Contractors to start Diriyah mosque construction
15 July 2025

A consortium of Saudi Arabia-based contractors Almajal Alarabi and Man Enterprise Al-Saudia, a subsidiary of Lebanon’s Man Enterprise, are preparing to start construction work on the King Salman Grand Mosque in Diriyah.
MEED understands that gigaproject developer Diriyah Company awarded the estimated SR900m ($240m) contract to the consortium in April.
The mobilisation works are ongoing and the project is expected to be completed in 2028.
The mosque is expected to accommodate over 10,000 worshippers and is located in the gigaproject's Diriyah Square.
Earlier this week, Italian contractor Webuild announced that it has won a $600m contract from Diriyah Company for a package for the Diriyah Square project.
The contract relates to construction works on package three of the Diriyah Square project. It involves the finishing and mechanical, electrical and plumbing works on more than 70 buildings and public spaces within Diriyah Square.
These assets cover a total area of about 365,000 square metres (sq m).
Webuild is already working on the underground multi-storey car park at Diriyah Square.
The three-floor underground car park will serve the mixed-use Diriyah Square district, which in addition to King Salman Grand Mosque will include leisure and entertainment facilities, hotels, retail outlets, offices and residential units designed in the traditional Najdi architectural style.
The car park has a floor area of 1 million sq m, with underground roads and tunnels below Diriyah Square, and a capacity for 10,500 cars.
The parking facility will directly connect commuters to all of Diriyah’s destinations, including Wadi Hanifah, the Western Ring Road and a national motorway. It will be a key component of the City of Riyadh Arterial Road system.
In an official statement on its website, Webuild said that the construction works on the car park are 55% completed.
Diriyah gigaproject
The Diriyah masterplan envisages the city as a cultural and lifestyle tourism destination. Located northwest of Riyadh’s city centre, it will cover 14 square kilometres and combine 300 years of history, culture and heritage with hospitality facilities.
The company awarded several significant contracts last year, including three contracts worth over SR21bn ($5.5bn). These included an estimated $2bn contract awarded to a joint venture of El-Seif Engineering & Contracting and China State to build the North Cultural District.
In July last year, Diriyah also awarded a $2.1bn package to a joint venture of local contractor Albawani and Qatar’s Urbacon to construct assets in the Wadi Safar district of the gigaproject.
Then in December, Diriyah Company awarded an estimated SR5.8bn ($1.5bn) contract to a joint venture of local firm Nesma & Partners and the local branch of Man Enterprise for its Jabal Al-Qurain Avenue cultural district, located in the northern district of the Diriyah Gate project.
Once complete, Diriyah will have the capacity to accommodate 100,000 residents and visitors.
READ THE JULY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF
UAE and Turkiye expand business links; Renewed hope lies on the horizon for trouble-beset Levant region; Gulf real estate momentum continues even as concerns emerge
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
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> AGENDA: UAE-Turkiye trade gains momentum
> INTERVIEW 1: Building on UAE-Turkiye trade
> INTERVIEW 2: Turkiye's Kalyon goes global
> INTERVIEW 3: Strengthening UAE-Turkiye financial links
> INTERVIEW 4: Turkish Airlines plans further growth
> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Middle East tensions could reduce gas investments
> GCC REAL ESTATE: Gulf real estate faces a more nuanced reality
> PROJECTS MARKET: GCC projects market collapses
> INTERVIEW 5: Hassan Allam eyes role in Saudi Arabia’s transformation
> INTERVIEW 6: Aseer region seeks new investments for Saudi Arabia
> LEADERSHIP: Nuclear power makes a global comeback
> LEVANT MARKET FOCUS: Levant states wrestle regional pressures
> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index continues climb
> CONTRACT AWARDS: Mena contract award activity remains subdued
> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects
> OPINION: A farcical tragedy that no one can end
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Aldar and Mubadala plan $16bn financial district expansion8 December 2025
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Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company, and local developer Aldar have established a joint venture to deliver an expansion of the financial district on Al-Maryah Island with a gross development value of AED60bn-plus ($16bn-plus).
