Bridging the infrastructure capacity gap
2 April 2024

The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region faces a massive infrastructure gap, with estimates of the shortfall ranging from $75bn to $100bn annually.
This translates to a cumulative need for $2-2.5tn in infrastructure investment alone by 2050. Bridging this funding gap will require a drastic increase in the level of investment.
In 2020, the World Bank stated that Mena countries needed to spend at least 8.2% of GDP to meet their infrastructure goals through to 2030. However, it had been averaging a spend of just 3% over the prior decade – mostly from public sector funds, alongside multilateral and bilateral debt financing.
In the intervening years, the additional fiscal constraints imposed by the pandemic and global economic shocks, such as food price inflation, have further hindered regional public spending on infrastructure.
In 2023, the ICD-Refinitiv OIC Infrastructure Outlook valued the region’s outstanding funding gap for infrastructure development at $994bn. The gaps included a $685bn shortfall in investment in road infrastructure; a $111bn funding gap in the water sector; a $65bn gap in telecoms; $47bn in rail; $34bn in port infrastructure; $27bn in electricity network investment; and $25bn in airport infrastructure investment.
This funding gap has real, material impacts on economic prosperity and the prospects for economic growth. The shortfall in investment in road infrastructure, for example, is estimated to cost the Mena region a staggering 5.5% in GDP a year due to inefficiency and accidents, according to the World Bank.
A 2020 study in the Review of Middle East Economics and Finance found that manufacturing firms in the Mena region faced the most severe durations of power outages a month of any region, at 64 hours a month. The perceived value of the business losses due to these power outages was estimated to be around 4.8% of total sales.
Meeting the region’s annual investment needs could generate about 2 million direct jobs and 2.5 million direct, indirect and induced infrastructure-related jobs, according to the OECD.
This is critical when half of the region’s population is under 24 years old, and 29% are not in employment, education or training, as per the OECD figures.
Another very tangible infrastructure gap is water capacity. The current annual water shortage in the Mena region is about 42 cubic kilometres, but by 2050, this is projected to grow fivefold to 199 cubic kilometres a year under average climate scenarios and potentially up to 283 cubic kilometres a year under drier conditions.
These examples highlight the need for substantial investments to bridge the infrastructure deficiencies, ensure the conditions for economic growth, and enhance overall sustainability in the Mena region.
To address the challenges, a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach is needed to incentivise the private sector to support regional infrastructure investments. This includes governments establishing clear policy directions and regulatory frameworks to attract private capital mobilisation.
This funding gap has real, material impacts on economic prosperity and the prospects for economic growth
Technological adaptation
In parallel with the need for governments to proactively improve the conditions for investment, the delivery of future infrastructure requirements also anticipates the adoption of emerging technology.
The goal of many countries to achieve net zero by 2050 also layers further complexity onto existing infrastructure challenges. Regional efforts such as the Middle East Green Initiative and the Circular Carbon Economy framework nevertheless demonstrate the region’s commitment to achieving its net-zero targets.
Reaching net zero will entail building infrastructure that is not just bigger and better, but smarter. At the Global Infrastructure Initiative Summit hosted by McKinsey in Dubai in February, disruptive thinking and technology were identified as vital to the industry’s evolution to meet the needs of a net-zero future.
Industry leaders called for a nuts-and-bolts overhaul of the industry from the bottom up, with more sustainable alternatives to even centuries-old staples such as Portland cement and rebar. The digitalisation of the industry and the advent of machine-learning and AI also hold huge potential for cutting waste and designing more organic, efficient structures.
The summit highlighted that solving future infrastructure requirements will also likely necessitate overcoming technology hurdles and bringing costs down through research and development, much like the costs of solar power or reverse osmosis desalination have come down in the region.
Alistair Green, a senior partner in McKinsey’s global infrastructure practice, pointed to the technologies that “are not at conviction, yet: the technology hasn’t even really been proven outside of the lab – like flow batteries, which are an alternative to lithium-ion batteries that can be used for grid-scale storage of long duration, energy storage. This is a technology problem that we’re actively investing in researching in order to bring the costs down.”
