Related Articles

• 
  Contractor begins Burj Khalifa metro station expansion works

  6 July 2026

  

   

  Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has started construction on the expansion and upgrade of the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall metro station.

  The main construction works are being carried out by Turkish contractor Mapa Group.

  The RTA also announced that it is temporarily closing its bus and taxi service road at the metro station due to ongoing construction works, until the end of this year.

  The contract was tendered in January 2025, as MEED exclusively reported.

  The design-and-build contract covers the lift and station expansion works, including demolishing and replacing the existing pod entrance with a three-storey building. The new entrance will provide links to the Dubai Mall link bridge at the concourse level and a direct connection to the Rashidya platform.

  The project will add three new hydraulic lifts and four escalators. The concourse level will be expanded to include a connection to the link bridge and 10 new retail units.

  The project will also add two new hydraulic lifts and escalators within the Sheikh Zayed roadside extension serving the UAE Exchange platform.

  The Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station expansion was first tendered as part of the RTA’s plan to upgrade four Dubai Metro stations in 2018.

  Subsequently, the expansion works on the station were put on hold, whereas construction on the Damac, UAE Exchange and Dubai Internet City stations was completed in 2021.

  Local firm Al-Shafar General Contracting undertook the expansion works.

  Traffic at the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station peaks on New Year’s Eve. In an official statement published by Emirates News Agency, the RTA said that last New Year’s Eve, Dubai Metro accommodated over 1 million passengers on its Red and Green lines, while the Dubai Tram transported 55,391 passengers.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17563784/main0706.png

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Morocco tenders 300MW El-Menzel pumped-storage plant

  6 July 2026

  Morocco's Office National de l'Electricité et de l'Eau Potable (Onee) has tendered the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 300MW El-Menzel pumped-storage hydropower project.

  The bid submission deadline is 30 September.

  The El-Menzel pumped energy transfer station will be developed in the Sefrou area of Morocco's Fes-Boulemane region. The project is intended to support Morocco's renewable energy programme and contribute to the country's target of sourcing 52% of its energy mix from renewables by 2030.

  The project scope comprises upper and lower reservoirs, a 400kV substation and a 44-kilometre (km) transmission line. It also inlcudes the construction of 10km of access roads and associated facilities. The project is estimated to cost $244m.

  According to regional project tracker MEED Projects, three consortiums prequalified to bid for the EPC contract last year.

  They were:

  • China International Water & Electric, Yellow River Engineering Consulting (China), Harbin Electric Machinery (China), Harbin Electric International (China) and Jet Contractors (Morocco)
  • Sinohydro (China) and Andritz Hydro (Austria)
  • Webuild (Italy) and Dongfang Electric International Corporation (China)

  The project is being financed by the African Development Bank and Germany's KfW Development Bank.

  Morocco's renewable energy plans received a boost recently, when the World Bank approved $265m in financing for a separate 300MW pumped hydropower storage project in Ifahsa in Chefchaouen Province.

  The facility will act as a rechargeable battery for the national electricity grid, storing excess electricity generated from solar and wind projects before releasing it during periods of peak demand.

  The Ifahsa and El-Menzel projects are both being developed by Onee as part of a broader energy storage strategy that  targets 1GW of new pumped hydropower by 2030. 

  Onee commissioned the 350MW Abdelmoumen pumped-storage plant in 2024.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17562793/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Iraq readies tender for additional Al-Faw port piers

  6 July 2026

  Iraq is preparing to issue a tender inviting international contractors to bid for a contract to build the remaining piers at Al-Faw Grand Port in Basra.

  According to local media reports, construction work on the project's first phase is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

  This will be followed by port operations, for which the client, state-owned General Company for Ports of Iraq, shortlisted three out of the initial 11 international companies that were invited to bid, as MEED reported last year.

  At the time, the shortlisted companies included:

  • China Merchants Port Group (China)
  • Evergreen (Taiwan)
  • CMA CGM (France)
  • Mediterranean Shipping Company (Switzerland)
  • Adani Group (India)
  • International Container Terminal Services (Philippines)
  • Cosco (China) 
  • ABM Global Shipping (UAE)
  • AD Ports (UAE)

  In April last year, Iraq’s Shafaq News Agency reported that the country was in talks with US-based KBR to assist in operating the Al-Faw port.

  KBR was expected to provide training in port operations and management to Iraqi personnel, along with related services.

  The first phase of the project is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, while the second phase is expected to be completed by 2029.

