027.

    The works will involve constructing a new treatment train based on activated sludge processing and biological nutrient removal. The scope also includes tertiary filtration, disinfection, sludge treatment and biogas utilisation.

    The contractor will also rehabilitate and optimise the existing treatment facilities after flows have been diverted to the new treatment train.

    Design-build contract

    The design-build contract covers engineering, procurement and construction works, commissioning and a 36-month O&M period. It is divided into four sections.

    Section one covers the design and construction of the new treatment train, while the second section covers rehabilitation of the existing plant.

    The third section includes 12 months of O&M for the new treatment train and a training programme for staff at Yarmouk Water Company (YWC), which currently operates the facility.

    The fourth section covers 24 months of O&M for the fully integrated plant, alongside a secondment programme for YWC staff.

    The project is intended to improve treated wastewater quality and enable reuse for unrestricted irrigation, with the existing plant remaining operational during most of the construction period.

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

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20180486/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Dubai extends sewerage tunnels Phase 2 Links deadline

    Administrator

    2 October 2026

     

    Dubai Municipality has extended the bid submission deadline for the Phase 2 Links package under the Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels (DSST) public-private partnership (PPP) project.

    The Phase 2 Links package is the third package being tendered under the flagship DSST scheme. It was tendered in January and has a new bid submission deadline of 19 November. 

    Bids had previously been expected by 30 September.

    In June, MEED reported that Dubai Municipality had selected groups for the first two packages, J and W, ahead of announcing formal contract awards.

    The J, W and Links packages cover the construction of two sets of deep tunnels terminating at pump stations at Warsan and the Jebel Ali sewage treatment plants (STPs). The project also includes over 200 kilometres of sewer links.

    According to a source, a hold-up on the “legal” side initially prevented the municipality from announcing formal contract awards, despite having selected the winning bidders and concluded technical discussions.

    It is also understood that ongoing discussions with the selected bidders over the allocation risk of risk are among the key factors that have held up a formal contract award announcement since the summer.

    As previously reported, Package W was earmarked for a consortium led by Etihad Water & Electricity (UAE) alongside Tamasuk Holding (Saudi Arabia) and Alkhorayef Water & Power (Saudi Arabia), with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) taking on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works. This package has an estimated capital expenditure cost of less than $2bn.

    Package J was earmarked for a consortium led by Vision Invest (Saudi Arabia) alongside Suez Water Company (France). This package has an estimated capital expenditure cost of $3bn. The EPC teams for this consortium comprise China Railway Middle East (CREC) and local firm Detech Contracting.

    As MEED understands, the municipality plans to formally announce these awards before moving on to procurement for the next phase.

    Bid preparations

    MEED also previously reported that at least two groups are preparing to bid for the Links package.

    According to a source, the first group comprises an EtihadWE-led consortium, alongside China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) and China Railway Construction Corporation 11th Bureau Group (CRCC 11) as EPC contractors. France’s Veolia would act as operator.

    MEED understands that Plenary Group will lead a second bidding consortium, while DeTech Contracting and Kalyon Construction (Turkey) are also preparing to bid for EPC works on the project, sources said.

    The three packages are being procured under 30-year design, build, finance, operate and maintain concession models.

    The DSST project aims to convert Dubai’s sewerage system from a pumped network to a gravity-based system, enabling the emirate to replace existing sewage pumping stations and meet long-term capacity needs.

    The programme also marks the first time the municipality will implement In-Country Value, a local content programme that promotes economic benefits.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20180075/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Aramco prepares to tender Sasref expansion project

    Administrator

    1 October 2026

     

    Saudi Aramco is expected to start the main tendering process for a major expansion project at its affiliate, Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery Company (Sasref), in the fourth quarter of this year.

    The proposed project, which is part of Aramco’s $100bn liquids-to-chemicals programme, aims to convert the Sasref refining complex in Jubail Industrial City into an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex by adding a mixed-feed cracker.

    The project also involves building an ethane cracker that will draw feedstock from the adjacent Sasref refinery.

    Aramco awarded South Korean contractor Samsung E&A a contract to perform the pre-front-end engineering and design (pre-feed) and feed works on the project in March 2024, MEED previously reported.

    Based on the duration of the pre-feed and feed contract – understood to be 18 months – Aramco was expected to start the solicitation of interest process for the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender in the second quarter of 2025.

    However, the project is said to have faced delays, slowing progress on the pre-feed and feed work. Samsung E&A has now reached an “advanced stage”, implying Aramco could start the main EPC tendering process in the fourth quarter, according to sources.

    In November 2024, Aramco signed a development framework agreement in Beijing with China-based Rongsheng Petrochemical Company for the Sasref integrated refining and petrochemicals complex project.

    “The agreement outlines the cooperation mechanism and planning relating to the design and development of the project, which aims to expand Sasref’s refining and petrochemical capabilities while fostering international collaboration,” Aramco and Rongsheng Petrochemical said in a joint statement at the time.

