A case study in procurement
18 March 2025
Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access
While it may not be in the headlines as much as some of its more eye-catching official gigaproject counterparts, Roshn has already delivered thousands of residential units in Saudi Arabia as it seeks to fill the upscale and community living housing map.
Launched in 2020, the Roshn gigaproject is a component of the Vision 2030 plan to achieve 70% home ownership among Saudi nationals by 2030. Alongside the National Housing Company, it is the delivery vehicle for government-backed housing construction as Riyadh seeks to meet the shortfall in available stock.
Its first project was its Sedra community in the north of the capital. Currently on its fourth of eight delivery phases, the multibillion-dollar masterplanned development will comprise 30,000 homes over 20 million square metres (sq m) when completed.
Roshn’s second Riyadh community under construction is Warefa in the northeast of the capital. More compact than Sedra, it will have 2,300 units over an area of 1.4 square kilometres, with 150,000 sq m of green open space.
Three years after the launch of its first projects, Roshn announced Marafy, its first scheme in Jeddah and its largest mixed-use development to date. Designed to accommodate more than 130,000 residents, Marafy will be built around an 11-kilometre, 100-metre-wide canal, linking with Obhur Creek in the northern outskirts of the kingdom’s second city.
Already breaking ground, Marafy’s first core component is the Alarous residential community, which will offer 18,000 units over a 4 million sq m land area.
Elsewhere in the kingdom, Roshn’s other planned community projects include Almanar in Mecca, Alfulwa in Hofuf and Aldanah in Dhahran. Between them, these schemes total more than 50,000 units. It is expected that thousands of additional homes in other parts of the kingdom will be announced by the developer in the next two years.
Delivering such projects at many different locations is a complex exercise, requiring procurement strategies that not only encompass on-time and on-budget completion, but also ensure that local content is maximised while at the same time maintaining stringent quality standards.
Tasked with handling Roshn’s overall procurement strategy is Iain McBride, the gigaproject developer’s head of commercial.
It is expected that thousands of additional homes in other parts of the kingdom will be announced by the developer in the next two years
Like other gigaprojects in the kingdom, McBride and his procurement team have had to deal with the twin challenges of soaring cost inflation and maximising local content in materials and equipment.
The five official gigaprojects – Diriyah, Neom, the Red Sea Project, Qiddiya and Roshn – are free to employ their own procurement rules and processes, and each has taken a different approach to address its specific requirements. For example, Red Sea Global uses a construction management approach wherein it contracts directly with companies and suppliers that would normally work as subcontractors under the main contractors.
Similarly, Diriyah Company employs a strategy of bundling several smaller contract packages into a single large contract, as a means of consolidating work to ensure lower costs and maintain contractor interest.
Hear directly from the gigaproject owners at the biggest construction event – The Saudi Gigaprojects 2025 Summit, happening in Riyadh from 12-14 May 2025. Click here to know more
Demand signalling
The nature of Roshn’s mainly residential projects means that from the outset it knew it would need thousands of items with similar specifications, such as doors; glass panes; sanitaryware; and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
To secure this supply chain, early on the company identified local manufacturers of these products and reached long-term agreements with them for the delivery of required materials.
“Our first step was signing a lot of long-term partnership agreements through master purchase agreements where we could leverage preferential rates,” says McBride, speaking to MEED in late January.
“Ultimately, it's all about balance and risk – derisking the opportunities for the supply chain by telling them how many doors, for example, we're going to need each quarter for the next five to 10 years. It gives confidence to the manufacturers that they can start committing to.”
Roshn was the first of the gigaprojects to publicly signal its demand requirements. In 2021, it announced that it would require at least 5 million doors, 3.5 million air-conditioning units, 4.3 million windows, 80 million sq m of tiles and 6.5 million pieces of sanitaryware. These numbers have since changed, but they are indicative of the scale of the supply chain challenge.
