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
  • Hormuz crisis revives 1970s-style energy shock

    5 May 2026

    Commentary
    Colin Foreman
    Editor

    Read the May issue of MEED Business Review

    The conflict with Iran is threatening to recalibrate the global energy system. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused an energy security crisis reminiscent of the shocks of the 1970s – both in scale and in its potential long-term implications.

    The 1973-74 energy crisis, triggered by an Opec oil embargo, sent prices soaring and altered the trajectory of the global economy. It spurred the creation of the International Energy Agency, the development of strategic petroleum reserves and a wave of energy-efficiency policies. It also cemented energy-for-security arrangements between the West and the Gulf – relationships now being tested again by the latest conflict.

    Today’s disruption – 11 million barrels of oil a day and around 20% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping capacity – creates a deficit that far exceeds the roughly 5 million barrels a day removed from the market in 1973. 

    While the shocks of the 1970s ushered in a decade of stagflation and a lasting shift towards diversified supply, the current crisis could accelerate demand destruction and a pivot towards energy sovereignty.

    The story is a developing one. From Vietnam’s cancellation of LNG projects in favour of renewables to the surge in electric vehicle adoption across Europe, the perceived unreliability of traditional supply routes is forcing an unprecedented reorientation of capital. 

    The Middle East – long the indispensable heartbeat of global industry – now risks sustained challenges to its market share as producers in the US, Russia, Africa and South America develop new projects unencumbered by reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.

    The structural changes taking root in 2026, like those in 1974, will outlive the conflict itself. Even a swift cessation of hostilities may not allow markets to return to their pre-conflict norms. 

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

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

     

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16685390/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Brookfield to double down on Gulf investment

    5 May 2026

    Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt has said the asset and alternative investment management company intends to increase its investments in the Gulf, despite the ongoing conflict in the region.

    When asked whether the war is changing the way he thinks about the Gulf region during an interview with CNBC at the Milken Institute Global Conference on 4 May, he said: “No, short answer no – in fact, [we’re] doubling down, we are doing more.

    “When you find great businesses, countries, great people, and the market offers you an opportunity to invest when others are not, it is always the best opportunity in the world, so we are doing more. We have been there for 25 years; we are continuing to do all of the investments we have there, and we are going to do more.”

    Flatt suggested the current period of geopolitical stress could accelerate long-term economic strengthening across the Gulf, arguing that governments and businesses will respond by investing in self-sufficiency and strategic infrastructure. “They will eventually build better countries because of this,” he said.

    Flatt added: “They’re going to build resiliency in all their systems. They’re going to build their own artificial intelligence (AI). They’re going to build their own pipelines to the coast. They’re going to do things they didn’t do before. They have to do it. They probably should have, but they’re going to now, and they’re going to be more resilient.”

    UAE meetings

    Flatt has also travelled to the region since the conflict began on 28 February, meeting senior UAE officials to discuss investment opportunities and deepen cooperation. In Abu Dhabi on 9 April, he met Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The meeting explored ways to strengthen cooperation in investment and asset management between UAE-based institutions and Brookfield, in line with global economic trends and evolving market demands.

    Two days later in Dubai, Flatt met Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). During the meeting, both sides explored opportunities to expand cooperation, highlighting the UAE and Dubai’s value proposition for global investors, including an integrated financial system, a flexible and advanced regulatory environment and world-class digital infrastructure. Discussions also covered Dubai’s role as a bridge between East and West, and the emirate’s emphasis on long-term partnerships and a transparent, business-friendly environment.

    Qatar partnership

    Brookfield’s regional activities are not limited to the UAE. In late 2025, the firm and Qai – Qatar’s AI company and a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority – announced a strategic partnership to establish a $20bn joint venture focused on AI infrastructure in Qatar and select international markets. The venture is expected to support Qatar’s ambition to become a hub for AI services and infrastructure in the Middle East. It is slated to be backed through Brookfield’s Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Fund, part of a broader AI infrastructure programme targeting up to $100bn in global investment.

    Brookfield Infrastructure maintains a vast and diversified global portfolio characterised by high-barrier-to-entry assets across five core sectors. The data infrastructure segment has become a primary growth engine, currently comprising 150 data centres with significant operating capacity and about 308,000 operational telecom sites. In the utility and energy midstream space, the firm manages over 1,900 miles of electric transmission lines and a network of 2,100 miles of gas pipelines. The transport sector is another cornerstone of the portfolio, anchored by 22,500 miles of rail operations.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16686052/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities

    5 May 2026

     

    Insurers are expected to cover only a fraction of the damage to oil and gas facilities in the Middle East caused by the regional war, according to industry sources.

    Standard industrial property and business interruption policies typically exclude damage and disruption caused by acts of war. Companies therefore need specialist war-risk insurance or political violence and terrorism (PVT) insurance to be eligible for payouts.

    While most state-owned national oil companies (NOCs) are likely to have arranged this type of cover for major facilities, it is less common among smaller private or publicly traded companies.

    As a result, many assets – such as smaller fertiliser plants and chemical facilities – are expected to be uninsured for war-related damage.

