meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Contractors take on more work in 2025

30 April 2025

 

Contractors in the region have increased their orderbooks in the past year as the GCC’s key construction markets – Saudi Arabia and the UAE – have continued to award major contracts. 

In Saudi Arabia, the rate of growth has not matched that experienced in 2023-24, which suggests that the market is reaching saturation at time when client bodies are assessing their future spending plans.

In the UAE, the value of projects that contractors are working on has increased significantly, which reflects the start of public works schemes such as the Dubai Metro, as well as the ongoing boom in real estate, which has allowed developers to start work on an array of new building projects.

Top performers

Based on data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the GCC’s most active contractor is Saudi Arabia’s Nesma & Partners, with $13.9bn of work at the execution stage. While it remains the top-ranked contractor, the total value of projects it has at the execution stage has dropped from the $15bn total it had in 2024.

While Nesma & Partners remains the top-ranked contractor in 2025, the total value of projects it has at the execution stage has dropped

In 2024, Nesma was ahead of the second-ranked contractor by $5bn – Italy’s Webuild had $10bn of projects under execution last year. This year, the contractor in second place, Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation, is just $300m behind Nesma with $13.5bn. China State has grown strongly over the past five years, as it has expanded its presence in Saudi Arabia significantly and is now the second-ranked contractor in the kingdom. 

Turkiye’s Limak, which is in third position, is also close behind with $12.9bn of projects under execution. Limak has added the Dubai Metro Blue Line project to its existing work on Kuwait International airport.

There are five other Saudi firms in the top 10, which reflects the kingdom’s status as the region’s largest construction market, and the ambition and scale of its infrastructure spending and gigaprojects programme. 

The other Saudi contractors in the top 10 are Almabani in fourth place with $8.5bn of projects; Shibh Al-Jazira, which also has $8.5bn of projects, in fifth; and El-Seif Engineering Contracting in sixth with $8.3bn of projects under execution. 

Al-Bawani then follows in eighth position with $7.3bn of projects, and Saudi Binladin Group rounds out the top 10 with $6.5bn of projects in 10th place.

The other contractors in the top 10 are Abu Dhabi-headquartered Trojan General Contracting, which is in seventh place with $8bn of projects, and Dubai-based Alec, which has secured ninth place in the ranking with $6.8bn of work at the execution stage, spilt between its home market in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Alec is reportedly considering an initial public offering, which is another sign of how well the construction sector is performing in 2025.

Bahrain

The top two contractors in Bahrain’s ranking in 2025 remain the same. China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) retains the top spot with $700m of work at the execution phase. The Chinese contractor’s work centres on building residential units at East Sitra for the Housing & Urban Planning Ministry. In July 2024, it signed a deal to build 1,269 houses for the third phase of the scheme.

The third phase adds to the project’s second phase, which has 531 units and was handed over in early 2024. The first phase, which has 1,077 units, has also been handed over. The housing ministry signed a BD260m ($689.9m) deal with CMEC for the construction of more than 3,000 housing units at East Sitra in December 2019.

Al-Hamad Building Contracting remains the second-ranked contractor. Its largest project is the longstanding Villamar residential complex at Bahrain Financial Harbour in Manama for Gulf Holding Company.

Grnata joins the top 10 in third position. Its largest ongoing project is the Golden Gate Towers scheme in Manama for the Grnata Group, which involves the construction of two towers, one with 45 and the other with 53 storeys, that together will have a total of 746 apartments.

Grnata edges out Nass Contracting, which was in third place in 2024. Nass drops down the ranking despite two high-profile contract awards. In May 2024, its joint venture with Nassir Hazza & Bros won a BD37.2m contract for the construction works on package three of the Busaiteen Link scheme for the Works Ministry.

Nass also won a $45m contract in June 2024 for the expansion of the campus of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland-Medical University of Bahrain in the Al-Sayh area of Muharraq Governorate.

Kuwait

For the second year running, Turkiye’s Limak Holding has strengthened its position at the top of Kuwait’s ranking. The contractor has $6.1bn of construction work at the execution stage, according to MEED Projects. This is about $500m more than the $5.6bn it had in 2024.

In October 2024, Limak was one of the contractors that secured work as part of more than KD400m ($1.3bn) of road maintenance works contracts that were awarded by the Public Works Ministry to 18 local and international companies.

The road work adds to Limak’s ongoing works at Kuwait International airport. In 2023, it secured a contract for package three of the expansion of Terminal 2, which covers the construction of aircraft parking aprons, taxiways and service buildings.

