Another bumper year for Mena projects
25 December 2024
The Middle East’s projects market in 2024 has been fuelled by the same heady cocktail of favourable oil prices, continued investment into oil and gas projects, government infrastructure spending, the energy transition, real estate investment and economic diversification that propelled the total value of awards in 2023 to record levels.
By the end of October 2024, there were $262bn of contract awards across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects. By the end of the year, the 2024 total may top the $290bn recorded in 2023.
While economic diversification is a priority for governments across the region, oil and gas remains a key sector for project awards. The three largest contract awards in 2024 were from the sector.
The top-ranked contract by value was a $20bn deal awarded to Iranian companies Petropars, Oil Industries Engineering & Construction, Khatam Al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters and Mapna Group for the South Pars gas field pressure-boosting project in Iran by Pars Oil & Gas Company.
Next was the $8bn deal won by China’s Hualu Engineering Technology Company for delivering the Al-Faw refinery in Iraq for Southern Refineries Company.
The third-largest award was a $5.5bn contract won by a joint venture of France’s Technip Energies, Japan’s JGC Corporation and the UAE’s NMDC Group for the Ruwais low-carbon liquefied natural gas terminal project by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).
These contract awards mean that the oil and gas sector accounted for 32% of the $262bn total that was recorded in the Mena region by the end of October 2024.
Breaking down the sector into oil and gas separately reveals a telling trend. Oil accounts for 12% of awards, while gas accounts for 20%. These numbers reflect the growing importance of gas as a transition fuel that is cleaner and more environmentally friendly than oil, but still provides the dependable energy that many renewable alternatives still do not offer.
Strong performances
Construction is the second-largest sector after oil and gas, accounting for 23% of awards. Its significance has dropped in 2024 compared to 2023, when it accounted for 32% of contract awards.
In terms of value, there were $68bn of contract awards in 2024 until the end of October. If the same pace is maintained during November and December, the 2024 total is expected to be about $81bn, which falls short of the 2023 total of $97bn.
While the total value of contract awards may have dropped, there was the largest construction contract award on record in 2024 – a $4.7bn deal secured by Italian contractor WeBuild for the construction of three dams for the Trojena mountain resort at Saudi Arabia’s Neom gigaproject.
The power sector accounted for 18% of the total awards during the period, the largest of which was the $5.3bn contract won by Saudi Arabia’s Alfanar Projects and China Electric Power Equipment & Technology Company for the 7,000MW Saudi Central, Western and Southern Regions high-voltage direct current overhead transmission lines project being developed by Saudi Electricity Company.
When analysed by country, Saudi Arabia and the UAE dominate the market, and together they account for over 60% of contract awards across the region in 2024 up to the end of October.
As the region’s largest economy, it is unsurprising that Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest share, with 38.6%, followed by the UAE, which had 22%. The next most significant country was Iran, which came in a distant third with 8% of contract awards.
The outsized contribution of Saudi Arabia and the UAE reflects the relative economic stability found in the GCC compared to other countries in the region that are grappling with the impact of conflict and other associated financial pressures.
Looking beyond the contract awards numbers, the biggest project announcement in 2024 came in April, when Abu Dhabi investment vehicle ADQ released details of plans to invest $35bn in Egypt. The plans involve ADQ acquiring the development rights for Ras El-Hekma, a planned new city on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean coast, for $24bn.
The development has been billed as having the potential to attract over $150bn in investment.
In October, ADQ appointed its subsidiary Modon Holding as the master developer for Ras El-Hekma. Modon will act as the master developer for the entire development, which covers more than 170 square kilometres (sq km).
Modon will develop the first phase, which covers 50 sq km, and the remaining 120 sq km will delivered with private developers.
Key partners for delivering the project have already been found. For construction, Modon has signed a framework agreement with Egyptian firm Orascom Construction to serve as the primary contractor for the project’s first phase.
Modon also signed a deal with Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) for developing, financing and operating greenfield utility infrastructure projects, water desalination projects, electricity transmission and distribution projects and wastewater projects at the Ras El-Hekma development.
While economic diversification is a priority for governments across the region, oil and gas remains a key sector for project awards
Future prospects
Looking ahead, the performance of the projects market in 2025 will depend on the favourable macroeconomic conditions remaining in the GCC, which if the other four members of the six-nation bloc are added, accounted for nearly 72% of the Mena region’s total contract awards during the first 10 months of 2024.
The key metric to watch in 2025 will be the oil price. In mid-November, the price of Brent Crude was $72 a barrel, which is below what many in the region, including Saudi Arabia, require if they are to maintain their project spending plans.
