Related Articles

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  Egyptian contractor wins Abu Dhabi Ramhan Island deal

  4 September 2026

  Egypt-headquartered contractor Rowad Modern Engineering has been awarded the main works contract for the Marina Apartments project on Ramhan Island, Abu Dhabi.

  The contract was awarded by the local firm Eagle Hills, which is led by Mohamed Alabbar, the founder and chairman of Emaar Properties.

  Rowad’s scope includes structural and architectural works, finishing, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

  The company will also deliver infrastructure works, including utility connections to external networks, testing and commissioning.

  The development comprises two residential towers offering 187 residential units.

  The works will be carried out under the consultancy supervision of local engineering firm Mirage Leisure & Development.

  The latest contract award follows Eagle Hills awarding the local firm Arabian Construction Company (ACC) an estimated AED2.5bn ($680m) construction contract to build about 500 villas at the Ramhan Island development, as reported by MEED previously.

  Located off the coast of Abu Dhabi, the Ramhan Island development spans an area of over 4 million square metres.

  The overall development includes the construction of 1,800 villas, 900 residences, a hotel and retail facilities.

  Mohamed Alabbar launched the Ramhan Island development in May 2024.

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  Yasir Iqbal
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  Egypt to invest $4.5bn in refinery upgrades

  4 September 2026

  Egypt is planning to invest $4.5bn in refinery upgrades, according to the country’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi.

  Egyptian refineries are operating at 80% of capacity compared with 66% two years ago, according to Badawi, who wants further increases in utilisation of existing facilities.

  “We aim to invest around $4.5bn to develop existing refineries and build new units to reduce imports and achieve self-sufficiency in refined products,” he said in a statement.

  In May, Egypt said that it had increased its fuel import budget by almost 40% for the 2026-27 fiscal year amid higher global prices driven by the Iran war, which started when the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on 28 February.

  Brent crude prices are up about a third since the conflict started, trading at more than $90 a barrel for most of this month so far.

  Badawi said a decline in Egypt’s oil and gas production between 2021 and 2024 occurred because foreign companies were reluctant to invest in the country’s energy sector due to unpaid government debts.

  He said: “We have settled all the debt, which reached $6.1bn in June 2024. As a result, hydrocarbon exploration and production activity grew by nearly 20% this year.

  “We are now moving in the right direction to increase oil and gas output gradually.”

  Despite the ongoing push to develop projects in the country’s oil and gas sector, several key projects have seen significant delays in recent years.

  These include a $2bn hydrocracking complex package that forms part of the wider Assiut oil refinery upgrade project.

  Earlier this month, MEED revealed that mechanical completion of the hydrocracking package is now unlikely to be reached until early next year due to complications in the final stages of construction.

  The hydrocracking complex package has experienced extensive delays over several years.

  In April this year, Badawi called for work to accelerate on the Assiut oil refinery upgrade project, saying it is important for reducing the country’s spending on imported refined products.

  At the time, the oil ministry said the project was 88% complete, with trial operations planned by the end of the year.

  Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC), a subsidiary of state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, is the project operator.

  France’s Technip Energies is the main contractor, performing engineering, procurement and construction work on the Assiut hydrocracking complex under a $2bn contract awarded by ASORC in February 2020.

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  Wil Crisp
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  North Field West platform bidders get extra time

  4 September 2026

  

   

  QatarEnergy has granted contractors additional time to prepare bids for a key tender for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of large platforms for the giant North Field gas field in Qatari waters.

  The tender, issued earlier this year, forms part of the wider North Field West (NFW) project, the third and last phase of the state enterprise’s North Field liquefied natural gas (LNG) expansion programme.

  The core scope comprises the EPCI of four production deck modules (PDMs) and associated structures. The new PDMs will increase gas production from North Field reservoirs and provide additional gas feedstock for the NFW LNG development.

  QatarEnergy has set 15 September as the deadline for technical bid submissions, while commercial bids are due on 10 November, according to sources.

  The previous deadlines for submission of technical and commercial bids were 30 August and 25 October, respectively, MEED previously reported.

  The following contractors, among others, are understood to be bidding:

  • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (China)
  • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
  • McDermott (US)
  • Saipem (Italy)

  Before issuing the PDM tender, QatarEnergy awarded McDermott a contract for the EPCI of four offshore jackets that will also support gas feedstock supply for the NFW LNG project. The contract is estimated to be worth about $200m, MEED reported in January.

  North Field LNG expansion

  QatarEnergy is advancing the three phases of its estimated $40bn North Field LNG expansion project. EPC works on all three giant projects are progressing.