China Gezhouba Group Corporation is in second position. In March this year, it won two contracts worth over $557m from Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare for the South Saad Al-Abdullah residential project in Al-Jahra Governorate.

China Gezhouba Group Corporation’s rise to second place shifts Shapoorji Pallonji into third place. The Indian contractor is working on two healthcare projects and one education scheme in a joint venture with the local Al-Sager General Trading & Contracting, which is also working on $1.4bn of projects at the execution stage.

Oman

The local Galfar Engineering & Contracting topped Oman’s 2024 ranking with $900m of work at the execution stage. In 2025, there are seven contractors in Oman that have more than $900m of construction work under execution, which reflects an increased level of projects activity across the sultanate. 

Galfar remains the top-ranked contractor in 2025 with $2.5bn of work at the execution phase. 

Last year, as part of a consortium with Abu Dhabi-based National Projects Construction, National Infrastructure Construction Company and Tristar Engineering & Construction, it won an estimated $1.5bn design-and-build contract for the Hafeet Railway project connecting the sultanate with the UAE. It also won a $119.5m contract from the Transport, Communication & Information Technology Ministry for the dualisation of the road connecting the city of Nizwa and the nearby town of Izki.

The overall uptick in projects activity in Oman has meant that the 10th-ranked contractor in 2025 has $500m of work at the execution stage compared to just $200m for the 10th-ranked contractor in 2024. 

Qatar

UCC Holding leads the Qatar ranking in 2025. The local firm was ranked the fifth most active contractor in 2024 with $1.2bn of projects at the execution stage. That total has increased to $1.3bn this year, and with the Qatar construction market remaining subdued after the Fifa World Cup in 2022, it is enough to take UCC to the top of the ranking. 

The contractor’s main ongoing projects are part of the country’s public-private partnership schools scheme. Earlier this year, it signed an estimated $330m deal covering the design, build and maintenance of 14 schools in several areas of Qatar.

UCC Holding also has two major road schemes under execution for the Public Works Authority (Ashghal). UCC is in a joint venture with Infraroad Trading & Contracting Company for both projects. 

The first contract, valued at $170m, covers the construction of the roads and infrastructure works in Al-Mearad and southwest of Muaither. The other, valued at $150m, covers the construction of roads and infrastructure works in the Al-Kharaitiyat and Izghawa areas of Doha.

UCC replaces Turkiye’s TAV Construction and the local Midmac Contracting Company, which jointly held the top ranking position in 2024 with $1.4bn of projects at the execution phase thanks to the terminal expansion programme at Hamad International airport. 

The expansion, which has added 51,000 square metres of space to the airport, including eight new gates, opened in February this year.

Saudi Arabia

There was an expectation in 2024 that Saudi Arabia’s contractor ranking would be transformed in 2025 as development activity accelerated on projects across the kingdom. 

While activity in the kingdom continues, the pace of awards has levelled off as the government and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) have begun to prioritise projects. This drive to rationalise the projects market can be seen in the contractor ranking for 2025. 

Like last year, Nesma tops the list, with $13.9bn of work at the execution stage. This total is less than the $14.7bn of projects that the local contractor had in 2024. 

China State Construction Engineering Company is in second with $9.3bn of projects under execution. The Beijing-based contractor has risen up the ranking from 10th place last year, when it had $3.9bn of projects under execution.

The largest new contract that the firm has secured in the past year is a $3bn scheme to deliver 2,000 housing units for the National Housing Company at several locations in the kingdom. 

China State is joined in the top 10 in 2025 by another Chinese contractor: China Harbour Engineering Corporation, which is in 10th place with $5.6bn of work. One of its recent wins was in June last year, when it secured an $800m contract in joint venture with Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting for the construction works on the second southern ring road in Riyadh.

China Harbour replaces Greece’s Archirodon, which has dropped out of the Saudi top 10 in 2025. The other contractors in the 2025 top 10 ranking remain from 2024. 

UAE

There is no change at the top of the UAE contractor ranking, as Abu Dhabi-based Trojan General Contracting once again leads in 2025. The firm has $7.2bn of projects under execution this year, compared to $6.2bn in 2024.

There have been significant changes to the companies making up the rest of the ranking, however, and to the value of projects that contractors have under execution. This reflects a shift in the market in 2024, as government-backed infrastructure projects moved into construction. 