The outlook for oil prices is uncertain and after oil producers’ group Opec cut its global demand growth forecasts for both 2024 and 2025 for the fourth time, highlighting economic weakness in China, India and other regions, there are concerns prices will dip in 2025.
The election of Donald Trump as US president adds to those concerns. He has promised to “drill, baby, drill”, and a sharp uptick in output from the US could cause oil prices to soften further.
Trump is also a protectionist and has said ‘tariff’ is his favourite word. Most of his new tariffs are expected to be aimed at China, which could mean that Chinese companies look to other markets that remain open to them, including the Middle East.
The appeal is clear to see. Chinese contractors already command a dominant position in the region – particularly in North Africa and Iraq – and Chinese companies will find great appeal in affluent markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which can offer large-scale project opportunities.
The other metric that will drive the projects market in 2025 is real estate. In the UAE, much of the ongoing development work is supported by the buoyant property market, particularly in Dubai, which has grown strongly throughout 2024.
According to a report by data and analytics company Reidin, property sales in the UAE reached AED46.52bn ($12.7bn) in October 2024, marking a 55% year-on-year increase. Demand also remains robust, with 19,500 transactions recorded in October, reflecting a 72% rise compared to the same period in 2023.
Looking ahead to 2025, Reidin says that the outlook remains optimistic as sustained demand, rising property values and steady inventory turnover are all expected to continue driving growth.
While the forecast supports a positive outlook for construction in the UAE, those who have seen Dubai’s property market collapse before will be keenly watching the data in 2025.
Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.
Exclusive from Meed
-
-
-
-
-
Firms submit Jeddah distribution centre bids4 May 2026
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
-
Parsons wins role on Elon Musk-backed Dubai Loop project
4 May 2026
US-based Parsons Corporation has been appointed to deliver programme management services for the Dubai Loop transportation system.
The contract was awarded by Elon Musk-backed firm The Boring Company, which signed a construction agreement with Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) in February.
Parsons’ scope of work includes independent design verification, stakeholder management, permitting and no-objection certificate (NOC) support, and multidisciplinary design reviews for the project’s first phase.
The first phase comprises a 6.4-kilometre route with four stations, linking the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Dubai Mall.
Stations will be located at DIFC 2, ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai Mall Zabeel Parking and Burj Khalifa.
The first phase is expected to cost about AED565m ($154m) and to be delivered within one year after design work and other preparations are completed. Tunnelling is expected to begin in the second half of this year.
Next phase
The second phase will connect Dubai World Trade Centre and DIFC with Business Bay.
The tunnels will extend up to 22km and include 19 stations.
The total cost across both phases is expected to be around AED2bn ($545m), with completion scheduled within three years.
The pilot route is expected to serve around 13,000 passengers a day, while the full route is projected to have a capacity of about 30,000 passengers a day.
The RTA and The Boring Company signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai in February last year to explore the development of the Dubai Loop transportation system.
The Dubai Loop is expected to be similar to The Boring Company’s Las Vegas Convention Centre (LVCC) Loop project. The LVCC Loop is a 2.7km underground tunnel system that connects different convention centre halls, reducing walking time across the site to about two minutes.
The LVCC Loop has been in operation since 2021. It uses Tesla Model 3 cars to carry passengers between five stations. The Boring Company began construction in November 2019 at an estimated cost of $49m.
.gif)
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16672074/main.jpg -
Humain tenders infrastructure for 6GW data centre campus
4 May 2026
Saudi artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company Humain, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has issued a tender inviting firms to develop infrastructure for its planned 6GW hyperscale AI data centre campus in Riyadh.
The project will be delivered on an early contractor involvement (ECI) basis. Under the ECI process, selected contractors are required to submit methodologies and design proposals, after which one team will be selected to deliver the construction works.
Firms have until 8 May to submit proposals.
The development will be built on a 24-square-kilometre site in the Al-Saad area in east Riyadh. It will be delivered in two phases across six plots, each with a capacity of 1GW.
The scope of infrastructure work covers:
- Construction of 380kV/132kV/33kV electrical distribution network, two substations with a capacity of 500MVA and 200MVA, bulk supply point (2,000MVA)
- Water network and fire protection systems
- Sewage treatment plant and wastewater network
- Stormwater systems
- Roads
- Underground cable and fibre optic networks
- Landscaping works
The client is being supported by Canadian engineering firm Hatch, France’s Egis and US-based firm JLL.
Humain was launched in May last year to operate and invest across the AI value chain.
Humain is building full-stack AI capabilities across four core areas: next-generation data centres, hyper-performance infrastructure and cloud platforms, and advanced AI models, including Allam.
Also in May 2025, Humain signed preliminary deals with US chipmakers AMD and Nvidia to build multibillion-dollar advanced digital infrastructure in the kingdom.