Strategy& and engineering consultancy Dar recently reported that sustainable construction technologies can potentially reduce lifecycle emissions from the Mena region’s $2tn construction pipeline through to 2035 by 50%-60% for planned projects. Simple changes can be highly effective, such as incorporating dynamic facades into building designs, which can deliver energy savings of up to 55% in hot countries.
The key is the level of innovation, not the level of technology. In the right application, a low-tech solution may be more efficient. If a low-tech solution is scalable, it is also likely to be more cost-efficient.
In the arid Ait Baamrane region of Morocco, a 2015 project by the NGO Dar Si Hmad has created the world’s largest operational fog-harvesting system, providing potable water using a system of shore-side nets that capture and condense the fog rolling in off the ocean. Launched after a decade of research, the system yields approximately 22 litres of water a day for each square metre of net. It demonstrates that infrastructure does not need to be expensive or complex to have a positive sustainability outcome.
The most pressing need for the Mena region is to improve the attractiveness of its infrastructure investment opportunities
Accessing finance
Without sufficient finance, the effectiveness of infrastructure development, including technological innovation within the sector, will be throttled. The most pressing need for the Mena region is to improve the attractiveness of its infrastructure investment opportunities.
Many governments, especially in the Gulf, have been focused on encouraging the private sector through better and wider public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements, with mixed results. Some countries have struggled to deliver PPP frameworks with sufficient commercial appeal and bankability, a problem usually linked to unattractive risk allocations on the private sector side.
Nevertheless, the mobilisation of PPPs and the creation of more transparent and efficient regulatory frameworks around them are routinely identified as vital for attracting and mobilising private capital.
The delivery of more sustainable infrastructure with a view to net-zero targets also brings the potential to tap into green finance, including green bonds and sharia-compliant sukuk. Projects targeted towards carbon neutrality open themselves up to more diverse avenues of potential finance, including international climate mitigation and adaptation funds.
Multilateral development banks, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, support initiatives like the Catalyst Mena Climate Fund 2, which works to mobilise private capital for infrastructure projects focused on renewable energy, sustainable utility schemes and green hydrogen capacity.
Governments in the region are also taking steps to mobilise climate finance by issuing green sovereign bonds and sukuk to fund clean transportation, waste management and green building schemes.
The UAE’s infrastructure development is guided by the Green Agenda 2030 policy framework. Under this aegis, UAE banks, including Mashreq Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank, have pledged to mobilise $270bn in green financing by 2030 for environmentally impactful projects.
Infrastructure financing schemes are an important step towards drawing more private sector liquidity into the infrastructure industry, but it is also just a start compared to what will be required to deliver the region’s infrastructure needs.
Deep regional inequality also needs to be addressed. While countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE may currently be meeting the World Bank’s 8.2% of GDP infrastructure spending targets, the region’s hydrocarbon importers will likely need far more outside assistance.
For the region as a whole to thrive, countries will also need to work together and synergistically to deliver holistic infrastructure roadmaps. Just as the GCC is working together to deliver the Gulf Railway, the Levant and North Africa must work together to develop their shared infrastructure.
Only through cooperation and joint initiatives will the Mena region stand to bridge its infrastructure gap.
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L&T announces major contract win from Adnoc Offshore4 August 2026
Indian contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced that it has been awarded a major contract by the offshore business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Offshore).
Mumbai-headquartered L&T described the order as “ultra-mega”, a term the company uses for contracts valued at more than INR150bn ($1.57bn).
The project will be executed through a consortium, with its subsidiary LTEH Offshore serving as the lead partner, L&T said in a statement on 4 August.
MEED understands that the contract won by L&T relates to an offshore package that forms part of a major Adnoc Offshore project to produce up to 600 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of natural gas by developing the Umm Shaif gas cap in Abu Dhabi.
L&T won the first offshore package of the Umm Shaif gas cap and surface pressure boosting project in a consortium with Saudi Arabia/UAE-based Lamprell, MEED reported in July.
The following contractors have secured the two offshore packages and one onshore package of the Umm Shaif gas cap project, MEED previously reported:
- First offshore package – fabrication of a 30,000-tonne gas compression system: Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
- Second offshore package – fabrication of another 30,000-tonne gas compression system: McDermott (US)
- Onshore package – EPC of gas inlet and processing systems on Das Island: China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company (CPECC)
“The project involves the development of multiple offshore facilities. As the lead consortium partner, LTEH Offshore will execute the major share of the project scope, covering engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of the offshore facilities, in addition to the upgrade of existing facilities,” L&T said in its statement.
