Chinese firm wins $263m Saudi Lenovo plant contract
15 April 2025
Chinese firm China National Materials International Engineering (Sinoma) has won an estimated $263m contract to build a manufacturing facility in Riyadh for Chinese computer maker Lenovo.
The manufacturing facility will be constructed on a 200,000 square-metre site at the Special Integrated Logistics Zone at King Khalid International airport in Riyadh.
The plan is for the construction works to be undertaken in two phases, both of which are expected to be operational by 2026.
The project’s first phase involves the construction of the first plant building, main office building, warehouses, other buildings and associated infrastructure.
The second phase covers the construction of the second plant building and other associated buildings.
MEED understands that the proposals for the project, known as the Oasis Project, were submitted on 10 February.
The tender notice was issued on 3 January.
According to local media reports, Alat, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Lenovo broke ground on the manufacturing facility on 9 February.
Lenovo secured a $2bn investment deal with Alat to manufacture computer devices in the kingdom in January.
In May 2024, Lenovo signed a collaboration agreement with Alat to set up a manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia.
The funding will also support Lenovo in establishing a regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa market in Riyadh. The headquarters will include customer centres, research and development centres, and manufacturing facilities for personal computers and servers.
In February last year, the PIF unveiled its $100bn capital-backed company Alat, which aims to transform Saudi Arabia into a global hub for electronics and advanced industries.
The company aims to create 39,000 direct jobs and achieve a direct non-oil GDP contribution of $9.3bn in Saudi Arabia by 2030.
It was reported that Alat would have seven business units focusing on areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, next-generation infrastructure, and smart appliances and smart buildings.
According to the PIF, Alat will manufacture more than 30 product categories, including robotic systems, communications systems, advanced computers and digital entertainment products, as well as advanced heavy machinery used in construction, building and mining.
Alat is expected to focus on providing sustainable manufacturing solutions for international companies by accessing clean energy resources in Saudi Arabia to reach carbon-neutral goals by 2060, while the PIF’s own goal is to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
According to GlobalData, China is the largest producer of laptops, manufacturing a significant portion of the world’s supply. In recent years, it has faced challenges due to supply chain disruptions, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, particularly affecting markets like Ukraine and Russia.
Following China, the US also plays a crucial role in laptop production, with major companies like Dell and HP operating extensively within the country. South Korea, Japan and Taiwan are also notable players in the laptop manufacturing sector.
South Korea is reported to produce about 20% of the global supply of semiconductors, which are essential for laptop production, while Taiwan is recognised for its advanced semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, India is working to enhance its domestic laptop production, although it currently imports over 80% of the laptops in use.
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Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the railway and logistics sectors, advancing Riyadh’s ambitions to become a global logistics hub.
Transport and Logistics Services Minister Saleh Al-Jasser and Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu signed the agreements at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh on 9 June, following ministerial talks held with a high-level Turkish delegation. Transport General Authority president Fawaz Al-Sahli and officials from the kingdom’s transport and logistics sector were also present.
Agreement scope
The first MoU covers logistics services and operations, including the exchange of expertise, policies and regulations. The second focuses on railway technologies, signalling and communication systems, railway digitalisation, human capacity development, the localisation of the railway industry and measures to reduce the sector’s environmental impact.
More broadly, the agreements cover cooperation on railway standards and related innovations, the exchange of expertise on the design, operation and maintenance of rail projects, and engineering, infrastructure and safety standards.
The two sides will also cooperate on research and development, with provision for joint workforce training through specialist railway academies.
Riyadh said the agreements will help support its National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services and Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to position the kingdom as a logistics bridge connecting three continents.
Turkish projects
Turkish contractors have already established themselves as key players in the region’s rail sector. In 2012, Yapi Merkezi secured a $2.1bn contract for work on the Haramain high-speed rail network in Saudi Arabia, while Turkish firms Mapa and Limak are leading the ongoing civil works on Dubai’s $5.5bn Metro Blue Line project as part of a China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) consortium. Turkish consultancy Proyapi Muhendislik ve Musavirlik Anonim Sirketi has also won design contracts for the 111km Kuwait National Rail Road project.
