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  Etihad Rail moves UAE high-speed rail deadline

  3 June 2025

  

   

  The UAE’s Etihad Rail has extended the deadline for the tender to design and build the civil works and station packages for the high-speed railway line connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

  MEED understands that the technical submissions are now due on 7 August, and the deadline for submitting the commercial proposals is 1 September.

  In January, MEED reported that Etihad Rail had issued the tender notice for the contract on 10 January with an initial bid submission deadline of 7 May.

  Contractors are also forming joint ventures to bid for upcoming design-and-build works packages for the high-speed railway (HSR) project.

  Etihad Rail started the post-prequalification clarifications with firms after they submitted prequalification documents on 21 November 2024.

  The design speed of the trains running on the UAE’s HSR network will be 350 kilometres an hour (km/h) and the operating speed will be 320km/h, as MEED reported last year.

  The proposed HSR programme will be constructed in four phases, gradually adding further connectivity to other areas within the UAE.

  The first phase involves the construction of a railway line connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which is expected to be operational by 2030.

  The second phase will involve the development of an inner-city railway network with 10 stations within the city of Abu Dhabi.

  The third phase of the railway network involves the construction of a connection between Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain.

  The fourth phase involves the development of an inter-emirate connection between Dubai and Sharjah.

  The 150-kilometre (km) first phase of the HSR will stretch from the Al-Zahiyah area of Abu Dhabi to Al-Jaddaf in Dubai.

  The project’s civil works have been split into two packages – Abu Dhabi and Dubai – comprising four sections. The scope of these sections includes:

  • Phase 1A: Al-Zahiyah to Yas Island (23.5km) 
  • Phase 1B: Yas Island to the border of Abu Dhabi/Dubai (64.2km)
  • Phase 1C: Abu Dhabi/Dubai border to Al-Jaddaf (52.1km)
  • Phase 1D: Abu Dhabi airport delta junction and connection with Abu Dhabi airport station (9.2km)

  The rail line will have five stations: Al-Zahiyah (ADT), Saadiyat Island (ADS), Yas Island (YAS), Abu Dhabi airport (AUH) and Al-Jaddaf (DJD).

  The ADT, AUH and DJD stations will be underground, while ADS will be elevated and YAS will be at grade.

  The overall construction package also includes provisions for the rolling stock, railway systems and two maintenance depots.

  The high-speed project will slash journey times between the UAE’s two largest cities and economic centres. The journey time between the YAS and DJD stations will be 30 minutes.

  The preliminary site testing works have begun. Dubai-based Matcon Testing Laboratory and Abu Dhabi’s Engineering & Research International are conducting drilling tests to ascertain the ground conditions in areas through which the HSR will pass. 

  Spanish engineering firms Sener and Ineco are the project’s engineering consultants.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Contractors express interest in Safaniya onshore facilities project

  3 June 2025

  

  Saudi Aramco has received solicitations of interest (SoI) from contractors for a major project to build onshore surface facilities to boost the productivity of the Safaniya offshore oil field.

  The Safaniya field is the world’s largest offshore oil field and has a production capacity of close to 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d). The field was discovered in 1951 and is located in the waters of the Gulf, 265 kilometres north of Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.

  Aramco is understood to have issued the SoI document for the Safaniya field onshore surface facilities project in May, with contractors submitting responses by 28 May, according to sources.

  The Saudi energy giant has divided the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope of work on the project into two packages:

  • Package 1 – Water treatment and injection plant:
    • Building new water injection units
    • Expansion of gas oil separation plant 1
    • Building of storage tanks, transfer pumps and substation
    • Central processing facility at the Zuluf field development that will have water transfer pumps, chemicals injection skids, etc
       
  • Package 2 – Produced water utilities:
    • Fire water system
    • Potable water units
    • Utilities
    • Nitrogen generation system
    • Site buildings
    • Electrical infrastructure
    • Security systems
    • Telecommunications networks

  Following the completion of the SoI process, Aramco is now expected to issue the main EPC tender for the Safaniya field onshore surface facilities project this month, sources told MEED.

  In addition to initiating the project to build onshore facilities to boost the Safaniya field’s productivity, MEED previously also reported that Aramco had issued three offshore tenders related to the next expansion phase of the field.

  Contractors in its Long-Term Agreement pool of offshore service providers are preparing to submit bids for the three tenders, which are Contracts Release and Purchase Order numbers 154, 155 and 156, by a deadline of 31 July.