Armed with the knowledge that Roshn is both supported by its parent, sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and that it is a central element of Saudi Vision 2030, local manufacturers had the confidence to commit to investing in production capacity to meet its needs.
Significantly, most of these deals have been with manufacturers within the kingdom, thereby maximising the local content aspects. Just as importantly, Roshn has not had to make any fixed orders – so-called ‘take-or-pay agreements’ – with suppliers, such is the latter’s faith in the developer.
“For the time being, we’ve not had to make any firm commitments,” says McBride. “We did look at it at one point, but our approach has always been to keep it as simple as possible by listening to the supply chain and seeing what they need. When we were speaking to them, it wasn’t their number one driver; they weren’t screaming at us saying, ‘We need you to give us a firm order’.
“Now, many people think a take-or-pay agreement is essential – where you commit to ordering [a certain quantity] of materials over a period of months or years and, if you don’t, you have to pay a penalty, thereby adding risk and complexity for the developer.
“What we were able to agree instead was that we'll be open and transparent with [the suppliers about] what we need. We said to ourselves, ‘Let's get a good price that works, whether we buy directly from the supplier or whether we include that supplier within our tenders with major contractors’. And we’ve seen great success with that approach, with multiple companies.”
The localisation push is supported by the design process. Wherever possible, the designs for Roshn’s projects incorporate and specify equipment and materials that are known to be manufactured locally.
There have been instances where specific, specialised materials and products are not produced in the kingdom, or not in the quantities required, such as marble and certain architectural facades.
Where this is the case, Roshn is keen to explore how it can help to build in-kingdom capacity. The developer has initiatives through which it looks to co-invest in production facilities that come with high capital requirements.
As McBride explains, Roshn is only one part of the huge and rapidly accelerating Saudi projects market ecosystem, and in helping to increase capacity, it is also putting itself in a position to help other developers with their supply chain needs.
A case in point is Roshn’s contract with China Harbour Engineering Company, which was awarded the $2bn deal in 2023 to build villas at Sedra and Warefa.
Part of the contract requires the Chinese contractor to set up a precast manufacturing facility on site at Sedra. In this way, Roshn could not only ringfence the plant for its own needs, but when it no longer requires the output, other projects could benefit from its production capacity.
“The factory has a 15-year lifespan, so any additional capacity will be there for another 10 years after our requirements are met,” says McBride. “In Riyadh, we have Expo 2030, the new airport, the stadiums and many other projects that could draw on its output.”
There are some situations where even this is not enough, particularly when it comes to contracting expertise. One such case is Roshn’s mandate to develop a 45,000-seat stadium in the southwest of Riyadh as part of the kingdom’s Fifa World Cup 2034 plans. On such a complex, highly engineered project, Roshn has insisted that an international contractor teams up with a local company as a condition of tender participation.
This insistence is based on Roshn’s experience overseeing the construction of a football stadium in Dammam alongside co-developer, Saudi Aramco. The project, which is being built by a joint venture of Belgium’s Besix and the local Albawani, is proceeding at a rapid pace and progress has been relatively trouble-free.
McBride says: “If we have to go abroad, let’s go abroad. But make sure it’s done in a smart way and that we’re not just throwing money out of the kingdom.”
Early contractor involvement
On the issue of contracting, it is well known that the massive amount of work in Saudi Arabia is stretching contractors to the limit, pushing up prices and straining labour, engineering and equipment resources.
Roshn’s approach to this challenge has been to engage with contractors at the earliest possible stage of project planning, specifically at the design phase, through an early contractor involvement (ECI) procurement framework. In this way, the company is able to obtain contractor feedback during concept and design and subsequently lower construction risk by improving a project’s constructability.
“It's about signposting the demand by getting the contractor in early, where you can really influence the design, the buildability and the value-engineering opportunities,” says McBride. “Ideally, we bring them in as quickly as possible during the concept stages, when there's very little cost to changing things.