In 2024, the second-ranked contractor was Abu Dhabi-based National Marine Dredging Company with $3.1bn of projects under execution – a total that would not even make the top 10 in 2025. This year, it is the fifth-ranked contractor, with $4.7bn-worth of projects.

In 2025, the second-ranked contractor is Turkiye’s Mapa with $6bn of projects – thanks largely to a contract it secured in December 2024 for the Blue Line extension of Dubai Metro. Mapa is joined by China’s CRRC Corporation in third place and Turkiye’s Limak in fourth, which are also working on the Blue Line project. 

Abu Dhabi-headquartered Arabian Construction Company is the sixth-ranked contractor with $4.5bn. The firm, which specialises in high-end building projects, returns to the top 10 amid reports that it is planning to list on the stock market with an initial public offering.

The other contractors in the UAE’s top 10 listing are Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation, India’s Sobha, UK-headquartered Innovo and the local Alec. 

Alec has dropped from fourth position in 2024 to 10th this year, despite increasing the value of projects under execution from $2.6bn to $3.3bn, which reflects how much contractors’ orderbooks have filled up over the past year.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13767362/main.gif
Colin Foreman

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • QatarEnergy gives North Field West topside bidders more time

    2 October 2026

     

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

    Contractors now have until 12 October to submit technical bids for the project, according to sources. Commercial bids are currently due on 10 November.

    The following contractors, among others, are understood to be bidding for the North Field West (NFW) production deck modules (PDMs) tender:

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

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

    The tender, issued earlier this year, forms part of the wider NFW project, the third and final phase of the state enterprise’s North Field LNG expansion programme.

    The previous deadlines for technical bids were 30 August, 15 September and 28 September, while commercial bids were previously due on 25 October, as MEED reported.

    Before issuing the PDMs tender, QatarEnergy awarded US firm 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 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 earlier this year, awarding an EPC contract estimated at $8bn to a joint venture comprising Technip Energies, CCC and Gulf Asia Contracting in February.

    Chiyoda carried out the front-end engineering and design 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 liquefied petroleum gas.

    With all three phases 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 in the long term.

    READ THE OCTOBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20208200/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Egypt implements oil and gas storage projects worth $1.1bn

    2 October 2026

    Egypt is implementing oil and gas storage projects worth a total of £E54bn ($1.1bn), according to a statement released by the country’s cabinet.

    Active developments include expanding El-Hamra Petroleum Port in El-Alamein on the Mediterranean coast, as well as building a jet-fuel storage and transport hub at the Badr depot in Cairo.

    Other projects include constructing new storage tanks at refinery complexes in Amreya, Alexandria; Assiut; and Cairo.

    Over the past 12 years, Egypt has built 84 petroleum storage facilities with a total capacity of 5.2 million tonnes, the cabinet statement said.

    Egypt has invested £E42.7bn ($880m) in developing these facilities, with the aim of bolstering domestic energy security.

    Completed infrastructure projects include facilities in Sohag (Upper Egypt) and Alexandria.

    They also include offshore terminal and storage facilities, a liquid bulk station in Ain Sokhna, and strategic crude oil storage tanks across the country.

    Storage facilities have become a strategic priority for Egypt since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, triggering a regional war that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

    The disruption has made imports of hydrocarbon products into Egypt less predictable, increasing the importance of strategic stockpiles.

    READ THE OCTOBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20208195/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Bankability key to Saudi PPP pipeline

    2 October 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP) holds structured talks with bidders and lenders before launching transactions to ensure projects in its pipeline are bankable, according to a senior official.

    Speaking on a panel at MEED’s Shaping Mega Projects conference in Riyadh on 28 September, Tariq Alghaziri, executive vice-president at the NCP, said the centre carries out market sounding with potential bidders and debt providers, including commercial and Islamic banks, before announcing deals.

    “Bankability is a key word for us,” he said. “You can structure the deal in the way you want. You can have whatever technicalities and technologies are required, but is it suitable for the private sector to deliver? That’s the big question.”

    Alghaziri said the national privatisation strategy, approved at the end of 2025 and published at the start of 2026, sets the NCP’s targets up to 2030 and outlines its project pipeline. The strategy coincides with the third phase of Vision 2030, which he said is focused on measuring impact after earlier phases established the legal framework and enabled the private sector.

    Public-private partnership (PPP) contracts typically run for 25 years and, in some cases, more than 40 years, he said, which makes early engagement essential. “When we launch it, all the bidders, suppliers, EPC contractors, banks and ECAs are on the same page, and then they just have to align on commercial points and not negotiate legal aspects.”