“A significant portion of the fabrication work will be undertaken at L&T’s state-of-the-art fabrication yards, leveraging the company’s integrated EPCIC capabilities and extensive track record in delivering large and complex offshore developments across the region,” the Bombay Stock Exchange-listed company added.
Umm Shaif gas cap project
Adnoc Offshore operates the Umm Shaif hydrocarbons development, which is located 150 kilometres (km) northwest of the city of Abu Dhabi. The field is located within Abu Dhabi’s offshore Umm Shaif and Nasr hydrocarbons concession, previously operated by former Adnoc Group companies Adma-Opco and Zadco.
In March and April 2018, Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) awarded a 10% stake in the Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore block to Italy’s Eni, 20% to France’s TotalEnergies and 10% to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Adnoc Group retained the majority 60% interest. The operators produce a total of about 460,000 b/d of oil from the Umm Shaif and Nasr block.
Adnoc, along with its foreign partners, announced achieving a final investment decision (FID) worth $6.2bn on the Umm Shaif gas cap project on 21 July. The FID includes three EPC packages totalling $5.1bn for large-scale offshore infrastructure, “awarded to consortiums comprising major UAE and international contractors,” the state enterprise said without disclosing the contractors it had selected or the scope of work on the packages.
Adnoc added that, as part of the FID, it has also awarded a $365m contract to its subsidiary Adnoc Drilling for a 14-well drilling and integrated drilling services scope, to be delivered over 18 months using three existing rigs.
Production from the development is expected by 2030, the Abu Dhabi energy giant said.
The primary objective of the Umm Shaif gas cap and surface pressure boosting project is to increase gas production by 550 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) and raise associated condensate output by 50,000 barrels a day (b/d).
Adnoc Offshore intends to feed about 520 million cf/d of the additional produced gas into Adnoc Group’s sales gas grid.
Adnoc Offshore is understood to have issued the main EPC tender for the Umm Shaif gas cap and surface pressure boosting project in the first quarter of 2025.
Contractors submitted technical bids for the three EPC packages by the 30 October deadline last year, while commercial bids were submitted by the deadline of 2 February this year.
The following contractors are among those understood to have been bidding for the three EPC packages, according to sources:
Offshore package 1:
- Saipem (Italy) / Seatrium (Singapore)
- Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
- NMDC Energy (UAE) / Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)
Offshore package 2:
- China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC)
- McDermott (US)
- Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
- NMDC Energy (UAE) / Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)
Onshore package:
- Archirodon (Greece)
- China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company (CPECC)
- Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries (Enppi; Egypt)
- Galfar Emirates (UAE branch of Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Construction)
- Target Engineering Construction Company (UAE)
Australian firm Worley has performed front-end engineering and design (feed) work on the project.
Gas is produced from the Umm Shaif Khuff and Uweinat reservoirs, as well as from the Arab C and Arab D Early Production Scheme 2. The Umm Shaif Khuff reservoir is a formation that consists of dry gas volumetric reservoirs located in the Umm Shaif field.
Khuff reservoirs have been in production in Abu Dhabi since August 1989. Umm Shaif Khuff gas is currently produced from 28 active wells within the Umm Shaif field. A majority of these wells supply gas to Adnoc Group subsidiaries Adnoc LNG and Adnoc Gas Processing, with the rest supporting oil reservoirs at the Umm Shaif field through gas injection.
The Umm Shaif Super Complex (USSC) processes and transports oil, condensates and natural gas in separate pipelines to Das Island for further processing and export. The condensates collected from the USSC are transported to Das Island through an 18-inch pipeline stretching 34.4km, or are spiked into the 36-inch Adnoc main oil line.
The gas collected from the USSC is transported to Das Island through two 46-inch pipelines, which also run 34.4km.
Pressure at the Umm Shaif Khuff gas reservoirs will start to decline by the end of 2028. The flowing wellhead pressures at some of the Khuff gas wellhead towers are likely to reduce, so boosting well deliverability and increasing the flowrates is necessary.