“The worst thing for a contractor is receiving a [request for proposal] cold. They have to … come back in four weeks and then be squeezed for a best price, whereas with ECI they can add value. They really appreciate that.”
When asked to quantify the cost benefits of such an approach, McBride is forthright: “It’s not even a case of doing the maths,” he says. “We have a great example of where it’s worked on our Aldanah project in Dammam. We selected the contract very early on and locked in the floor plans and facades that we wanted. We were then able to deliver a street of 10 show homes [that took] not much more than four months to design and construct.
“The saving, in terms of time, was massive; we probably halved the duration. I probably wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said it saved about a year.
“There are two ways you can follow your engineer,” he continues. “One: you can follow them early and make sure that the way you're looking to save costs is in areas that are not impacting the customer.
“Or two: the worst thing you can do is get to the end and you have a full structural design that could be over-engineered and you’re spending money in the wrong places.
“We don’t want to get to a point where we're trying to value-engineer by cutting things out that are important to customers,” McBride explains. “And that's what you avoid by having this early contractor involvement.”
The company is able to obtain contractor feedback during concept and design and subsequently lower construction risk by improving a project’s constructability
Unlike the other gigaprojects, Roshn has been in the favourable position of being able to raise some revenue by marketing and selling its properties off plan. While this has been beneficial from a development perspective, it has also meant that the developer must get its pricing and housing specifications right if it is to develop homes within an already-defined budget.
Having a contracting partner on board during the design and specification stage facilitates the conversation between the property sales team, which is informing on market requirements, and the builder, who can deliver within the designed cost and quality parameters.
This is in contrast to many real estate developments for which sales are completed before the construction estimates come in, potentially undermining the business case.
The step beyond ECI is for contractors and suppliers to partner with Roshn to inject equity into the projects by acting as co-developers. McBride points to several planned mid-rise towers at Marafy that could be a starting point for this.
Contractors financing projects or bringing in replacement equity has long been an ambition in the region, but builders have been reluctant to adopt this approach. Nonetheless, McBride is confident that it could happen, indicating that there has already been strong interest from the contracting community.
Cost inflation
Another major talking point in Saudi construction is the escalating costs caused by high inflation, logistical challenges and a tightening of contracting and skilled labour capacity.
In many cases, this has required the rescoping of projects, revisions to timelines and even the scrapping of elements. Neom is arguably the best example of this, as it has reprioritised The Line and is facing an estimated cost of $50bn for building each of its first three modules – far in excess of original estimates.
Roshn’s approach to the challenge is to be as open and transparent as possible with the contractor and supplier community. This has involved outlining a long-term pipeline of work that gives the supply chain confidence about its requirements, enabling them to fix in long-term pricing structures. In return, the developer expects prices to come in competitively.
“It’s no secret within the supply chain market that Roshn has quite aggressive price points,” says McBride, a former chartered surveyor who, prior to joining Roshn, worked as a quantity surveyor and cost-management director at consultants Faithful+Gould (now AtkinsRealis) and Rider Levett Bucknall.
“What we're trying to do is engage early, build trust with the contractors, let them see we’re a good client that's going to pay and have honest and fair contracting terms, and work together to try and solve issues post-contract.
“We don't mind if there's inflationary pressures because of commodity prices increasing. But what we're trying to avoid is inflationary prices through just the demand increasing.
“An innovative way that we've implemented this even on our lump-sum contracts – our traditional Redbook or older contracts – is that we have preferred supplier agreement clauses in them,” he adds.
“So, rather than a traditional bill of quantities (BoQ) that has a rate, a quantity, a total, within our rate section we have the material supply rate, the installation rate and then everything else, such as overhead profit. We protect the installation rate, so it's not a percentage of the material; it's a fixed SR100 a square metre to install, for example.
“One of the big frustrations for contractors is [that the supplier has] a material we think they're going to deliver. It's maybe not available, so they submit alternative materials. The client keeps rejecting it – it's not what they want – and it becomes a delay; it's painful.”