  The first phase of the project cost approximately $5bn, including $2.5bn for its five main piers, which were constructed by South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17562198/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Frontrunner emerges for Bahrain’s Hidd IWP

  6 July 2026

  

   

  Saudi Arabia's Acwa has emerged as the frontrunner for a contract to develop and operate Bahrain’s Al-Hidd independent water project (IWP) following the disqualification of the only other bidder for the plant, a source has told MEED.

  The seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant is the state's first IWP project. It is expected to have a production capacity of about 60 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD), equivalent to roughly 272,000 cubic metres a day of potable water.

  Acwa offered to develop the project at a levelised cost of water of BD0.276 ($0.73) a cubic metre, according to details published on Bahrain’s Tender Board on 2 July.

  GS Inima (South Korea/Spain) was the only other bidder for the project.

  Bids for the project had been submitted earlier this year.

  The source added that Acwa's financial bid is now under evaluation and has yet to be selected as the preferred bidder. This will only be determined "subject to compliance with the [request for proposal] requirements".

  Nine companies and consortiums had previously been shortlisted following the completion of the prequalification process last August.

  The facility will be developed on a brownfield site and is expected to be fully operational by 2029. It will be developed using a build, own and operate (BOO) model for 20-25 years and aims to help expand Bahrain’s water infrastructure to meet projected demand based on its 2030 masterplan.

  This includes doubling the state's installed power generation capacity to over 10GW by 2030, according to UK data analytics firm GlobalData.

  Sitra IWPP

  Bahrain's 1.2GW Sitra independent water and power plant (IWPP) project is also advancing, with two bids having been submitted for the plant in June.

  The offers were made by Acwa and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa). The technical element of the bid was opened on 18 June.

  The Sitra IWPP is a combined-cycle gas turbine plant and is expected to have a production capacity of about 1,200MW of electricity. The project’s SWRO desalination facility will have a production capacity of 30 MIGD of potable water.

  The plant is Bahrain’s fourth IWPP, replacing the previously planned Al-Dur 3. The Sitra IWPP is expected to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2029.

  The Bahraini Electricity & Water Authority’s transaction advisory team for the two BOO projects comprises KPMG Fakhro as the financial consultant and Trowers & Hamlins as the legal consultant.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17562089/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Chinese contractor completes 70% of Iraq oil project

  6 July 2026

  

   

  The project to develop new crude oil processing facilities at Iraq’s Rumaila field is 70% complete, according to industry sources.

  The project scope for the planned plant in Mishrif Qurainat includes developing two new oil trains, each with a capacity of 120,000 barrels a day (b/d).

  When it was originally announced, the planned plant in Mishrif Qurainat was the first new crude oil processing facility project at the oil field in 10 years.

  In the fourth quarter of 2022, China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation signed a contract for the design, procurement, construction and testing of the crude oil processing facilities.

  The contract was valued at about $386m, and construction was expected to take three years to complete.

  Since 2022, the project has seen significant delays and the date for completion is currently uncertain, according to industry sources, as bringing the new crude processing facility online is no longer a priority for the client.

  One source said: “Work is continuing on this project at a slow pace because the client is not prioritising commissioning the oil trains.

  “The companies that form the joint venture, which operates the Rumaila field, are dealing with a range of other issues right now as a result of the regional war and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.”

  Rumaila is operated by Rumaila Operating Organisation (ROO).

  ROO is a joint venture formed by state-owned Basra Oil Company; Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (Somo); and Basra Energy Company, a joint venture owned by UK-based oil company BP and PetroChina.

  PetroChina is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation.

  Oil exports from Iraq have dropped steeply since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, leading to a regional conflict.

  The conflict has caused significant disruption to Iraq’s oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz.

  This has had a knock-on impact for production in the country, where output from many major oil fields has had to stop or has been significantly lowered.

  One source said: “At the moment, Basra Oil Company is prioritising restoring production, where it is possible, from assets that have seen reductions in output.

  “They are using a lot of resources just to keep existing facilities online and restarting facilities that have stopped due to the crisis.

  “Commissioning a brand new project, like the Mishrif Qurainat facilities, is unlikely to be a priority until Iraq’s oil sector returns to a situation that is more like business as usual prior to the conflict with Iran.”

  Rumaila is the ‎second-largest producing field in the world, and it is estimated to have about 17 billion barrels of ‎recoverable oil remaining.‎

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17561830/main.jpg

  Wil Crisp