    “War insurance was never a widely purchased product in the region,” said one source. “It’s one of these things that people never really believe is going to happen.

    “In a lot of companies, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for this kind of product was seen as something they couldn’t really justify.”

    Even companies that purchased war-risk or PVT insurance before the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February are unlikely to be covered for the full extent of war damage.

    War-risk insurance for large assets such as oil refineries or LNG terminals typically carries limits of $200m to $500m.

    In many cases, repairs to the region’s large and complex oil and gas facilities are likely to cost billions of dollars.

    One source said: “If you had, for example, an oil refinery that’s worth $8bn, you couldn’t really buy a war insurance policy to cover the price of a complete rebuild.

    “There just isn’t enough insurance capacity in the market to buy that level of cover.

    “Very often NOCs were buying cover at the highest level they could find, but this was limited by what markets were prepared to insure.”

    Payout timing

    Full insurance settlements for war damage are expected to take significant time – potentially 18 months to two years for some policyholders.

    Payments typically begin with an initial payout of around 20%-30% of the total claim. This is followed by a second payment mid-project – usually once engineering is complete – and then a final payment.

    In most cases, projects to rebuild and repair damaged oil and gas facilities are not expected to be delayed while owners wait for insurance proceeds.

    One source said: “A lot of the owners of these damaged facilities don’t see the current situation as the right time to start rebuilding, but that isn’t because they are waiting for insurance money.

    “The risk of new attacks and more damage is still high, and they are going to want to wait for signs of more stability before they start rebuilding.”

    Experts believe that once the security environment improves, facility owners will begin tendering repair and reconstruction contracts even if insurers have not settled claims.

    “A lot of the companies that operate oil, gas and chemical facilities in the region have access to funds that will allow them to rebuild without being reliant on insurers,” said one source.

    “Even if they have a policy that they expect to pay out, it is likely that they will go ahead with the project before receiving full payment if they think it is the right time to rebuild.”

    Once the security environment improves, the cost of rebuilding fully destroyed units is expected to be higher than when they were originally constructed, due to multiple rebuild projects progressing in parallel across the region.

    This is likely to drive a spike in demand for skilled labour and materials, pushing up costs.

    Market impact

    Insurers providing this type of cover in the region have generally experienced several years of low payout levels, so they are expected to meet claims with limited financial strain.

    However, the volume of claims stemming from the US and Israel’s war with Iran is expected to harden the war-risk and PVT insurance market, increasing premiums for owners of oil and gas facilities for some time.

    Ultimately, the limited scope of coverage means the financial burden of the war will fall more heavily on asset owners than on insurers.

    Even where cover is in place, policy limits mean insurers will only partially offset the cost of rebuilding large facilities, leaving companies and governments to bridge funding gaps.

    The experience is likely to prompt a reassessment of risk across the region’s energy sector, with lenders and investors placing greater emphasis on potential political violence-related damage when evaluating projects.

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

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16683871/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Oman seeks adviser for hydrogen-based IPP

    5 May 2026

    Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (PWP) has issued a tender for technoeconomic consultancy services for power generation using green hydrogen.

    The offtaker said it intends to appoint a consultant to undertake an initial assessment for the development of a new independent power project (IPP).

    The plant is expected to be capable of operating on up to 100% hydrogen with an indicative generation capacity in the range of 800MW to 1,000MW.

    The bid submission deadline is 21 June.

    To date, hydrogen deployment has focused mainly on production and export projects, while power generation activity remains largely limited to pilot schemes rather than utility-scale, fully hydrogen-fired plants.

    According to a typical IPP development timeline spanning feasibility, procurement, financing and construction, the potential plant would be unlikely to enter operation before the early 2030s.

    Nama PWP also recently issued a separate consultancy tender seeking services to support ESG policy development.

    The deadline for firms to submit offers is 10 May.

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

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16683857/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • NCP seeks firms for healthcare PPP project

    5 May 2026

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Defence and the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP) have issued an expression of interest and request for qualification (RFQ) notice for the Chronic Kidney Disease Care and National Dialysis Services project.

    The notice was issued on 4 May, with a submission deadline of 15 June.

    The project will be delivered as a public-private partnership (PPP) under a design, repurpose, finance and maintain (DRFM) model, with a six-year contract term.

    NCP said the initiative supports Saudi Vision 2030 by increasing private sector participation in the healthcare sector.

    The project is structured into four packages, each covering a minimum number of patients across multiple regions to ensure wide geographic reach and improved access.

    Selected operators will be required to provide the necessary facilities, equipment and information technology systems, as well as supply qualified personnel. They will also manage clinical services – including in-centre haemodialysis, home haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, vascular access and outpatient services – alongside non-clinical operations.

    In January, Saudi Arabia launched a National Privatisation Strategy, which aims to mobilise $64bn in private sector capital by 2030.

    The strategy builds on the privatisation programme first introduced in 2018. It will focus on unlocking state-owned assets for private investment and privatising selected government services.

    In a statement, NCP said the new strategy comprises 147 opportunities drawn from a broader pipeline of more than 500 projects across 18 sectors.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16683825/main.gif
    Yasir Iqbal