McBride gives the example of a pre-approved bathroom sink. Thanks to Roshn’s relationships with key long-term suppliers, the company is able to negotiate better rates for sanitaryware than would be available to a contractor on an ad hoc basis. If the developer’s rates for sinks are better than the BoQ, it splits the savings 50:50 with the contractor.
“The contractors are winning out of that exercise, we're winning out of it and, ultimately, the customers are winning out of it as well, because we’re passing on those savings,” says McBride.
Flexibility
The benefits to contractors and suppliers extend to payment terms. In today’s sellers’ market, vendors are effectively able to pick and choose the clients they want to work for. As a result, clients – including the gigaprojects – have had to introduce more flexible payment terms and develop market reputations for paying on time.
Roshn may lead the pack on this, with an average payment time from invoice to payment of just 13 days in 2024. A decade ago, this would have been unheard of, but it is now increasingly becoming the norm among the gigaprojects.
In addition, like its PIF peers, Roshn has done away with tender fees and tender bonds, viewing them as outdated means of enforcing vendor participation, especially given the tight liquidity and cashflow situation in the projects market in Saudi Arabia.
Will such flexibility ever extend to performance bonds? McBride is sceptical, pointing to the fact that Roshn’s strong relationship with local banks allows to it facilitate credit agreements between contractors and their lenders. Being a gigaproject developer supported by the PIF – and by tacit extension the state – also helps provide the underlining ease of mind for financers.
Nonetheless, Roshn also takes a proactive approach with advanced payments, enabling up to 20% of the total contract value at the initial stage of the project.
“We've been quite clever in how we do this,” says McBride. “We don't go and release 20% straight away. We’ll do 10% and then, when we’ve evidence that you’ve expended that 10% on mobilisation and site establishment, we’ll release the second 10% tranche.”
Subcontractors
One of the chief sticking points in the kingdom’s projects ecosystem in the past decade has been the capacity and capability of its subcontractors.
The payments crisis in 2017-20 forced many main and general contractors to reduce their permanent labour forces, plant and general resources. Wary of a repeat, most have retained their leaner structure and so have turned increasingly to subcontractors for their manpower and delivery requirements.
In theory, this makes sense, but in practice subcontractors in Saudi Arabia are themselves often overstretched in terms of both delivery capacity and labour availability. In turn, they frequently use their own subcontractors, which then also outsource, to the point that specific elements of a project may be completed by companies very far down the supply chain – with the quality issues that this implies.
Roshn’s solution is to ensure any subcontractor on site goes through a vetting process encompassing quality and financial checks, thereby ensuring it has full visibility on every company on site.
Increasingly, Roshn is dealing with suppliers directly, under supply-install contracts. This can create interfacing issues with the main contractors, however, which are ultimately responsible for the project’s delivery.
“We have to be quite careful on that,” McBride says. “We have to go through all the checks and balances during the prequalification process because if we are going to give a subcontractor to a contractor that we're saying is pre-vetted by Roshn, we could be opening the door to lots of claims from the main contractor against us. So, vetting for us is absolutely crucial.”
Roshn is also working with smaller suppliers and subcontractors to help them evolve and grow, so that they can start taking on smaller main contractor roles themselves.
“Not every construction package we award is in the billions of riyals,” says McBride. “Our thinking is to let the big tier-one contractors focus on the multibillion-riyal deals while we encourage the smaller ones to grow as part of our supplier development programme.”
To achieve this, the developer holds events and bootcamps with its vendors to discuss best practices on subjects including health and safety, variation procedures and how to submit good tender returns.
Roshn is also working with smaller suppliers and subcontractors to help them evolve and grow
Building information modelling
Vendor education also extends to the use of building information modelling (BIM) and other construction technologies.