The development will be built on the undeveloped land bank on the north side of Al-Maryah Island, covering about 500,000 square metres (sq m), and will support the next phase of growth for Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
The masterplan encompasses 1.5 million sq m of new office, residential, retail and hospitality floor space.
In an official statement, the firms said that the core objective of the project is to support the continued expansion of ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre. ADGM now has more than 11,000 active licences registered in the free zone and is among the fastest-growing financial hubs globally.
"Nearly 40,000 people are already based within the district, and demand for space remains strong," the statement added.
The Al-Maryah Island expansion will add over 450,000 sq m of Grade A office space, doubling the island’s current office inventory.
The expansion will add over 3,000 residences on the waterfront.
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Meraas announces next phase of Nad Al-Sheba Gardens5 December 2025
Dubai-based real estate developer Meraas Holding, which is part of Dubai Holding, has announced the eleventh and final phase of its Nad Al-Sheba Gardens residential community in Dubai.
It includes the development of 210 new villas and townhouses and a school, which will be located at the northwest corner of the development.
The latest announcement follows Meraas awarding a AED690m ($188m) contract for the construction of the fourth phase of the Nad Al-Sheba Gardens community in May, as MEED reported.
The contract was awarded to local firm Bhatia General Contracting.
The scope of the contract covers the construction of 92 townhouses, 96 villas and two pool houses.
The contract award came after Dubai-based investment company Shamal Holding awarded an estimated AED80m ($21m) contract to UK-based McLaren Construction last year for the Nad Al-Sheba Gardens mall.
The project covers the construction and interior fit-out of a two-storey mall, covering an area of approximately 12,600 square metres.
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The residential construction sector is expected to record an annual average growth rate of 2.7% in 2025-28, supported by private investments in the residential housing sector, along with government initiatives to meet rising housing demand.
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Frontrunner emerges for Riyadh-Qassim IWTP5 December 2025

Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest has emerged as frontrunner for the contract to develop the Riyadh-Qassim independent water transmission pipeline (IWTP) project, according to sources.
State water offtaker Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) is preparing to award the contract for the IWTP "in the coming weeks", the sources told MEED.
The project, valued at about $2bn, will have a transmission capacity of 685,000 cubic metres a day. It will include a pipeline length of 859 kilometres (km) and a total storage capacity of 1.59 million cubic metres.
In September, MEED reported that bids had been submitted by two consortiums and one individual company.
The first consortium comprises Saudi firms Al-Jomaih Energy & Water, Al-Khorayef Water & Power Technologies, AlBawani Capital and Buhur for Investment Company.
The second consortium comprises Bahrain/Saudi Arabia-based Lamar Holding, the UAE's Etihad Water & Electricity (Ewec) and China’s Shaanxi Construction Installation Group.
The third bid was submitted by Saudi Arabia's Vision Invest.
It is understood that financial and technical bids have now been opened and Vision Invest is likely to be awarded the deal.
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In November, the firm announced it had sold a 10% stake in Saudi Arabia-based Miahona as part of a strategy to reallocate capital "towards new and diversified investments".
The company did not disclose which projects the capital might be reallocated towards.
As MEED recently reported, Vision Invest is also bidding for two major packages under Dubai's $22bn tunnels programme in a consortium with France's Suez Water Company.
The Riyadh-Qassim transmission project is the third IWTP contract to be tendered by SWPC since 2022.
The first two are the 150km Rayis-Rabigh IWTP, which is under construction, and the 603km Jubail-Buraydah IWTP, the contract for which was awarded to a team of Riyadh-based companies comprising Al-Jomaih Energy & Water, Nesma Group and Buhur for Investment Company.
Like the first two IWTPs, the Riyadh-Qassim IWTP project will be developed using a 35-year build-own-operate-transfer contracting model.
Commercial operations are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2030.
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