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  Read the February 2025 MEED Business Review

  5 February 2025

  Download / Subscribe / 14-day trial access

  Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency on 20 January 2025 is anticipated to have profound impacts on the Middle East. In the February issue of MEED Business Review, we provide an in-depth look at the major geopolitical challenges that the region presents, particularly in terms of US relations with Iran, and the interrelationship between the US, Israel and other regional actors. 

  What's more, we examine how the Trump 2.0 administration's focus on areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, data sovereignty and cryptocurrency – not to mention the ever-escalating US-China tech war – offers an opportunity for Middle East players to assert themselves in the global tech economy. Trump’s America First policies could slow the region’s AI ambitions, however, and to stay competitive, GCC states must step up investments in education, infrastructure and innovation.

  Indeed, for the UAE, investing in and developing AI infrastructure and applications is now a priority. Abu Dhabi recently launched a $6bn project that combines 5,200MW of solar and 19 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage capacity to deliver 1,000MW of round-the-clock renewable power capacity, which will help to support the government's AI ambitions. 

  Our latest issue also includes a comprehensive report on the GCC's water and wastewater sector, where Riyadh-headquartered utility developer and investor Acwa Power has improved its lead as the pace of independent water project contract awards slows.

  This month’s exclusive 15-page market report focuses on Qatar. Doha has played an instrumental role in negotiations between Israel and Hamas in recent months, placing it front and centre of regional mediation, while efforts to ensure post-World Cup economic progress led to a strong project awards performance for the country in 2024.

  In this issue, the team also examines how the long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has brought relief to the fraught situation in Palestine; finds that the appointment of jurist Nawaf Salam as prime minister holds the prospect of political and economic rehabilitation for Lebanon; and looks at how the development of Wynn's integrated resort in Ras Al-Khaimah is supporting an ongoing boom in the emirate's real estate sector.

  The February issue is packed with exclusive insight, too. Omran’s CEO Hashil Al-Mahrouqi explains how the agency's tourism development and hospitality projects will support Oman's Vision 2040; we round up the record signings that made 2024 the best year yet for contract awards in the region; and the latest edition of MEED's Economic Activity Index reveals that the UAE is maintaining its edge as 2025 gets under way.

  We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the February 2025 issue of MEED Business Review. 

  

   

  Must-read sections in the February 2025 issue of MEED Business Review include:

  > AGENDA: 
  > Trump 2.0 targets technology
  > Trump’s new trial in the Middle East
  > Unlocking AI’s carbon conundrum

  > CURRENT AFFAIRS:
  > Gaza ceasefire goes into effect
  > New Lebanese PM raises political hopes

  INDUSTRY REPORT: Water and wastewater > Acwa Power improves lead as IWP contract awards slow > Water projects require innovation

  > INTERVIEW: Omran’s tourism strategies help deliver Oman 2040 

  > PROJECT RECORDS: 2024 breaks all project records

  > REAL ESTATE: Ras Al-Khaimah's robust real estate boom continues

  > ACTIVITY INDEX: UAE maintains regional economic edge

  > QATAR MARKET REPORT: 
  > COMMENT: Doha works to reclaim spotlight
  > GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: Qatar economy rebounds alongside diplomatic activity
  > BANKING: Qatar banks look to calmer waters in 2025
  > UPSTREAM: QatarEnergy strives to raise gas and oil production capacity
  > DOWNSTREAM: Qatar chemicals projects take a step forward
  > POWER & WATER: Facility E award jumpstarts Qatar’s utility projects
  > CONSTRUCTION: Qatar construction shows signs of recovery

  > MEED COMMENTS: 
  > Damac founder Sajwani puts America first with Trump’s second presidency
  > Dubai’s largest-ever contract award is vital for its future
  > AI underpins 5GW Abu Dhabi solar project
  > Saudi-Turkiye relationship could bolster projects market

  > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market enters 2025 in state of growth

  > DECEMBER 2024 CONTRACTS: Monthly haul cements record-breaking total for 2024

  > ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects

  > OPINION: Between the extremes as spring approaches

  > BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts

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

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  MEED Editorial
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  OCP green ammonia plant approaches construction

  5 February 2025

  Moroccan phosphate specialist OCP is in advanced stages of studying a project to produce 1 million tonnes of green ammonia annually by 2027.