    In November 2024, Aramco also confirmed the project was in the pre-feed stage, adding that building large-scale steam crackers and integrating associated downstream derivatives into the existing Sasref complex would improve its ability to meet growing demand for high-quality petrochemical products.

    The 2024 agreement between Aramco and Rongsheng Petrochemical was the latest step in their joint investment in the Sasref petrochemical expansion project.

    The two companies first signed a cooperation framework agreement in April of that year to explore the formation of a joint-venture entity to invest in the project.

    Rongsheng said it would potentially acquire a 50% stake in Sasref as part of that framework agreement. Aramco, in turn, would potentially seek to acquire a 50% stake in Rongsheng affiliate Ningbo Zhongjin Petrochemical Company (ZJPC), as well as participate in a planned expansion project of ZJPC in China.

    Aramco and Rongsheng then signed preliminary documents in September 2024 related to the joint venture and the Sasref expansion project.

    ALSO READ: Saudi downstream projects market enters period of consolidation

    Aramco and UK energy major Shell were previously joint owners of the Sasref refinery.

    In April 2019, Aramco announced it had struck a deal with Shell to acquire the latter’s 50% share in the Sasref joint venture for $631m, taking full ownership of the refinery complex. Aramco has been the sole owner of the refinery since completing the transaction in September of that year.

    Aramco already owns a 10% interest in Rongsheng through its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company, based in the Netherlands. Rongsheng owns a 100% equity interest in ZJPC, which operates an aromatics production complex and has an interest in a joint venture that produces purified terephthalic acid.

    Prior to signing the framework agreement with Rongsheng last April, Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hengli Group Company in April for the potential acquisition of a 10% stake in its subsidiary, Hengli Petrochemical, subject to due diligence and required regulatory clearances.

    Aramco also signed preliminary documentation with Hengli for the potential stake acquisition.

    Hengli Petrochemical owns and operates a 400,000 barrel-a-day refinery and integrated chemicals complex in China’s Liaoning province, as well as other plants and production facilities in Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces.

    Aramco has been supplying crude oil feedstock to Hengli Petrochemical since at least 2018.

    ALSO READ: Sabic steps up Saudi petrochemicals investment
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20178866/main0804.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Neom’s industrial pivot gathers pace

    Administrator

    1 October 2026

    Commentary
    Colin Foreman
    Editor

    Reprioritisation has been the buzzword in Saudi Arabia over the past two years and nowhere has that been more evident than at Neom. 

    The slowdown of development at The Line and the postponement of the 2029 Asian Winter Games at Trojena have dominated international headlines. As these projects scale back, Oxagon’s industrial and logistics base has become the $500bn gigaproject’s flagship development. There are tangible results: in August, the $8.5bn Neom Green Hydrogen project was commissioned, marking Neom’s most significant completion to date. 

    Construction activity elsewhere at Oxagon supports this trend. The AI data-centre campus being developed by Humain and DataVolt has broken ground on its first 100MW phase, backed by $5bn of investment and targeted for service in 2028. Neom has issued an expression of interest for a rail line linking the Port of Neom to Saudi Arabia Railways’ North-South network, tenders are out for an industrial wastewater plant and the upgrade of Highway 55, and the port itself is advancing towards a 2030 capacity target of 1.5 million TEUs. 

    The regional conflict that began in February has strengthened the business case by giving Oxagon’s Red Sea port added strategic weight as a second maritime gateway outside the Strait of Hormuz, at a time when Riyadh has committed to directing about 80% of the Public Investment Fund’s portfolio into domestic investment.

    These developments reflect a kingdom recalibrating rather than retreating

    Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia’s wider projects market is holding steady despite conflict-related disruption, with contract awards reaching $68bn so far this year. The regional power market is also diversifying, with Aljomaih, EDF and Kepco all more than tripling net capacity in recent years as Acwa retains its lead.

    These developments reflect a kingdom recalibrating rather than retreating, with priority given to projects capable of delivering commercial returns.

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

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20178338/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Contractor wins Dammam airport water infrastructure deal

    Administrator

    1 October 2026

    Saudi Arabia-based Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies has won an SR80m ($21.3m) contract to rehabilitate water and wastewater infrastructure at King Fahd International airport in Dammam in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

    The contract was awarded by Dammam Airports Company (DACO), and work is scheduled to be completed within 18 months, the firm said in a disclosure to the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) on 29 September.

    The scope covers the design, construction, supply, installation, replacement, rehabilitation and integration of water and wastewater infrastructure.

    It includes pumps, storage tanks and reservoirs, reverse osmosis facilities, piping and tie-ins, as well as electrical and instrumentation works.

    The award comes as DACO advances a wider programme of investment at King Fahd International airport.

    DACO signed more than SR1.2bn ($320m) in agreements in June covering airport infrastructure, including a new power station, a medium-voltage distribution network and upgrades to the existing electrical grid. 

    In September, it also appointed WSP Middle East, the regional arm of Canadian engineering firm WSP, to develop the airport’s expansion under its masterplan.

    The expansion is intended to increase annual passenger capacity to more than 19.3 million by 2030, with a longer-term target of 32 million passengers. 

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20169118/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
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