Therefore, new Khuff surface pressure boosting facilities are required to maintain the plateau – with a goal of achieving a 90% gas recovery factor – and increase production beyond the end of the plateau by lowering pressure at the Khuff reservoirs.
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Masdar renews $300m revolving credit facility4 August 2026
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has renewed its five-year $300m revolving credit facility with a syndicate of 25 international banks.
The company said the refinancing strengthens its liquidity position and overall balance sheet resilience as it works towards its target of reaching 100GW of renewable energy portfolio capacity by 2030.
According to Masdar, the lending syndicate comprises 14 banks from Europe, four from the US and seven from Asia.
Masdar’s renewable energy portfolio reached 65GW earlier this year, placing the company about two-thirds of the way towards its 100GW target by 2030. Of that, Masdar said 45GW is operational, under construction or has reached final close, while a further 20GW comprises projects in advanced stages of development.
The company has said it plans to deploy a further $30bn-$35bn in equity and project finance by 2030 to achieve its capacity target, adding an average of 10GW of new capacity each year.
The next phase of growth will be funded through a combination of equity, green bonds and long-term project finance.
Last month, Masdar reached financial close on its $6.1bn round-the-clock renewable energy project in Abu Dhabi, securing a $5.1bn financing package from a consortium of 13 local and international banks.
The project combines 5.2GW of solar generation with 19GWh of battery energy storage and is expected to begin operations in 2027.
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Jordan awards EPC contract for Maan wind farm4 August 2026
Jordan’s state-owned Samra Electric Power Company (Sepco) has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Al-Mawakea General Contracting Technology Company for a 25MW wind power project in the Batn Al-Ghul area of Maan Governorate.
The project is being developed by Jordan’s Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources (MEMR) under a cooperation agreement signed with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) in February. The UAE, represented by Masdar, is fully financing the project.
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Chinese contractor wins Saudi power and gas contracts4 August 2026
Chinese contractor Ningxia Power Construction has announced it has won two contracts in Saudi Arabia covering power and gas infrastructure projects with a combined value of about RMB280m ($39m).
The awards cover the third phase of cable laying and connection works for Saudi Aramco’s Master Gas System (MGS-III) project and the first phase of a 380kV transmission line for the Red Sea Aluminium project, the company said in a statement.
The MGS gas booster station contract covers electrical, instrumentation and control, communications, pre-commissioning, commissioning and defect rectification works.
The project is located northwest of Al-Mendassah in Medina Province. Construction is scheduled to last 670 days and continue through to partial mechanical completion and mechanical completion.
The Red Sea Aluminium contract involves the first phase of a 380kV overhead transmission line project.
The scope includes eight new transmission circuits. Four incoming double-circuit lines will extend about 15.2 kilometres from the connection point to the switchyard. Four outgoing double-circuit lines will run about 0.2 kilometres from the switchyard to the aluminium plant power station. Provision has also been made for two additional outgoing circuits in the future.
The Red Sea Aluminium complex is a planned integrated aluminium production facility in Yanbu Industrial City being developed by Red Sea Aluminium Holdings (RSAH), a joint venture of Innovation Global Industries, Innovation New Materials and Shandong Innovation Group
In June, RSAH awarded China’s Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation (Sepco) an estimated $100m engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 380kV overhead transmission line project at the Red Sea Aluminium complex.
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Contractors submit bids for key Aramco offshore tenders4 August 2026

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Contractors in Saudi Aramco’s Long-Term Agreement (LTA) pool of offshore service providers have submitted bids for five offshore tenders covering the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of structures at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan, Safaniya and Zuluf offshore oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia.
The tenders are numbers 167, 168, 169, 170 and 171 on Aramco’s Contract Release and Purchase Order (CRPO) system, according to sources.
Aramco issued the five CRPOs to its offshore LTA contractors in December, setting an initial bid submission deadline of 3 February.
The Saudi energy giant has since extended the bid submission deadline several times – to 31 March, 1 June, 1 July and then 30 July – to allow LTA contractors sufficient time to prepare proposals.
At the request of certain bidders, Aramco granted a final two-day extension, with LTA contractors submitting their proposals for the five CRPOs on 1 August, sources told MEED.