  QatarEnergy is understood to have committed nearly $30bn to the first two phases – North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) – which will lift Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77.5 million tonnes a year (t/y) to 126 million t/y by 2028.

  QatarEnergy awarded the main EPC contracts for NFE in 2021. The project was intended to raise LNG output to 110 million t/y by 2025. The $13bn EPC package – covering the EPCI of four LNG trains, each with a capacity of 8 million t/y – was awarded in February 2021 to a consortium of Japan’s Chiyoda and France’s Technip Energies.

  In May 2023, QatarEnergy awarded the $10bn main EPC contract for NFS to a consortium of Technip Energies and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC). The contract includes two LNG trains, each with a capacity of 7.8 million t/y.

  Once fully operational, the first two phases are expected to add 48 million t/y of LNG supply to the global market.

  QatarEnergy took the final investment decision on NFW this year, awarding an EPC contract estimated at $8bn to a joint venture comprising Technip Energies, CCC and Gulf Asia Contracting (GAC) in February.

  Chiyoda carried out the front-end engineering and design (feed) work for the NFW LNG project.

  The NFW scope covers the EPC of two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 16 million t/y, as well as associated facilities for gas treatment, natural gas liquids recovery and helium extraction.

  In addition to LNG, NFW is expected to produce about 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day of condensate, ethane and LPG.

  With all three phases now under EPC execution – and NFE scheduled for commissioning later this year – QatarEnergy is positioning itself to remain one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers over the long term.

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Contractors prepare Dubai Metro Gold Line prequalifications

  4 September 2026

  

   

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Contractors are preparing to submit their prequalification statements on 7 September for a contract to build the new Gold Line as part of the Dubai Metro network’s expansion.

  Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) issued the request for qualification notice for the project in June, with an initial submission deadline of 17 August, as MEED exclusively reported.

  This followed the RTA’s invitation to contractors to express interest in building the new Gold Line in May.

  Dubai officially announced the launch of the new Gold Line in April.

  In a post on social media site X, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said the project will cost about AED34bn ($9.2bn).

  The Gold Line will increase the Dubai Metro network’s total length by 35%.

  The project is scheduled for completion in September 2032.

  The Gold Line will be a fully underground network covering more than 42 kilometres, with 18 stations.

  It will pass through 15 areas in Dubai, benefiting 1.5 million residents.

  The project is expected to provide connectivity to over 55 under-construction real estate development projects.

  The Gold Line will start at Al-Ghubaiba in Bur Dubai and end at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

  It will connect to Dubai Metro’s existing Red and Green lines and integrate with the Etihad Rail passenger line.

  The contractor will be responsible for the design and build of all civil works, electromechanical equipment, rolling stock and rail systems.

  The selected contractor will also be required to assist in the systems maintenance and operations during an initial three-year period.

  In October last year, MEED exclusively reported that the RTA had selected US-based engineering firm Aecom to provide consultancy services for the Dubai Metro Gold Line project.

  Stage one covers concept design, stage two covers preliminary design, stage three covers the preparation of tender documents, stage four encompasses construction supervision, and stage five covers the defects and liability period.

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  Yasir Iqbal
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  Mace confirms Muscat cultural complex appointment

  3 September 2026

  UK-headquartered engineering firm Mace Consult has confirmed its appointment to manage the construction of the Sayyid Tarik Bin Taimur Cultural Complex in the Al-Seeb area of Muscat.

  The firm will provide project leadership, programme management, commercial oversight and delivery assurance services.

  The complex will be developed on a 400,000-square-metre (sq m) site. Centred on an urban plaza, it will bring together a range of cultural and institutional facilities.

  These include a 23,000 sq m national library, a 15,500 sq m national archives, four facilities buildings with a combined area of 14,000 sq m, and a 5,000 sq m energy and data centre.

  At the heart of the development is the national theatre, which will include a 1,000-seat auditorium and a 250-seat auditorium. The facilities will sit within landscaped gardens and water features, alongside a signature canopy structure.

  In October 2023, the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Youth awarded a design-and-build contract for the complex to a joint venture of local firm Saif Salim Issa Al-Harrasi and Turkiye’s Sembol Construction, MEED reported.

  In January 2026, UAE-based steel structure manufacturer Emirates Building Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai Investments, won a contract to deliver the project’s structural steel package.

  Last month, Kuwait-based engineering and architecture consultancy SSH was appointed as the project’s construction supervision consultant.

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  Yasir Iqbal