BIM is mandatory on Roshn’s projects, as it is on the other gigaprojects. While use of the technology is standard across almost all main contractors in the region, its take-up among smaller companies in the supply chain has been slower, with firms pointing to the cost of its adoption and integration as a barrier, as well as the fact that some clients, particularly government ones, view it as providing limited benefit.
Roshn’s task in this area is made difficult because its projects are less complex from an engineering and construction perspective.
“We’re building villas; it’s completely different to building stadiums or airports,” McBride says. “Can these contractors build from [two-dimensional] drawings? Yes, of course they can. You're not going to convince a smaller contractor that all of these benefits will make it easier to build because they know how to build. They've been doing it for decades.
“But the savings are in making it easier to procure, savings in the repeatability, and in the change control. If you upskill yourself on a Roshn project, you are building your capability, which you can then [demonstrate] to other clients as proof you can go after bigger and more complex projects. It's something that the whole industry has to get behind.”
Indeed, there is much to learn from Roshn’s approach to delivering its infrastructure and building plans. While the comparatively straightforward nature of its projects means that its procurement strategies may not be suited to those gigaprojects with more iconic designs, for many other developers it is a case study in efficient processes that have proven effective in delivering work on time and to budget.
This is just as well given that Roshn is set to embark on the next stage of its journey, with its focus on the more complex Marafy city development in Jeddah and Roshn Stadium in Riyadh. However, the evidence suggests that from a procurement strategy perspective, it is well-positioned to also make this a success.
Exclusive from Meed
-
Webuild wins $600m Diriyah Square project deal
14 July 2025
-
-
Penspen to expand workforce in Neutral Zone
14 July 2025
-
Eni signs $1.35bn Algerian oil and gas deal
14 July 2025
-
All of this is only 1% of what MEED.com has to offer
Subscribe now and unlock all the 153,671 articles on MEED.com
- All the latest news, data, and market intelligence across MENA at your fingerprints
- First-hand updates and inside information on projects, clients and competitors that matter to you
- 20 years' archive of information, data, and news for you to access at your convenience
- Strategize to succeed and minimise risks with timely analysis of current and future market trends

Related Articles
-
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 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:
> 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 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:
> 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 -
Penspen to expand workforce in Neutral Zone
14 July 2025
UK-based engineering and project management company Penspen is expanding its headcount in the Neutral Zone, which is shared by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, according to a senior executive.
Penspen currently has 130 employees working in the Neutral Zone, also known as the Divided Zone. The company expects to increase the headcount to 200 by the end of the year, according to Neale Carter, the company’s executive vice-president for the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
“It’s a challenging environment, but we’re very pleased to be there,” he said.
Penspen was invited to join the tendering programme for a range of projects for state-owned Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC), which is a partner in Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) alongside Saudi Arabia’s Aramco Gulf Operations Company (AGOC).
Penspen was previously the project management consultant for KJO in the Neutral Zone from 2006 until 2017, when US-based Jacobs replaced them in the role.
Penspen then went through the tendering process in 2022 and won the contract back in 2023.
The current contract is a five-year project management consultancy services contract.
The Neutral Zone has seen an uptick in oil and gas activity in the past couple of years.
In May, MEED reported that KJO has more than 20 projects currently ongoing to develop the Khafji field, which is located in the shared territory.
Additionally, KJO is currently in the tendering phase with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the Dorra gas field development project, which is also located in the Divided Zone.
KJO has divided the scope of work on the Dorra gas field development project, which is estimated to be valued at up to $10bn, into four EPC packages – three offshore and one onshore.
In May, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait announced a new oil discovery in the shared territory.
The oil was discovered in the North Wafra Wara-Burgan field, located five kilometres north of the onshore Wafra field, within Wafra Joint Operations – a 50:50 joint venture of Kuwait Gulf Oil Company and US energy company Chevron.