The basic scope of EPCI work on the tenders is as follows:
- CRPO 167 – eight jackets at the Marjan field development
- CRPO 168 – four production deck modules (PDMs) at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa and Safaniya fields
- CRPO 169 – three PDMs at the Marjan field development
- CRPO 170 – three PDMs at the Marjan field development
- CRPO 171 – three PDMs at the Zuluf field development
Offshore contract awards
Aramco spent almost $11bn on offshore EPCI contracts last year, more than double its capital expenditure on offshore projects in 2024, marking another year of robust upstream project spending in Saudi Arabia.
In July, Aramco selected contractors for five CRPOs – numbers 150, 157, 158, 159 and 160 – worth over $3bn. These involve EPCI work and infrastructure upgrades at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan and Zuluf offshore fields.
The Saudi energy giant then picked contractors for four more CRPOs that are part of the large-scale project to expand infrastructure at the Zuluf offshore field development. The tenders are CRPOs 145, 146, 147 and 148, and their combined value is estimated to be almost $6bn.
In late December last year, Italian contractor Saipem announced securing contracts for CRPOs 162 and 165. The scope of work on CRPO 162 covers the EPCI of two rigid pipelines – a 30-inch pipeline stretching 23.98 kilometres (km) and a 20-inch pipeline, 10.23km-long; replacement of a flexible 10-inch pipeline that spans 5.1km; and modification work on topsides at the Berri and Abu Safah field developments. The duration of this contract is 32 months, Saipem said.
The scope of work on CRPO 165, lasting 12 months, includes subsea interventions at the Marjan field development and the EPCI of 300 metres of onshore pipeline and associated tie-ins.
In early January 2026, MEED reported that Aramco had selected US-based McDermott International for CRPO 166. The scope of work is understood to have been carved out of the $15bn Marjan offshore field development project, under which Aramco issued contracts for 20 EPCI packages in 2019. McDermott won the largest share of work on the project, securing an estimated $4.5bn of contracts across two packages.
The contract for CRPO 166 was single-sourced to McDermott without a competitive tendering process and issued as a change order, sources told MEED.
Aramco then awarded its second offshore contract of the year, CRPO 156, to Saipem. The scope of work covers the EPCI of a 48-inch trunkline, spanning roughly 65km offshore and 12km onshore, from the Safaniya offshore oil field to the onshore processing facility, plus associated works such as subsea hook-ups.
CRPO 156 comprises the third package in Aramco’s latest expansion phase at Safaniya – the world’s largest offshore oil field, with a production capacity of nearly 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d). Discovered in 1951, the field is located in Gulf waters approximately 265km north of Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.
MEED also reported that Saipem was selected by Aramco for two more tenders as part of the Safaniya field development expansion phase – CRPOs 154 and 155. The combined contract value for CRPOs 154 and 155 is estimated at $600m, sources said.
In April, state-owned China Offshore Oil Engineering Company won CRPO 161, which covers the EPCI of four gas jackets at the Arabiyah, Hasbah and Karan offshore fields.
Healthy contract award pipeline
Looking ahead, in addition to CRPOs 167-171, which are currently under bidding, Aramco is evaluating bids submitted by its offshore LTA contractors in July and August last year for at least two additional tenders.
These are CRPOs 163 and 164, relating to the EPCI of infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Karan, Marjan and Safaniya fields.
Separately, the offshore LTA contractors are also bidding for a new tender – CRPO 176 – that was issued by Aramco in May, according to sources.
The scope of work on CRPO 176 covers the EPCI of seven flexible subsea pipelines with a combined length of 17km at the Berri and Marjan offshore field developments.
Aramco’s LTA pool of offshore service providers comprises the following entities:
- Saipem (Italy)
- McDermott International (US)
- Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH, India) / Subsea7 (UK)
- NMDC Energy (UAE)
- Lamprell (UAE/Saudi Arabia)
- China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (China)
- Dynamic Industries (US)
- Sapura Energy (Malaysia)
- TechnipFMC (France) / MMHE (Malaysia)
- Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)
In April 2025, Aramco renewed its LTAs with the following contractors, whose contracts had either lapsed or were close to expiry:
- Saipem
- McDermott International
- Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon / Subsea7
- NMDC Energy
- Lamprell
- China Offshore Oil Engineering Company
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