AMD said it will invest up to $10bn to deploy 500MW of AI compute capacity in Saudi Arabia over the next five years.
In October, PIF and Saudi Aramco signed a non-binding term sheet setting out key terms under which Aramco would acquire a minority stake in Humain, with PIF retaining majority ownership.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16671267/main.jpg -
Abu Dhabi selects consortium for 2.5GW Taweelah C IPP
4 May 2026
Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access
A consortium of Al-Jomaih Energy & Water Company (Saudi Arabia) and Sembcorp Industries (Singapore) has been selected to develop the Taweelah C independent power producer (IPP) project in Abu Dhabi.
The consortium will sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) in mid-May, a source told MEED.
The combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant will have a capacity of 2.5GW. It will be located at the Al-Taweelah power and desalination complex, about 50 kilometres northeast of Abu Dhabi city.
It is understood that China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) will be the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
Last September, MEED reported that state offtaker Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) had received three bids for the facility.
The bidders included:
- Al-Jomaih Energy & Water Company / Sembcorp Industries
- Sumitomo Corporation (Japan) / Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation / Korean Midland Power
- Korea Western Power Company / Etihad Water & Electricity (UAE) / Kyuden International (Japan)
At the time, Mohamed Al-Marzooqi, chief asset development and management officer at Ewec, said the bids would make Taweelah C “one of the lowest tariff CCGT projects in the region”.
The carbon-capture-ready facility had been scheduled to begin commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2028.
This was based on the initial timeline for a PPA to be signed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Taweelah C is part of Ewec’s wider programme to support the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative and the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Strategic Target 2035.
Ewec plans to raise solar power capacity to 18GW and wind capacity to 2.6GW by 2035, while reducing the carbon intensity of its power generation by more than half compared to 2019.
Ewec is also expanding its low-carbon water desalination capacity, with the Taweelah reverse osmosis (RO) plant already operating as the world’s largest RO facility and additional projects, such as the Mirfa 2 RO and Shuweihat 4 RO, under way.
By 2030, it expects 95% of Abu Dhabi’s installed water capacity to come from RO technology.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16670622/main0858.jpg -
Dubai launches Blue Line metro tunnelling works
4 May 2026
Dubai has announced the launch of tunnelling works for the Dubai Metro Blue Line extension project.
In a post on X, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced the start of operations of the tunnel boring machine (TBM), which the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has named ‘Al-Wugeisha’.
The TBM is 163 metres long, weighs more than 2,000 tonnes and will operate around the clock. The post added that its average excavation rate ranges from 13 to 17 metres a day.
The Blue Line will connect the existing Red and Green lines. It will be 30 kilometres (km) long, with 15.5km underground and 14.5km above ground.
The line will have 14 stations, seven of which will be elevated. There will be five underground stations, including one interchange station, and two elevated transfer stations connected to the existing Centrepoint and Creek stations.
In December 2024, the RTA awarded a AED20.5bn ($5.5bn) main contract for the construction of the project to a consortium comprising Turkiye’s Limak Holding and Mapa Group, along with the Hong Kong office of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC).
The consortium is responsible for all civil works, electromechanical works, rolling stock and rail systems. After completing the project, it will assist with maintenance and operations for an initial three-year period.
According to an official statement, the Blue Line will have a capacity of 46,000 passengers an hour in both directions.
The project is scheduled for completion in September 2029.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16670584/main.jpeg -
Firms submit Jeddah distribution centre bids
4 May 2026
Contractors submitted bids on 26 April for an estimated SR140m ($37m) contract to build a distribution centre in Jeddah.
Saudi Logistics Services Company (SAL) launched the tender on 11 March, as previously reported by MEED. The project will cover an area of about 37,000 square metres. Egyptian firm Cosmos-E Engineers & Consultants has been appointed as the project consultant.
This tender follows the start of construction by Egyptian contractor Rowad Modern Engineering, a subsidiary of Elsewedy Electric Group, on the expansion of SAL’s facilities at King Khalid International airport in Riyadh. The scope of work includes rehabilitating and upgrading existing infrastructure, as well as constructing new supporting facilities and services.
SAL also launched the tendering process in September last year for its SR4.2bn ($1bn) logistics zone in northern Riyadh, MEED previously reported. UAE-based Global Engineering Consultants is the consultant for that development.
The logistics hub aims to meet demand for customised warehouses near King Khalid International airport and the Riyadh Metro. The project aligns with Vision 2030 and the National Transport & Logistics Strategy, which aims to strengthen the kingdom’s logistics sector and enhance Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics hub.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16670338/main.gif