  The planned facility, which will cater to export markets, will include a 200,000 tonnes-a-year (t/y) green hydrogen production plant and 4,000MW of renewable energy plants.

  It will also include an electrolyser plant with a capacity of 2,000MW.

  The project will be executed in two phases across two locations, according to Samir Rachidi, director-general at Iresen, who presented at the ongoing Mena World Hydrogen summit in Dubai.

  "OCP is conducting advanced studies, and currently testing 10-megawatt electrolysers," Rachidi said.

  At least seven other green hydrogen or ammonia projects are under study or pre-front-end engineering design stage in the North African state.

  In April 2023, a team led by China Energy International Construction Group signed a memorandum of cooperation to develop a green hydrogen project in a coastal area in southern Morocco.

  A year earlier, Serbia-headquartered renewables developer and investor CWP Global appointed US firm Bechtel to support developing large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia facilities in Morocco and Mauritania.

  The Amun green hydrogen project, which CWP Global plans to develop in Morocco, is understood to require 15GW of renewable energy, and has an estimated budget of between $18bn and $20bn.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
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  Oman eyes first green hydrogen offtake this year

  5 February 2025

  One of the consortiums that won Oman's green hydrogen land block auctions is expected to reach an offtake agreement sometime this year.

  "We are expecting to announce an offtake agreement hopefully sometime this year," said Rumaitha Al-Busaidi, business development manager at Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom), the main orchestrator of Oman's green hydrogen programme.

  Hydrom has signed land concession agreements with teams led by Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, South Korea's Posco and France's Engie, Japan's Marubeni, France's EDF, and a team comprising London-based Actis and Australia's Fortescue in the first two rounds of its land auctions.

  Oman has also signed what it refers to as legacy projects with other teams led by Belgium's Deme, BP and Shell.

  A long-term offtake agreement for the products produced by these facilities is the main requirement for the projects to reach financial investment decision (FID), which the majority of the consortiums aim to achieve by 2027, except for the Deme-led Hyport Duqm, which aims to reach FID in 2026.

  Al-Busaidi also said they expect to launch the third round of Oman's green hydrogen land auctions before the end of the first quarter of 2025. 

  They are fine-tuning the next auction process and considering several options including one similar to the first two auctions, where land parcels were auctioned for the production of green hydrogen and derivatives including ammonia, methanol and sustainable aviation fuels, among others.

  The other option being considered is auctioning land parcels for downstream industries that offtake green hydrogen and its derivatives including green steel, fertilisers and other sectors.

  A final option is a so-called double-sided auction to facilitate contracts between domestic green hydrogen producers and downstream offtakers.

  In December, MEED reported that Oman was making good progress compared to other states in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region that are looking to establish green hydrogen hubs to help decarbonise key industries in fossil fuel-scarce jurisdictions globally.

  "We are doing very well," Abdulaziz Al-Shidhani, managing director of Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom), told MEED, noting that Oman has signed legally binding, 47-year project development agreements with eight consortiums under the Hydrom public auction and its legacy programme. 

  Each consortium is understood to have aligned with the sultanate's goal of having a green hydrogen production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes a year (t/y) by 2030 by committing to deliver a capacity of 150,000 t/y by the end of the decade.

  Alternative derivatives

  Hydrom is exploring liquid hydrogen collaboration with another European-based entity, the Port of Amsterdam, to deliver liquid hydrogen to the Netherlands and other perceived demand centres in Europe, as well as to markets in Asia – primarily Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

  While most of the project development agreements signed by Hydrom and the developer consortiums expect ammonia to be the primary derivative, Al-Shidhani says liquid hydrogen has recently been emerging as a viable alternative, with potential uses for the product including applications in the mobility sector and as a maritime fuel.

  "Developers and end-users are exploring all technologies and assessing the feasibility of other alternative derivatives," he says. He adds that cracking ammonia back to hydrogen, as originally envisaged by most projects, involves high costs.

  Creating local demand

  While the assumed markets for the output of the planned multibillion-dollar projects in Dhofra and Duqm are overseas, Oman's long-term objective includes attracting foreign direct investments in the entire green hydrogen supply chain, including solar and wind turbine production and manufacturing.

  "We will enable the platform to foster a sustainable supply chain and it will be up to the private sector to determine suitable strategies, which we are assuming will be export-focused in the early phases of the projects," Al-Shidhani says.