    Risk transfer

    Jonathan Looker, managing director for Saudi Arabia at UK consultancy Mott MacDonald, said the public and private sectors often perceive risk very differently.

    "Can you put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re trying to transfer risk to?” he said. “There isn’t one single allocation model that is fit for every project.”

    Looker said failure to agree on risk can prevent projects from reaching financial close. "I’ve unfortunately been involved in a number of projects where we just can’t get the deal done because there is not a meeting of minds around a specific aspect of risk.”

    Alghaziri said Saudi regulations now state that the party with the capacity to manage a risk should take it, but that risk carries a cost. “You cannot just give the risk without pricing it,” he said. The NCP has trained more than 300 people over the past five or six years, including through a PPP professional certification it introduced in the kingdom.

    Early planning

    Hesham Ouf, senior director of finance at Roshn Group, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary, said risk management begins at the feasibility stage. “You need to have the stage gates right from the beginning until the project is delivered,” he said.

    Ali Al-Kuwari, senior manager of export development at Qatar Development Bank (QDB), said early disclosure of procurement needs allows lenders to assess project risk. “For me, the answer is very easy. I’ll ask for a sovereign guarantee,” he said.

    Wesley Thomson, partner and head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) at UK property consultancy Knight Frank, said climate exposure is becoming a central risk for long-life assets. “Mitigation is not the right word any more. I prefer to say adaptation, because the truth is you need to adapt to what we’re seeing.”

    READ THE OCTOBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20207592/main.png
    Colin Foreman
  • Financing hinders progress at major Iraqi refinery project

    2 October 2026

     

    Financial problems are hindering progress at Iraq’s Al-Faw Investment Refinery project, according to industry sources.

    Despite the main contract being signed more than two years ago, construction of the main refinery units has yet to begin because of ongoing financial issues, sources said.

    In May 2024, a statement released by the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office said that Iraq’s state-owned Southern Refineries Company and China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC) had signed a contract to develop the project.

    Iraq’s Oil Ministry previously said the project would be worth $7bn-$8bn.

    The project has struggled to make progress even after direct intervention by Iraq’s previous prime minister.

    On 6 August 2025, 15 months after the May 2024 contract signing with CNCEC, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, then prime minister, chaired a special meeting to resolve administrative and technical obstacles preventing the project from starting.

    At the time, Al-Sudani said the refinery project would have significant financial returns and would be “a breakthrough in the oil industry”.

    While the meeting in 2025 is believed to have solved some of the administrative issues blocking progress, financial problems with the project remain, sources said.

    The Al-Faw project is part of the Iraqi government’s plan to increase Iraq’s refining capacity, attract foreign investment and increase domestic production of petroleum products.

    Under existing plans, the refinery will have a capacity of 300,000 barrels a day and will produce oil derivatives for both domestic and international markets.

    The project will be carried out in two stages.

    The first phase will involve refining operations, while the second will involve constructing a petrochemicals complex with a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year.

    The project also includes building a 2,000MW power plant and establishing the Al-Faw Academy for Refinery Technology to train 5,000 Iraqi workers who will eventually work at the facility.

    Hualu, a subsidiary of CNCEC, signed a preliminary principles agreement for the project in December 2021.

    Due to material price inflation since December 2021, some insiders believe the project value may now be significantly higher than the previously estimated $7bn-$8bn.

    READ THE OCTOBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20207119/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Saudi pre-budget leans on borrowing to fund projects

    2 October 2026

    Saudi Arabia plans to spend SR1.39tn ($371.2bn) in 2027, according to the Finance Ministry’s pre-budget statement. That is 3% less than the estimated outturn for 2026, after regional conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed this year’s expenditure well past its allocation.

    The ministry now expects 2026 spending to reach SR1.44tn, which is SR122bn or 9.3% above the SR1.31tn approved in the budget. Revenues are estimated at SR1.19tn, SR43bn above budget, leaving a deficit of SR245bn, equal to 4.9% of GDP. The original budget assumed a SR165bn deficit, or 3.3% of GDP.

    For 2027, the statement projects revenues of SR1.2tn and a deficit of SR191bn, or 3.6% of GDP. Expenditure is forecast to rise to SR1.48tn in 2028 and SR1.54tn in 2029, with deficits of SR177bn and SR192bn projected for those years. On the ministry’s figures, the kingdom will run cumulative deficits of SR560bn ($149.3bn) between 2027 and 2029.