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:
> 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/14254527/main.jpg -
Saudi Arabia signs deals for $8.3bn of renewables projects
14 July 2025
Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access
A consortium of Acwa Power, Water & Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and Saudi Aramco Power Company (Sapco) has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) for seven renewable energy projects that will require $8.3bn of investment.
The projects, which have a total capacity of 15,000MW, include five large-scale solar photovoltaic plants with a total capacity of 12,000MW and two large-scale wind energy plants with a total capacity of 3,000MW.
Financial closes are expected by the third quarter of 2025. The projects are scheduled to start operating in the second half of 2027 and the first half of 2028.
The projects are part of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP), which is led and supervised by the Energy Ministry. PIF has committed to developing 70% of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy target capacity by 2030.
With the addition of these new projects, Acwa Power's solar and wind portfolio in Saudi Arabia now comprises 21 projects, representing more than 34GW of combined renewable capacity. Acwa Power's total renewable capacity portfolio, which includes projects in other countries, totals 51.9GW.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is the largest shareholder in Acwa Power; it is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) with a 44% stake. The PIF wholly owns Badeel. The PIF holds a 16% stake in Aramco, which is also listed on the Tadawul.
Acwa Power recently said it is raising SR7.1bn ($1.9bn) with a rights issue to finance its equity contributions in its growing portfolio of domestic and international energy and water projects, as part of its plan to triple managed assets by 2030.
According to the prospectus for the rights issue, between 75% and 85% of the proceeds will go towards funding its share in current and upcoming projects, while up to 20% may be used for mergers and acquisitions. The remainder will support corporate activities and early-stage project development to accelerate delivery timelines.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14258744/main.jpg -
Eni signs $1.35bn Algerian oil and gas deal
14 July 2025
Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach and the Italian company Eni have signed a production-sharing hydrocarbons contract (PSC) estimated to be worth $1.35bn.
The contract covers the exploration and exploitation of the Zemoul El-Kebir concession area, located in the Berkine Basin, approximately 300 kilometres east of Hassi Messaoud, according to a statement by Sonatrach.
The deal with Eni is the latest in a string of high-profile agreements that Sonatrach has announced with international oil and gas companies.
The contract with Eni was signed under Hydrocarbons Law No 1913 and extends for a period of 30 years, with an extendable option for an additional 10 years.
It includes a seven-year exploration period, with $110m of the estimated $1.35bn investment budget expected to be used in the exploration phase.
In its statement, Sonatrach said: “The work programme associated with this contract includes the use of innovative technological methods, including the latest digital solutions related to exploitation, in addition to the use of modern technologies to improve production and recover reserves.
“It is worth noting that, within the framework of implementing this contract, preference is given to the use of local content and the use of subcontracting services from national operators.”
Expected production from the area covered by the deal has been estimated at 415 million barrels of oil equivalent, including 9.3 billion cubic metres of gas, over the contract period.
The signing of the final PSC with Eni follows a provisional deal that was signed between Sonatrach and Eni on 19 May 2024.
As well as signing the PSC relating to the Zemoul El-Kebir concession area, the two parties also signed a gas agreement aimed at defining the terms of the hydrocarbons contract relating to the marketing of dry gas quantities from the operating area, intended for export.
A framework agreement was also signed between Sonatrach and Eni Corporate University, aiming to develop the skills of Sonatrach employees and transfer knowledge through the Eni Corporate University training institution, for a period of three years.
In June, Algeria awarded five out of the six oil and gas exploration licences it offered during its 2024 bidding round, a move viewed as a success by stakeholders in the country’s energy sector.
The companies that were awarded blocks included France’s TotalEnergies, state-owned QatarEnergy, Eni and PTTEP of Thailand.
The latest licensing round was followed by meetings between Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and delegations from US-based oil and gas companies ExxonMobil and Chevron.
Project activity across Algeria’s energy, industrial and manufacturing sectors is steadily building as the country focuses on a vertically-integrated strategy that leverages the exploitation of its natural resources.
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:
> 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/14254529/main.png