Qatar’s sporting vision transcends World Cup
19 January 2024
The 2022 Fifa World Cup pushed Qatar into the limelight and played a significant role in bolstering its economy, which recorded 8 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The event brought about 1.8 million people to the country and reached a global audience of approximately 1.5 billion viewers.
Buoyed by the success of the World Cup, Qatar remains committed to developing its position as a leading sporting venue. This aligns with Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which was launched in 2008 and includes sustainable sports development as a key objective.
Motorsports
Away from football, Qatar has invested in its motorsports profile. The introduction of several racing facilities and training programmes has meant the sport has moved to take centre stage. It has also attracted international athletes and developed local sporting talent, with Qatari athletes competing at the highest levels.
Since its inception in 1987, the Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has hosted several sporting events including the Qatar International Rally and Qatar International Baja – an annual off-road competition. These events draw participation from automotive and off-road fans in the region and internationally.
“The motorsports scene is not new to Qatar,” says Amro al-Hamad, CEO of Lusail International Circuit (LIC). “We have been actively involved in promoting the sport and are constantly working towards taking its legacy forward.”
LIC was launched in 2004 and has hosted MotoGP races and an annual grand prix motorcycle world championship that has taken place in Qatar for almost 20 years.
With these events gaining national and international momentum, officials are encouraged to invest further in renovating existing facilities. The 5.4-kilometre-long racetrack at LIC was redeveloped last year to include safety barriers, a debris fence system to protect the new grandstands, marshal posts and buildings.
The big prize in motorsport came in 2021 when Qatar hosted its first-ever Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix race at LIC. Following this, the QMMF signed an agreement with F1 to bring the top-tier motorsport event to Qatar every year for the next decade, starting in 2023.
“Hosting these events provides Qatar with a platform to enhance and maintain its reputation as a leading global sports destination,” says Al-Hamad. “They are also a key enabler of economic growth, stimulating tourism and generating revenue from ticket sales, sponsorships and merchandising. The improved infrastructure and facilities help in organising future sporting events.”
New events
The International Automobile Federation’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) is set to make its debut in Doha this year. At the newly renovated LIC, Qatar will host both the WEC Prologue in February and the opening race in March. The events will bring together top endurance race drivers and leading brands showcasing the latest hypercars.Local motorsports events such as the Qatar Off-Road Championships and the Qatar National Sprint also attract the crowds.
Qatar’s goal to become one of the world’s most sought-after sporting destinations can only be achieved by investing in the best training and development facilities, says Al-Hamad.
MEED's February 2024 special report on Qatar includes:
> GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: Qatar’s return to economic normality
> BANKING: Qatar’s banks adjust to new circumstances
> OIL & GAS: Qatar enters period of oil and gas consolidation
> POWER & WATER: Qatar power and water projects to take off
> CONSTRUCTION: Qatar construction enters reboot mode
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Kuwait tenders refinery contract
15 July 2025
State-owned downstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has issued a tender covering the development of three gas recovery units at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.
KNPC will host a meeting on 22 July with bidders to discuss the scope of work on the tender. It has set a deadline of 12 August for submission of bids.
The front-end engineering and design (feed) work for the project was carried out by Greece’s Asprofos Engineering.
The tender uses the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract model.
The scope of the EPC contract includes developing:
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- A high-pressure gas plant flare gas recovery unit
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In October last year, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), KNPC’s parent company, announced plans to reduce volumes of flared gas in the country.
At the time, KPC said that its upstream subsidiary Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) had reduced total gas flaring to below 1% since 2020 from about 17% in 2005.
It also said that Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, which manages Kuwait’s share of production in the Neutral Zone shared with Saudi Arabia, was investing in projects to reduce gas flaring to 1% “in the medium term”.
KPC did not provide flaring data for KNPC at the time, but said that the company had installed “efficient heaters” and taken other steps to reduce emissions.
KPC has pledged to reach zero routine flaring for its domestic upstream assets by 2030, and for all of its subsidiaries by 2040.
READ THE JULY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFUAE 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:
> 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 endTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14265537/main.png -
PIF plans more solar IPPs
15 July 2025
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is planning second- and third-phase extensions to five existing utility-scale solar plants. The independent power plant (IPP) projects will have a total capacity of 9GW and will follow the successful signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs) on seven PIF solar and wind projects in mid-June.
The five planned solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, their locations and generation capacities are:
- Al-Sadawi 2: 3GW – Eastern Province
- Khushaybi 2: 0.5GW – Northern Borders
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As with the recent PPAs, covering new facilities with a total capacity of 15GW, the planned plants fall under the PIF’s renewables programme, which runs parallel to the National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP), now in its sixth round.
The successful developers for the five forthcoming schemes will sign PPAs with the offtaker, Saudi Power Procurement Company, likely under 25-year build-own-operate contracts, similar to previous PIF projects.