    The economic backdrop has deteriorated sharply. The ministry expects real GDP to contract by 3.6% in 2026, driven by a 21.8% fall in oil activity, while non-oil activity grows by 3.2%. It forecasts a rebound to 12.8% real growth in 2027.

    Capital spending

    The statement does not publish a capital expenditure figure or a sector breakdown. Those will follow with the budget in Q4. It does signal that project spending will continue. As Vision 2030 enters what the statement calls its third phase, the government says efforts will focus on “accelerating the pace of delivery and capitalising on growth opportunities through continued government capital expenditure”. It also wants a stronger role for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the National Development Fund in stimulating domestic investment.

    The ministry says it will “implement infrastructure-related programmes” and direct resources “towards priority programmes and projects”. It also commits to “maximise the utilisation of existing government assets and investments”. That wording points to a sharper focus on completing and monetising existing schemes rather than launching new ones.

    The medium-term debt strategy is designed to ensure “the continuity of the implementation of priority projects without being linked to the fluctuations of the economic cycle”, according to the statement.

    The government’s revenue scenarios hold expenditure at SR1.39tn in all three cases. Under the lowest revenue case of SR1.13tn, the deficit widens to SR259bn. The highest case of SR1.26tn narrows it to SR132bn. Any change falls on borrowing rather than on spending.

    The ministry says debt will deliberately rise by the end of 2027, and the borrowing plan will be disclosed by the end of this year. Alongside bonds, sukuk and loans, the government plans to expand “alternative government financing, including financing of projects, infrastructure and export credit agencies” in 2027 and over the medium term.

    Private capital

    The statement presents private investment as a growing share of project delivery. Investment in privatisation and public-private partnership (PPP) projects reached about SR180bn by the end of 2025. The National Privatisation Strategy was approved in November 2025. Ten privatisation and PPP projects have been launched under it in the first half of 2026, including the Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz International Airport PPP in Qassim. Contracts were signed for the Sabic Mental Health Hospital and the Jubail Container Terminal, taking the total to 83 partnership contracts. Private capital investment has exceeded SR56.2bn, against a target of SR240bn by 2030.

    The National Infrastructure Fund has committed SR10.5bn since 2022 to projects with a combined value of about SR59.3bn, of which SR44.1bn is private investment. Projects it has backed include the Neom green hydrogen project, the Shuaibah solar photovoltaic plants, the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport expansion, the Jubail-Buraidah independent water transmission pipeline and the Ezditek data centre. The fund plans to expand into healthcare, education, sports and artificial intelligence.

    PIF’s domestic investments totalled about SR750bn between 2021 and 2025. The statement lists several recent contracts across its portfolio. Diriyah Company, the PIF-owned developer of the Diriyah gigaproject, awarded a SR1.8bn contract to a consortium of local companies to build the Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art. PIF-owned Soudah Development signed a SR1.3bn agreement with National Grid SA, the transmission subsidiary of Saudi Electricity Company, to deliver electricity infrastructure for the Soudah Peaks project. Saudi Entertainment Ventures, also owned by PIF, plans 14 destinations across 13 cities, with investment of more than SR45bn. The Saudi Export-Import Bank plans to provide SR41.6bn of financing and insurance to non-oil exporters in 2027.

    Logistics investment has also become a priority since the disruption to Gulf shipping. The share of non-oil exports passing through Red Sea ports rose to 40.7% during the crisis, from 19.3% before it. In July, the General Ports Authority signed contracts worth up to SR1bn for seven logistics centres at Jeddah Islamic Port and Al-Khumrah. A separate logistics corridors initiative connects Gulf ports to the Red Sea by road and rail.

    The final 2027 budget is due for approval in Q4.

    MEED’s October 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Saudi projects hold steady
    > GOVERNMENT: Riyadh looks to reset its regional defence outlook
    > ECONOMY: Conflict bolsters case for Saudi economic diversification
    > BANKING: Saudi lenders readjust to lower lending and deposit climate
    > UPSTREAM: Aramco upstream spending gathers pace
    > DOWNSTREAM: Sabic steps up Saudi petchems investment
    > POWER: Saudi Arabia’s power award activity slows
    > WATER: Saudi water sector hits sharp slowdown
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction defies the headwinds
    > TRANSPORT: Saudi infrastructure pushes forward amid conflict
    > DATABANK: Saudi data indicates project spending shift

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20206117/main.gif
    Colin Foreman