  MEED understands that the 2030 green hydrogen production target will require up to $50bn of investment, including 18GW of electrolyser capacity and 35GW of renewable energy capacity.

   

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  Egypt approves Russian nuclear financing amendment

  4 February 2025

  The Egyptian House of Representatives has approved a report, previously ratified by the North African nation's Energy & Environment Committee, that amends the government financing agreement between Egypt and Russia over the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant in Matrouh.

  The agreement secures a government export loan from Moscow to support the construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant.

  According to a local media report, the decree was reviewed by a joint committee that included members of the Energy & Environment Committee, as well as representatives from the Planning & Budget, Economic Affairs and Foreign Relations Committees.

  The amendments to the financing agreement aim to "align the loan's terms with the project's implementation schedule".

  The report did not disclose the nature of the financing amendment that has been approved.

  Financing details

  Egypt and Russia signed the initial inter-governmental agreement for the North African state’s first nuclear facility in November 2015.

  MEED understands that the existing agreement entails an 85:15 project financing split between Russia and Egypt.

  The project is expected to cost between $25bn and $30bn.

  According to industry sources, the funds Russia is providing are payable over 22 years in 43 semi-annual installments, with the first installment due on 15 October 2029.

  MEED understands Egypt can repay the loan in US dollars or Egyptian pounds, whichever suits the Russian party better, and that "a very affordable" 3% annual interest rate applies.  

  The power plant will be equipped with four Russian-designed, 1,200MW VVER reactor units.

  When complete, the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant is expected to generate more than 10% of electricity production in Egypt.

  The plant’s first reactor is scheduled to be operational in 2026.

  Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom), the project’s main contractor, announced that it started the production of electrical components in Saint Petersburg for a reactor vessel for the plant in June 2022.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
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  Abu Dhabi plans estimated 10GW data centre capacity

  4 February 2025

  

   

  Abu Dhabi is planning to invest in data centres with a total combined IT load capacity equivalent to an estimated 10,000MW.

  According to industry sources, the locations that are being considered are in Abu Dhabi's Dhafra region, previously known as the Western or Al-Gharbia region, including one close to the Barakah nuclear power plant.

  In addition to the nuclear power plant, which has a total nameplate capacity of 5,600MW, Abu Dhabi's second utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power project is located in Al-Dhafra.

  Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) is also procuring an open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) plant to be located in the region. The Al-Dhafra OCGT plant is being tendered on a fast-track basis and is expected to have an installed capacity of 1,000MW-1,100MW.

  State utility offtaker Emirates Water & Electricity Company and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) have yet to disclose the locations for the gigawatt-scale solar PV and battery energy storage system (bess) plants that they are planning to develop as part of the UAE's national net-zero target and artificial intelligence (AI) strategy.

  The project comprises 5,200MW solar PV and 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) bess plants that are expected to supply 1,000MW of round-the-clock renewable power.     

  Experts have advised colocating data hyperscale centres, particularly those designed for training AI large-language models that have an electrical output similar to small towns or cities, with power generation sources.

  This helps bypass complex and time-consuming grid connection upgrades and approvals processes and minimises energy waste.

  Data centres designed for inferencing AI models, however, need to be built close to load centres or cities for improved latency.  

  "Lots of data centre project activity in Abu Dhabi at the moment," said a senior technical consultant, who also cautions there might be duplications in terms of these "concept projects".

  Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy, also observes the uptick in project activity, as well as in policies directly related to AI and data centres in the UAE.

  "It's a lot to keep track of, and the new doubt that we may be able to do supercomputing with less power and investment, and cheaper inputs, makes the race for energy infrastructure and data centre placement slightly more risky," she tells MEED.

  Related read: DeepSeek complicates regional data centre choices

  "All the same, the UAE has made a strategic decision to lead the space and it changes the global landscape of where this advances and which countries have advantages to control it."

  GCC data centre market

  Over $10.6bn-worth of data centres, some catering to hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, are planned to be developed and built in the GCC states, according to the latest available data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

  This is a conservative estimate, given potential investments such as the $5bn planned between US asset investment firm KKR and the UAE-based Gulf Data Hub.

  It also excludes spending by government entities to develop AI capabilities in defence, security, healthcare and energy.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo