More firms join race to build world’s tallest tower
11 October 2023
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More firms have approached Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) to take part in the tender for the contract to complete the world’s tallest tower, the 1,000-metre-plus-tall Jeddah Tower project in Saudi Arabia.
According to a source close to the project, a range of local and international firms have approached the developer about working on the project.
Two of the best-known international names that have come forward are South Korea’s Daewoo and Egypt’s Orascom Construction. Orascom is a 50 per cent shareholder in Belgium’s Besix Group, which was part of the three-way joint venture that built the 828-metre-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Besix has shown appetite for working on other record-breaking tower projects in recent years. It completed the raft foundation for the tallest tower project at Dubai Creek Harbour and participated in the tender – which was ultimately cancelled – to build the tower’s superstructure as part of a joint venture with Tishman, which US-based Aecom owns.
The Burj Khalifa joint venture also comprised South Korea’s Samsung C&T. MEED exclusively reported in September that Samsung C&T was one of 14 companies that had been invited to complete Jeddah Tower. The other firms are:
- Almabani (local)
- Bawani (local)
- China Harbour (China)
- China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China)
- Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC – Lebanon)
- El-Seif Engineering Contracting (local)
- Hyundai Engineering Construction (South Korea)
- Mohammed Abdulmohsin al-Kharafi & Sons (Kuwait)
- Nesma & Partners (local)
- Powerchina (China)
- Saudi Freyssinet (local)
- Skanska (Sweden)
- Strabag (Europe)
These firms are forming joint ventures, according to the source close to the project. The source expects the joint ventures to comprise international, regional and local partners.
Vision 2030 drives tall tower plans
The construction work for the tower’s superstructure, which began in the early 2010s with the local Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) as the contractor, is one-third complete. The foundations and piling work for the record-breaking tower are finished. Germany’s Bauer completed the piling work for the building.
JEC commissioned an independent assessment of the structure before the tender was issued.
While SBG is no longer working as the contractor on the project, the consultancy team remains the same. The architect is US-based Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill, and the project manager is Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah (Shair & Partners).
Jeddah Tower restart is a watershed moment
The shareholders in JEC are Kingdom Holding Company with a 40 per cent stake, Bakhsh Group with a 40 per cent stake, and Sharbatly Group with a 20 per cent share.
Jeddah Tower will be taller than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa by more than 172 metres. It is the centrepiece of the Jeddah Economic City development. The project’s first phase, which includes the main tower, covers an area of 1.5 square kilometres.
Read the October edition of MEED Business Review
Saudi growth dips while project activity soars |
Oil production cuts trim public sector growth, but private sector thrives
*=Year-to-date | Sources: IMF, MEED Projects, MEED
MEED’s October 2023 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:
> COMMENT: Riyadh reshapes its global role
> POLITICS: Saudi Arabia looks both east and west
> SPORT: Saudi Arabia’s football vision goes global
> ECONOMY: Riyadh prioritises stability over headline growth
> BANKS: Saudi banks track more modest growth path
> UPSTREAM: Aramco focuses on upstream capacity building
> DOWNSTREAM: Saudi chemical and downstream projects in motion
> POWER: Riyadh rides power projects surge
> WATER: Saudi water projects momentum holds steady
> GIGAPROJECTS: Gigaproject activity enters full swing
> TRANSPORT: Infrastructure projects support Riyadh’s logistics ambitions
> JEDDAH TOWER: Jeddah developer restarts world’s tallest tower
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Rise in PPPs reflects Saudi budgetary pragmatism
7 March 2025
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The value of public-private partnership (PPP) contracts in Saudi Arabia has risen sharply over the past two years as the government seeks to develop projects through the private sector and diversify funding sources.
According to MEED Projects data, in 2023, the value of PPP concession contracts hit an all-time high of $28.2bn, equivalent to more than 23% of the total value of all project contracts awarded that year. Although that figure fell to 18.3% last year, it was still far higher than the historical average in the kingdom.