The agreements signed by Saudi Arabia and Turkiye may also give momentum to longstanding discussions around a rail corridor linking the GCC with Turkiye. The route, which has been discussed for years, has gained renewed impetus in recent months as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed regional governments to accelerate the development of overland trade alternatives.
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Joint venture tenders Algeria field development contract
10 June 2026
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Hassi Bir Rekaiz Group (GHBR), which operates Algeria’s Hassi Bir Rekaiz field, has issued a tender for phase 2A of the asset’s field development project.
GHBR is a joint venture of Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach and Thailand’s national exploration and production company PTTEP.
The scope of the contract focuses on the “provision of engineering and supervision services”, according to documents published by Sonatrach.
The tender has been issued with a bid deadline of 16 June 2026.
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Petrojet’s portion of the project was estimated to be worth around $600m, and Arkad’s portion was estimated to be worth $500m.
The contract used the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model.
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Algeria extends deadline for urea-formaldehyde project
10 June 2026
Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach has extended the bid deadline for a project to develop a new concentrated urea-formaldehyde unit in its Arzew industrial zone.
The latest bid deadline is 15 June.
The contract uses the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model, and the bid deadline for technical tender submissions was originally set for early April.
The condensed urea-formaldehyde unit will be located at the CP1-Z facility.
The CP1-Z facility began operations in 1975 and has a capacity of 152,000 tonnes a year. It produces products including methanol, resin and formol.
It is a two-phase tender. The first phase is a technical bid submission, and the second phase is a commercial bid submission.
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Contractors submit prices for Abu Dhabi offshore gas project
10 June 2026
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Contractors have submitted commercial bids to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) for a major project to develop the Waset offshore gas field, located in Abu Dhabi’s offshore Block 2.
The Waset gas development project involves engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of both offshore and onshore facilities.
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Adnoc issued the main EPC tender for the Waset gas development project last year. Contractors submitted technical bids for the project by 15 January this year, while commercial bids were submitted on 5 June, sources told MEED.
Adnoc is targeting first gas production from the Waset field by 2027, with an expected output of approximately 180 million cubic feet a day.
Based on the production concession agreement awarded by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) in June 2025, Adnoc is the majority stakeholder in Block 2, with a 60% interest. Italian energy producer Eni and Thailand’s state-owned PTT Exploration & Production Public Company (PTTEP) hold 28% and 12% participating interests, respectively.
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Contractor puts Tadawul IPO on hold
9 June 2026
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Saudi Arabia’s Mutlaq Al-Ghowairi Contracting Company (MGC) has postponed its planned initial public offering (IPO) on the main market of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).
The Riyadh-based contractor said it had decided to delay the offering after completing the institutional bookbuilding process and consulting with its financial advisers.
In a statement issued on 9 June, the company said the offering had attracted significant interest from international, regional and local investors.
However, it added: “Following the completion of the institutional book-building process and careful consideration of the objectives and strategic priorities of the company and its selling shareholders, the company has decided to postpone the offering and will continue to evaluate the most appropriate timing to proceed with the offering.”
MGC announced plans in May to float 240 million shares, representing 30% of its issued share capital, through the sale of existing shares by certain shareholders.
Following this, MGC set the price range for its IPO at between SR11 ($2.9) and SR12.5 ($3.3) a share, implying an offer size of SR2.64bn to SR3bn ($704m-$800m).
The transaction was structured as a secondary sale, with MGC not issuing any new shares or receiving proceeds from the offering. Net proceeds were due to be distributed to the selling shareholders.
The planned IPO followed approval from the Capital Market Authority (CMA), which was granted on 31 December last year.
Founded in 1977, MGC specialises in construction, operations and maintenance services. Its core activities include water infrastructure, transport and urban development projects.
The company said it had delivered more than 80 projects over the past five years and reported a backlog of SR10.57bn ($2.8bn) as of 31 March.
MGC said the postponement would not affect its operations or project delivery.
“MGC’s operational and financial fundamentals remain strong, and this decision does not impact the company’s day-to-day operations, client relationships, project delivery, or strategic priorities.”
The company added that it remains committed to its growth strategy and supporting infrastructure projects across Saudi Arabia in line with Vision 2030.
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