Financial close is likely to take between three and six months following the PPA, with each facility expected to take about two years to complete.
It is unclear when the PIF will award the five schemes, but official documents have stated the negotiation process for the directly-awarded concessions should start this year.
Each plant will be located alongside their eponymous first- and second-phase complexes, which are under construction. These are:
- Al-Sadawi 1: 2GW – Masdar, Kepco, GD Power
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- Haden 1: 2GW – Acwa Power, Badeel, Sapco
At this point, it is not clear if the PIF’s intention is to award the five second- and third-phase extensions to the developers of the previous phases, but given their proximity, it may be the logical assumption.
A consortium of Acwa Power, Water & Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and Saudi Aramco Power Company (Sapco) was selected for the seven recently signed IPPs.
The projects, which have a total capacity of 15,000MW, include five large-scale solar PV plants with a total capacity of 12,000MW and two large-scale wind energy plants with a total capacity of 3,000MW.
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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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Contractor wins $50m Saudi Almoosa hospital deal
15 July 2025
Riyadh-based contractor Masah Specialised Contracting Company has won a SR192m ($50m) contract for construction works on the Almoosa hospital in Alkhobar.
The contract was awarded by the local firm Almoosa Health Group.
In a statement published on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), the company said that the scope covers the preliminary construction works, foundation works and the construction of the concrete structure of the Almoosa hospital.
The hospital will be built over an area of 45,000 square metres.
The hospital complex consists of two towers: a 24-storey in-patient tower with 380 beds, and an 11-storey tower with 224 clinics and 113 additional treatment spaces.
A podium base on the ninth and 10th floors will connect the two towers.
The hospital will also have a parking facility for 1,700 cars.
In October last year, MEED reported that Almoosa Health Group had awarded an enabling works contract to Kastas Arabia, a local subsidiary of Turkish construction firm Enka Insaat ve Sanayi AS Engineering.
Lebanon's Dar, US-based Perkins & Will and French architectural firm Pierre-Yves Rochon designed the project.
UK data analytics firm GlobalData expects the construction industry in Saudi Arabia to grow by 4% in real terms in 2025, before recording an annual average growth of 5.4% in 2026-29.
The institutional construction sector is expected to grow by 3% in real terms in 2025, before recording an annual average growth rate of 3.4% in 2026-29, supported by investments in healthcare and education sector buildings.
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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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Webuild wins $600m Diriyah Square project deal
14 July 2025
Italian contractor Webuild has 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.
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 will include leisure and entertainment, hotels, retail, grade A offices, the King Salman Grand mosque and residential units designed in the traditional Najdi architectural style.
The car park has a floor area of 1 million square metres, with underground roads and tunnels below Diriyah Square, and a capacity for 10,500 cars.
The parking facility will directly connect commuters with 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.
MEED reported in January 2021 that Diriyah Company had selected Webuild for the super basement car park at the Diriyah project in Riyadh.
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 PDFUAE 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:
> 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 endTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14259832/main.jpg -
August deadline for Diriyah Pendry superblock package
14 July 2025
Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company has asked firms to submit commercial proposals by 13 August for a contract to build the Pendry superblock package in the second phase of the Diriyah Gate development (DG2).
MEED understands that the tender was issued in June, with the technical bid submission deadline set for 6 July.
The Pendry superblock encompasses the construction of a hotel, known as the Pendry Hotel, along with residential and commercial assets.
The project will span an area of 75,365 square metres and is located in the northwestern district of the DG2 area.
Earlier this month, MEED exclusively reported that Diriyah Company is preparing to tender more superblock packages this quarter, following the receipt of prequalification statements from interested firms.
Notices were issued in mid-June for packages that include the Waldorf Astoria superblock and the Edition superblock, both located in DG2.
The Waldorf Astoria superblock is a mixed-use development featuring the Waldorf Astoria Residences & Hotel, commercial and residential facilities and office spaces.
The Waldorf Astoria Hotel is a 200-key property, while the Waldorf Astoria Residences will offer around 46 branded residences.
The project is located along the Grand Boulevard South and the Northern Arterial Road in the Boulevard Northwestern district at DG2.
The prequalification documents for this package were submitted on 29 June.
Prequalification documents for the Edition superblock were submitted on 2 July.
This package comprises a mix of residential, commercial and office spaces, including the 200-key Edition Hotel and 150-key Equinox Hotel.
The project is situated between King Khalid Road and the Grand Boulevard within the Boulevard East district in DG2.
Diriyah Company has also received prequalification statements from firms interested in constructing the upcoming Radisson Red superblock in DG2.
The Radisson Red superblock comprises a hotel, residential apartments, retail facilities, commercial office spaces and a park.
The project is situated in the Boulevard East district, between King Khalid Road and the Grand Boulevard in Diriyah.
Diriyah also tendered a contract in April to build the new iconic museum in the DG2 area.
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 PDFUAE 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:
> 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 endTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14258798/main0303.jpg