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Construction starts on Aramco’s Abu Ali housing PPP

  2 June 2025

  A team led by Saudi-headquartered Lamar Holding broke ground on 26 May on Saudi Aramco's staff accommodation project located on Saudi Arabia's Abu Ali Island.

  The other firms in the consortium include Beijing-headquartered Sinohydro, Jeddah-based Asyad Holding Group and Dhahran-based Enjaz United Real Estate Development Company.

  The project is being developed on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis and is expected to house 700 employees.

  In January last year, MEED reported that the team led by Lamar Holding had won the contract to develop Aramco's staff accommodation on Abu Ali Island.

  The contract is estimated to be valued at $250m.

  The companies were understood to have submitted bids for the Abu Ali housing PPP contract in September 2023.

  Also in 2023, a team comprising Lamar Holding and local company Asyad Group won the contract to develop PPP accommodation complexes at Haradh and Wudayhi in the Eastern Province. The contract was valued at $450m, MEED reported. 

  The complexes are expected to house up to 2,800 workers across 11 residential buildings. There will also be two mosques and a clinic, as well as a refurbished recreational facility and an expanded medical facility at each complex.

  The scope of the contract also includes the construction of a sewage treatment plant operations building and the installation of chiller plants, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

  A team led by El-Seif was awarded the contract to develop and implement the Tanajib housing PPP project in early 2022. The project scope includes the development of 2,500 housing units, in addition to a food court, parking facilities and infrastructure.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  New Murabba prepares Mukaab raft award

  2 June 2025

  

   

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Saudi Arabia’s New Murabba Development Company (NMDC) is preparing to award a contract for work at the New Murabba downtown development in Riyadh. Its scope includes the raft concrete works beneath the wadi podiums and the Mukaab structure.

  MEED understands that negotiations have reached advanced stages and the award could be finalised within weeks.

  NMDC issued the tender notice in August last year, with contractors initially given until 27 October to submit their commercial bids.

  The raft construction package is expected to be worth SR3.8bn-SR4.4bn ($1bn-$1.1bn).

  In May, NMDC invited companies to prequalify for a contract that requires them to form consortiums to execute the main works for the Mukaab at the New Murabba development.

  In October last year, MEED reported that New Murabba had achieved significant construction progress on its Mukaab development.

  According to an official statement released on 15 October: “Excavation works at the Mukaab and surrounding podium sites have reached 86% completion, with over 10 million cubic metres of earth moved.”

  Beijing-headquartered China Harbour Engineering Company is carrying out the excavation works.

  The foundation works for the Mukaab are being carried out by UAE-headquartered HSSG Foundation Contracting. 

  The Mukaab is a Najdi-inspired landmark that will be one of the largest buildings in the world. It will be 400 metres high, 400 metres wide and 400 metres long. Internally, it will have a tower on top of a spiral base and a structure featuring 2 million square metres (sq m) of floor space designated for hospitality. It will feature commercial spaces, cultural and tourist attractions, residential and hotel units, as well as recreational facilities.

  The New Murabba development is divided into three sections: infrastructure, buildings and the Mukaab.

  Contractors are expected to form joint ventures or consortiums to deliver the packages.

  MEED understands that NMDC plans to develop the project infrastructure on a public-private partnership basis.

  Downtown destination

  The New Murabba destination will total more than 25 million sq m of floor area and feature more than 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms and over 980,000 sq m of retail space.

  The scheme will include 1.4 million sq m of office space, 620,000 sq m of leisure facilities and 1.8 million sq m of space dedicated to community facilities.

  The project will be developed around the concept of sustainability and will include green spaces and walking and cycling paths to promote active lifestyles and community activities.

  The living, working and entertainment facilities will be developed within a 15-minute walking radius. The area will use an internal transport system and will be about a 20-minute drive from the airport.

  The downtown area will feature a museum; a technology and design university; an immersive, multipurpose theatre; and more than 80 entertainment and cultural venues.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Gulf seizes AI opportunities

  30 May 2025

  

   

  This package also includes: Data centres churn investments

  ---

  Opportunities to build digital infrastructure – mainly data centres – to support the Gulf’s ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives jumped in value to about $80bn in mid-May, up from around $20bn at the end of April, thanks to the gigawatt-scale AI campuses announced during US President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit.

  These projects provided the final piece of a puzzle relating to the massive power generation capacity buildout in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have been overhauling their electricity systems in line with their energy diversification, economic expansion and net-zero targets.