Source: MEED ProjectsThe figures are even starker when taking only government spending into account. In 2023, the value of signed PPP contracts totalled more than a third of the value of government or government-related projects awarded in 2023 and more than a quarter last year. This is compared to the average of 15.6% between 2019 and 2022, and just 3.5% recorded in 2018.
Government contracts include awards made by ministries, municipalities and royal commissions, in addition to state-funded key project clients such as Saudi Water Authority, the National Housing Company and Jeddah Airports Company. Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiaries such as Neom, the National Water Company and Rua Al-Madinah are also included.
Reducing spending
The government increasingly views the development of projects through the PPP framework as a means of delivering strategic schemes like power and desalination plants off-balance sheet using private sector funding, thereby reducing its capital expenditure requirements.
This has been particularly important as Riyadh’s financing commitments for its gigaprojects and infrastructure programmes have soared in line with its Saudi 2030 Vision. New contract awards overall in the kingdom reached $149bn, the highest ever recorded by a single country in the region and one of the largest globally.
*Government contracts include awards made by ministries, municipalities and royal commissions, in addition to state-managed key project clients such as Saudi Electricity Company, the National Housing Company and Jeddah Airports Company. Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiaries like Neom and Rua Al-Madinah are also included. Capital expenditure by Saudi Aramco is excluded from the analysis | Source: MEED ProjectsBeyond utilities
PPPs have been used in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region for over two decades, but have been mainly limited to power generation and water desalination plants, where the developer benefits from guaranteed take-or-pay power-purchase agreements that eliminate demand risk.
However, over the past three years, the government has successfully implemented PPPs in a number of new sectors, including education and healthcare, to finance, build and operate schools and hospitals. Forthcoming PPP projects include the estimated $2.5bn Asir-Jizan highway, which would be the first road concession in the GCC, and the multibillion-dollar contract to develop the expansion of Abha International airport.
The NCP is expected to add dozens more PPPs to its future pipeline to relieve the state’s financial burden and to stimulate the private sector’s involvement in the local projects market
Outside the utilities sector, the body responsible for pushing the PPP agenda is the National Centre for Privatisation (NCP). It has more than 170 PPPs in the pipeline, covering long-term concession agreements in projects as diverse as municipal laboratories, television and radio tower infrastructure, court complexes and logistics zones.
As capital expenditure continues to increase, the NCP is expected to add dozens more PPPs to its future pipeline to relieve the state’s financial burden and to stimulate the private sector’s involvement in the local projects market.
Gigaproject delivery
The gigaproject development companies will likely follow a similar path. Off-grid developers Neom and Red Sea Global have both signed utilities concessions with the private sector for their power, desalination, water treatment and district cooling requirements, with the former also contracting companies to build and operate labour accommodation.
Going forward, other PIF developer subsidiaries like New Murabba Development Company (NMDC), Diriyah Company, Roshn Group and King Salman International Airport Development Company are attempting to harness the private sector for a number of their project components.
NMDC, for example, will seek companies over the next five years to finance and operate its water treatment, power, district cooling, waste collection, telecommunication, secondary roads, street lighting, social infrastructure and EV charging infrastructure requirements under its partnership strategy.
The use of PPP contractual frameworks will be critical to ensure delivery of the gigaprojects as soaring construction costs have resulted in delays to the programme and put a strain on the PIF and government’s finances.
Growing appetite
Power and water production schemes aside, it remains to be seen whether the private sector and banks will have the appetite to take on the investment risk these projects will entail, especially if they do not come with government guarantees, explicit or otherwise.
However, the experience to date suggests that there is a big appetite in the private sector – at least locally – to take on an expanded role in absorbing some of the state’s financing burden. Whether this will remain the case as the PPP pipeline continues to grow will be key to Saudi Arabia’s project and 2030 Vision ambitions.
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Aljomaih team engages lenders for $2.2bn water pipeline PPP
7 March 2025
A developer team led by Riyadh-headquartered Aljomaih Energy & Water has engaged lenders for the SR8.5bn ($2.2bn) independent water transmission pipeline (IWTP) project it recently won in Saudi Arabia.
The consortium signed a contract agreement to develop and operate Saudi Arabia’s second IWTP project with Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) this week.
The project will link Jubail in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and Buraydah in the Qassim region over a 587-kilometre (km) pipeline that can transmit 650,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of water.
In addition to Aljomaih Energy & Water, the winning developer consortium includes Nesma Company and Buhur for Investment Company.
The team of lenders, which may still change, comprises mainly Saudi and some regional entities, a source close to the project tells MEED.
UK-headquartered Herbert, Smith & Freehills (HSF) is providing legal advisory services, while Dubai-based Future Water & Power Consulting (FWPC) is providing technical advisory services to the lenders.
The Aljomaih, Nesma and Buhur team proposed to develop the Jubail-Buraydah IWTP project for SR3.59468 a cubic metre.
The consortium saw off competition from another team comprising the local Vision Invest and UAE-based Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa).
The Vision Invest/Taqa team offered to develop the project for SR5.04214/cm.
The Jubail-Buraydah IWTP project is larger than the kingdom’s first IWTP linking Rayis and Rabigh, which a consortium including the local Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies Company and Spain’s Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios will develop and operate at a cost of SR7.78bn ($2bn).
SWPC issued the request for proposals for the Jubail-Buraydah IWTP scheme to prequalified bidders in October 2023.
The transaction advisory team for the client comprises the US/India’s Synergy Consulting as financial adviser and the local Amer Al-Amr and Germany’s Fichtner Consulting as legal and technical advisers, respectively.
An advisory team comprising UAE-based financial advisory Cranmore, UK legal advisory services firm Pinsent Masons and Canadian engineering services firm WSP advised the winning developer consortium.
SWPC’s obligations under the water transfer agreement will be guaranteed by a credit support agreement entered into by the Finance Ministry on behalf of the Saudi government.
The project is part of the kingdom’s National Water Strategy 2030, which aims to reduce the water demand-supply gap and ensure desalinated water accounts for 90% of the national urban supply to reduce reliance on non-renewable ground sources.
READ THE MARCH MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – clck here to view PDF
Chinese contractors win record market share; Cairo grapples with political and fiscal challenges; Stronger upstream project spending beckons in 2025
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA 1: Chinese firms dominate region’s projects market> AGENDA 2: China construction at pivotal juncture> UPSTREAM 1: Offshore oil and gas sees steady capex> UPSTREAM 2: Saudi Arabia to retain upstream dominance> DIRIYAH: Diriyah CEO sets the record straight> SAUDI POWER: Saudi power projects hit record high> AUTOMOTIVE: Saudi Arabia gears up to lead Gulf’s automotive sector> EGYPT: Egypt battles structural issues> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf hits six-month growth streak> CONTRACT AWARDS: High-value deals signed in power and industrial sectors> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projectsTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13465608/main.jpg -
Riyadh to tender solar and wind IPPs in Q2
7 March 2025
Saudi Arabia’s principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), is expected to issue the request for proposals (RFP) for five solar and wind independent power projects (IPPs) by the second quarter of the year.
SPPC conducted project site visits with the prequalified developers for the four solar PV farms under the sixth procurement round of its National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) in late January, as MEED reported.
The four solar IPPs have a combined capacity of 3,000MW.
The 1,400MW solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP is located in Najran, while the smallest, the 400MW Al-Sufun solar IPP, is in Hail.
The 600MW Samtah and 600MW Al-Darb solar IPPs are located in Jizan.
SPPC prequalified 16 companies that can bid as managing and technical members for the solar PV IPP contracts. These are:
- Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar, UAE)
- Alfanar Company (local)
- EDF Renewables (France)
- Kahrabel (Engie, France)
- FAS Energy (local)
- Jinko Power (Hong Kong)
- Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco, South Korea)
- Marubeni Corporation (Japan)
- Nesma Renewable Energy (local)
- SPIC Hunaghe Hydropower Development (China)
- Sumitomo Corporation (Japan)
- TotalEnergies Renewables (France)
- AlJomaih Energy & Water (local)
- Sembcorp Utilities (Singapore)
- AlGihaz Holding Company (local)
- Korea Western Power Company (Kowepo, South Korea)
The following five companies have been prequalified to bid as managing partners:
- Jera Nex (Japan)
- Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina)
- China Power Engineering Consulting Group International Engineering (China)
- Posco International (South Korea)
- Saudi Electricity Company (SEC, local)
Round six of the NREP will have a total combined capacity of 4,500MW, including the 1,500MW Dawadmi wind farm, for which a separate set of bidders has been prequalified.
SPPC issued the prequalification request in September last year and received statements of qualifications from interested developers and developer consortiums in October.
SPPC is responsible for the pre-development, tendering and subsequent offtaking of the energy from the projects.
US/India-based Synergy Consulting is providing financial advisory services to SPPC for the NREP sixth-round tender. Germany’s Fichtner Consulting and US-headquartered CMS are providing technical and legal consultancy services, respectively.
READ THE MARCH MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – clck here to view PDF
Chinese contractors win record market share; Cairo grapples with political and fiscal challenges; Stronger upstream project spending beckons in 2025
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA 1: Chinese firms dominate region’s projects market> AGENDA 2: China construction at pivotal juncture> UPSTREAM 1: Offshore oil and gas sees steady capex> UPSTREAM 2: Saudi Arabia to retain upstream dominance> DIRIYAH: Diriyah CEO sets the record straight> SAUDI POWER: Saudi power projects hit record high> AUTOMOTIVE: Saudi Arabia gears up to lead Gulf’s automotive sector> EGYPT: Egypt battles structural issues> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf hits six-month growth streak> CONTRACT AWARDS: High-value deals signed in power and industrial sectors> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projectsTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13465584/main.jpg -
OQ tenders Block 60 solar PV contract
6 March 2025
Oman’s OQ Alternative Energy has invited firms to bid for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a new solar power plant in Block 60.
The Block 60 concession hosts the important Bisat field, comprising about 165 oil wells and three crude oil processing plants.
OQ expects to receive the technical and commercial bids for the solar photovoltaic (PV) project by 27 May.
The scope of work for the EPC tender encompasses the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of a 35MW grid-connected solar PV plant in Block 60 with interconnection to the Bisat substation.
The selected EPC contractor is responsible for designing and engineering the plant, including but not limited to layouts, solar modules, mounting structures, cleaning system, inverters, transformers, cabling, substation connection and balance-of-plant infrastructure.
This development comes close to a year after OQ Alternative Energy invited companies to bid for a contract to undertake environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) studies for its planned Liwa solar project.
In addition to constructing a 100MW solar farm in Liwa, the $80m project includes the supply of substations and other related facilities, MEED reported.
The project is part of the state-backed energy firm’s support for the sultanate’s goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Oman also aims for renewable energy to account for 30% of its overall electricity production mix by 2030 and 39% by 2040.
READ THE MARCH MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – clck here to view PDF
Chinese contractors win record market share; Cairo grapples with political and fiscal challenges; Stronger upstream project spending beckons in 2025
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA 1: Chinese firms dominate region’s projects market> AGENDA 2: China construction at pivotal juncture> UPSTREAM 1: Offshore oil and gas sees steady capex> UPSTREAM 2: Saudi Arabia to retain upstream dominance> DIRIYAH: Diriyah CEO sets the record straight> SAUDI POWER: Saudi power projects hit record high> AUTOMOTIVE: Saudi Arabia gears up to lead Gulf’s automotive sector> EGYPT: Egypt battles structural issues> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf hits six-month growth streak> CONTRACT AWARDS: High-value deals signed in power and industrial sectors> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projectsTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13462096/main.jpg -
Read the March 2025 MEED Business Review
6 March 2025
Download / Subscribe / 14-day trial access A record-breaking performance last year underscores the growing influence of Chinese firms in the region’s projects market.
Chinese construction companies secured over $90bn in contracts in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) in 2024. Their market share was 26% of the $347bn total for the region, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.
Within China, it is hard to imagine the scale of growth experienced by the country’s construction sector over the past two decades. Since 2004, it has expanded by over 800%, reaching an estimated value of $4.5tn.
This growth has created contractors that are now the largest construction companies on the planet. According to GlobalData, seven Chinese companies are among the top 10 largest construction companies in the world, with China State Construction Engineering Corporation at the top of the list with revenues of $320bn.
MEED's March edition of MEED Business Review looks at why the Middle East presents such an attractive option for these huge Chinese contractors, and discusses their maturing domestic market.
Our latest issue also includes a comprehensive report on the region's upstream oil and gas sector, where offshore investment in 2025 is expected to match – if not surpass – last year's level, and Saudi Arabia is striving to retain its dominance by investing in projects that aim to boost its producton capacity.
This month’s exclusive 13-page market report focuses on Egypt. Despite its challenges – not to mention the controversial suggestion by US President Donald Trump that Gaza’s population should be relocated to Egypt and other Arab countries – Cairo has managed to attract foreign investment and the country’s economy is showing signs of improvement.
Although concerns remain regarding the government’s need to implement structural economic reforms and remedy the growing infrastructure gaps, the total value of awarded contracts in the power sector doubled in 2024 and the construction industry is being bolstered by the $24bn Ras El-Hekma project.
This issue is also packed with exclusive interviews. Mark Thomas, group CEO of state energy conglomerate Bapco Energies, explains how Bahrain will benefit from its $7bn project by the end of 2025; Abdulaziz Alobaidli, chief operating officer of the UAE’s Masdar, outlines how the company aims to meet the “moonshot” renewables challenge; and Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company, talks about the firm’s strong performance in 2024.
In the March issue, the team also examines how uncertainty and instability are damaging optimism in Libya's oil sector; discovers that power projects in Saudi Arabia have hit a record high, with a total capacity of 53GW now awarded and under construction; and also looks at how the kingdom is gearing up to lead the Gulf’s electric vehicle sector.
We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the March 2025 issue of MEED Business Review.
Must-read sections in the March 2025 issue of MEED Business Review include:
> AGENDA:
> Chinese firms dominate the market
> China construction at pivotal juncture> CURRENT AFFAIRS:
> Uncertainty and instability damage Libyan oil sector optimismINDUSTRY REPORT:
Upstream oil and gas
> Offshore oil and gas sees steady capex
> Saudi Arabia to retain upstream dominance> INTERVIEWS:
> Bahrain to benefit from $7bn project by year’s end
> Masdar meets renewable’s moonshot challenge
> Diriyah CEO sets the record straight> SAUDI POWER: Saudi power projects hit record high
> AUTOMOTIVE: Saudi Arabia gears up to lead Gulf’s automotive sector
> EGYPT MARKET REPORT:
> COMMENT: Egypt battles structural issues
> GOVERNMENT: Egypt is in the eye of Trump’s Gaza storm
> ECONOMY: Egypt’s economy gets its mojo back
> OIL & GAS: Gas project activity collapses amid energy crisis
> POWER & WATER: Egypt’s utility projects keep pace
> CONSTRUCTION: Coastal city scheme is a boon to Egypt construction> MEED COMMENTS:
> Firms ramp up Saudi tech investments
> UAE data centre policy highlights AI-energy nexus
> Bankability remains hydrogen’s unbreakable challenge
> Dubai construction heads underground> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf hits six-month growth streak
> JANUARY 2025 CONTRACTS: High-value deals signed in power and industrial sectors
> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects
> OPINION: Trump’s foreign policy shakes global relations
> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts
To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13455567/main.gif