  The planned 5GW AI campus in Abu Dhabi is expected to occupy 26 square kilometres of land when completed. Experts say that in countries with more temperate weather, such a facility would require power equivalent to the consumption of nearly three million homes.

  “This is as much a story about electricity as it is about AI,” Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy, tells MEED.

  She adds that the UAE leadership was “extremely prescient” to invest in nuclear power many years ago, perhaps understanding that a surplus of electricity would be key to future growth and industrial policy.

  “But these things are expensive, and are easier to permit and build in the UAE because of the concentration of funding and decision-making,” she says. “It's proving a major advantage in the AI race and construction of data centres.”

  Attractive asset class

  Data centres are often considered part utility assets – similar to delivering gas, electricity, water and telecoms services – and part real estate assets, due to the rents they yield from tenants.

  “Yet a lot of the talk … now concerns how investors look at data centres as assets,” a partner at an international law firm with an office in Riyadh says, “because they are neither utility nor real estate”.

  However they are defined, the gap in digital infrastructure to support AI advancements is driving investments in data centre projects in the Middle East.

  “The opportunity is ripe,” says Sherif Elkholy, partner and head of Middle East and Africa at UK-based private equity and investment firm Actis.

  In addition to the sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, family offices such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest and international private equity firms are getting their feet wet in the rapidly expanding Gulf data centre market.

  Actis, for example, is looking at credible local partners, with a platform or portfolio of operating as well as greenfield assets. US-based KKR acquired a stake in UAE-based Gulf Data Hub earlier this year.

  “Historically, the region has been an exporter of capital, but today there is a concerted effort to attract foreign direct investments, particularly into Saudi Arabia. The strategy now is how can the region become an importer of value-added capital to support their 2030 visions?” says Elkholy.

  Part of the answer lies in opening the sector to private investors and capital. According to Elkholy, the Middle East has very ambitious energy transition, digital infrastructure, desalination and district cooling projects, and the private sector is now playing a central role in delivering these.

  “The mood of international investors has been to avoid risks due to global uncertainties, such as we have now, but the reality is there is a major infrastructure gap, and addressing this, especially given the 2030 targets, requires private sector participation.”

  Data sovereignty

  Uncertainty over data sovereignty issues across the Gulf states is yet another issue investors have had to grapple with.

  Although the GCC countries have had stringent data localisation laws in place for almost a decade now, that does not seem to have dampened growing investments in data centre projects in the region, according to Nic Roudev, who leads UK-based legal firm Linklaters’ TMT practice in the Middle East.

  “While data localisation requirements prevent the most efficient operational configurations, where data centres capacity is deployed in one country to service demand across the entire region, it also presents hyperscalers with opportunities to build out robust operations in each of the major GCC countries,” says Roudev.

  This allows firms to take advantage of incentives for local presence, such as access to government procurement contracts and financing opportunities.

  “Demonstrating commitment to the particular country’s economy by establishing and growing local operations also allows data centre investors to build durable strategic partnership relations with regulatory and government authorities, which can lead to a decrease in long-term regulatory and business uncertainty,” the executive says.

  The heat and climate effects will continue to be a thorn for future Gulf data centre development and investments
  Karen Young, Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy

  Improving regulations

  It's not all perfect, though, Young suggests, citing that the heat and climate effects will continue to be a thorn for future Gulf data centre development and investments.

  “There is also the rather poor track record of exporting, trading and sharing electricity within the UAE and the GCC, and thinking about export to third countries… so that makes the idea of data centres and even data traffic via cables a little more complicated,” she explains.

  From a regulatory viewpoint, Roudev says the main unique risk factors that data centre investors in the GCC typically have to wrestle with stem mostly from the usually non-transparent and frequently hard to predict legislative and regulatory rule-making and enforcement.

  However, Roudev also notes that “in recent years there has been a marked trend in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia for increasing transparency by opening draft laws and regulations to public consultations and actively soliciting input from key industry stakeholders.”

  A good example of this in Saudi Arabia has been the development of one of the key regulatory instruments for cloud computing services, which went through “a series of sudden and significant revisions, and the data protection law, which underwent unexpected but considerable revisions after remaining suspended for a year”.

  Regulatory enforcement actions in the GCC, which have traditionally not been publicised, have also shifted, with an evident attempt in recent years to increase transparency and predictability of enforcement by authorities in both countries, concludes Roudev.

   Data centres churn investments

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo