meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Cop28 must deliver on promises

25 October 2023

Commentary
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Energy & technology editor

 

There is a good chance that the average delegate attending the 2023 Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Cop28) will skip visiting or driving past the key clean energy installations in the UAE.

These include the wind turbines on Sir Baniyas Island, 9.5 kilometres (km) off Jebel Dhana in Abu Dhabi; the $29bn Barakah nuclear power plant in Al-Gharbia, close to the border with Saudi Arabia; the solar farms in Sweihan and Al-Dhafra in Abu Dhabi; and Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Solar Park, 50km from Expo City, the venue for Cop28.

For many delegates, a trip to these sites is unnecessary. They are aware of the UAE’s green credentials, with the country having ploughed billions of dollars into investments aimed at decarbonising its economy, and more still to come.

For others, however, a single statistic undermines the positive environmental steps that the world’s sixth-largest crude exporter has taken. State-backed energy firm Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) plans to increase its oil production capacity from 4 million barrels a day (b/d) to 5 million b/d by 2027.

Double-edged strategy

Critics, who include the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, have warned of the dangers of a double-edged energy transition strategy. Cop28 president-designate Sultan al-Jaber, managing director and CEO of Adnoc, prefers to describe such an approach as pragmatic.

An agreement requiring developed countries to provide loss and damage funding to countries most affected by climate change was a key takeaway from last year’s UN climate change conference in Egypt (Cop27). However, there was a lack of progress on the phasing down or out of fossil fuels.

The onus is now on the UAE, whose energy transition approach embraces energy sources from fossil fuels to green hydrogen, to deliver a more productive conference.

The hope is that the UAE’s status as an oil- exporting country, and the selection of an oil industry stalwart to lead this year’s negotiations, will not distract from the important tasks that the 12-day event aims to tackle.

Cop28 will see the first global stocktake of the progress countries have made towards their emissions reduction commitments or nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Al-Jaber has also promised to supercharge climate finance and put more pressure on developed countries to fulfil the commitment they made at Cop15 in Copenhagen to mobilise $100bn annually by 2020. This target has been missed repeatedly.

A UAE finance initiative that will provide $4.5bn to help unlock Africa’s clean energy potential was announced in early September and is an example of such commitment.

Al-Jaber’s insistence on putting oil and gas companies at the heart of the climate dialogue is proving both decisive and divisive, however, depending on which side of the climate debate one supports.

“This is your opportunity to show the world that, in fact, you are central to the solution,” he told the oil and gas-dominated Adipec conference held in Abu Dhabi on 2-5 October.

How can green ammonia compete with grey ammonia if the gas for the grey ammonia is provided at a fraction of world market prices?
Cornelius Matthes, Dii Desert Energy

Cyril Widdershoven, global energy market analyst at Netherlands-based consultancy Verocy, supports Al-Jaber’s views. 

“The main Cop28 outcome will be linked to an even and rational transition from hydrocarbons to renewables, taking into account the overall need to cut emissions and [carbon] footprint,” he says. 

The summit will lead to a realisation that hydrocarbons will be a major part of the overall energy scene for decades to come, as the world is not yet ready to be fully electrified, Widdershoven adds.

The oil and gas industry’s increased presence at, and participation in, Cop28 is expected to make an impact.

“There will be huge pressure on the oil and gas industry to participate in the decarbonisation of energy systems, first by eliminating methane flaring and then eliminating emissions from their own operations by 2030,” says Paddy Padmanathan, co-founder and vice-chairman of clean energy firm Zhero and former CEO of Saudi utility developer Acwa Power.

“Abu Dhabi can influence the national oil companies to sign up to this, and Adnoc and Saudi Aramco should be able to influence the international oil companies to sign up.”

Top 10 UAE clean energy projects

Walking the talk

The UAE has shown leadership by being the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region to initiate the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies in 2015, Cornelius Matthes, CEO of Dubai-based Dii Desert Energy, tells MEED. 

“It was also the first Mena country to introduce a net-zero 2050 target in 2021, and has an unparalleled track record in building some of the largest solar plants in the world at record-low prices.”

Since other countries in the region have already followed the UAE’s lead, the expectation is for Cop28 to provide impetus for similar initiatives to accelerate.

With Abu Dhabi leading, Zhero’s Padmanathan expects it will also be possible to secure financial commitments
to the Loss & Damage Fund that was established at Cop27.

A declaration from the world’s 46 least-developed countries cited a “strong outcome operationalising the new Loss & Damage Fund” among their key expectations and priorities for Cop28.

Home to more than 14 per cent of the world’s population, these countries contribute about 1 per cent of emissions from fossil fuels and industrial processes and most are on the front line of the climate crisis. The majority need funds to deal with the impact of climate change in sectors such as agriculture, while others require funds to develop clean energy sources. 

Tripling initiative

The goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity is expected be included in the agenda for Cop28.

This is in line with the International Energy Agency’s recommendation that the world needs to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 if the 1.5 degrees Celsius cap on global warming that was agreed in Paris in 2015 is to still be within reach.

However, this goal needs a clear mechanism to be effective, according to an expert in the renewable energy field.

“There will be a big song and dance around the commitment to tripling solar and wind deployment by 2030, but given there will be no mechanism for holding anyone responsible for it, and for sure there will be no consequence … I cannot see how meaningful such pledges can be,” the expert tells MEED.

Hard issues 

The wider Mena region, which will share the spotlight and scrutiny associated with Cop28, will have to demonstrate a willingness to talk about the reduction of all harmful emissions, not only carbon, says Matthes.

The easiest option is to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, as they encourage energy waste and profit wealthy populations disproportionately.

“How can green ammonia compete with grey ammonia if the gas for the grey ammonia is provided at a fraction of world market prices?” Matthes asks.

Introducing a cost for all harmful emissions is another opportunity that can automatically improve bankability for energy transformation projects. To their credit, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have recently introduced voluntary carbon markets, which are seen as steps in the right direction.

Initiatives to boost energy efficiency across the Mena region should also be part of the conversation. These range from efforts to use air conditioning, cooling and water more discriminatingly; electrify transportation; deploy battery energy storage systems; and increase the decarbonisation of the production, shipping, refining and upstream use of oil and gas.

“The region’s waste of energy should be reduced and eliminated before even thinking about how to produce energy,” says Matthes.

Possible scenarios

Despite promises of inclusivity and productiveness, there is a strong probability that most Cop28 negotiators will get only a fraction of what they hope to take away from the summit.

“In a complex system like the Cop negotiations, we need to be realistic about what can be achieved,” says Matthes. “As we have seen in the past ... the same countries always manage to dilute compromises and block long-overdue and necessary developments.”

A likely post-Cop28 scenario could include an agreement requiring the oil and gas industry to do and spend more to decarbonise their products and operations, share in the financial burden of climate change mitigation, and if possible, curb production. This could avoid the use of wording that proved contentious at Glasgow’s Cop26 when a deal that called for the “phase out” of coal-fired power had to be amended to “phase down” following pressure from some countries. 

Climate change advocates will have to live with the fact that fossil fuels, and their entire supply chain, are not likely to be penalised further or disappear. Major change is unlikely until the world is ready to be fully electrified, or until the fear that halting oil production could cause energy insecurity and economic chaos can be overcome.

The Global North countries will have to weigh the best options to reach their net-zero carbon emission targets by 2050 without risking their economic growth. However, countries such as the UK are in the process of pushing back some of their energy transition targets.

Meanwhile, most Global South countries will continue to bear the brunt of the worsening climate crisis, albeit with some support from top carbon-emitting and wealthy nations.

Rightly or wrongly, this could highlight the merit of Al-Jaber’s preferred pragmatic and inclusive approach to Cop28 in terms of technologies, fuels and the representation of sectors.

“A convergence of interests and the dramatic changes to the status of the global energy transition over the past few years … could help countries find new momentum and solutions that might not have seemed feasible in the past,” says Matthes.

Image: Cop28 president-designate Sultan al-Jaber engages with Pope Francis on driving positive outcomes for climate action. Credit: Cop28

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11210573/main.gif
Jennifer Aguinaldo

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • KJO selects contractors for Dorra gas project offshore packages

    12 August 2026

     

    Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) has selected contractors for two major offshore packages under its multibillion-dollar Dorra field facilities development project. The Dorra gas field is located in the waters of the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone.

    KJO – jointly owned by Aramco subsidiary Aramco Gulf Operations Company and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation subsidiary Kuwait Gulf Oil Company – has divided the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope for the Dorra gas production project into four packages: three offshore and one onshore.

    US-based McDermott International has secured offshore package 2A, valued at about $1.5bn, according to sources.

    A consortium of India’s Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (L&TEH) and Italian contractor Saipem has secured package 2B, sources told MEED. Estimated at about $3.7bn, package 2B is the largest of the three offshore EPC packages under the Dorra field facilities project.

    MEED reported in March that the L&TEH/Saipem consortium had emerged as the lowest bidder for offshore package 2B.

    Contractors submitted bids for offshore packages 2A and 2B by the 9 March deadline, MEED previously reported. Bid validity was understood to expire on 15 August, prompting KJO to issue letters of intent to the selected contractors earlier this month, sources said.

    Offshore package scopes

    The EPC scope of work on the two offshore packages of the Dorra gas field facilities project is as follows:

    Package 2A – Dorra gas field wellhead topsides, flowlines and umbilicals

    • Seven gas wellhead platforms or topsides, with production routed to the central gathering platform
    • Corrosion-resistant, alloy-lined intra-field flowlines and umbilicals connecting the gas wellhead platforms to the central gathering platform and the auxiliary platform

    Package 2B: Dorra central gathering platform complex, export pipelines and cables

    • Central gathering platform
    • Auxiliary platform
    • Dorra accommodation platform
    • Flare platform
    • Bridge platform
    • Pipelines for gas and condensate transmission to each shareholder
    • Produced water pipeline from the central gathering platform to Al-Khafji field and from the planned onshore processing facility next to the Al-Zour refinery in Kuwait to Al-Khafji field
    • Recovered monoethylene glycol (MEG) pipeline from Al-Khafji field to the central gathering platform
    • Control and power system linking Al-Khafji onshore facilities to offshore units
    • Offshore central control room at Dorra accommodation platform.

    Regarding the first offshore package, MEED reported in October last year that KJO awarded India’s L&TEH a contract estimated at $140m-$150m. Offshore package 1 covers the EPC of seven offshore jackets and the laying of intra-field pipelines.

    Separately, KJO is understood to be holding discussions for package 3 with Spanish contractor Tecnicas Reunidas, which emerged as the lowest bidder, as MEED reported in March. Sources said a final client decision on the award is pending.

    Onshore package scope

    The scope of work on the only onshore package of the Dorra gas field facilities project is as follows:

    Package 3: Onshore gas processing facilities

    • Buildings to be constructed as part of KJO’s Dorra project onshore package include:
      • Dorra control building
      • Operator building
      • Operations, maintenance and engineering building
      • Process interface building
      • Onshore 115/69kV substation
      • Two gas-insulated substations
      • Warehouse
      • Maintenance building
      • Mosque
      • Telecommunications tower radio building
      • Beach valve substation at the planned onshore processing facility next to the Al-Zour refinery in Kuwait
         
    • Processing facilities for KJO’s onshore package:
      • Produced water receiving and treatment
      • Sour water stripping and treated water system
      • Rich MEG storage tank
      • MEG regeneration and reclamation
      • Recovered hydrocarbons system
      • Lean MEG storage and supply
      • Fresh MEG storage and supply
      • Beach valve stations at Al-Khafji and Al-Zour
         
    • Utilities:
      • Instrument and plant air system
      • Nitrogen generation system
      • Diesel storage and distribution system
      • Fuel gas system
      • Closed drain and slop tank system
      • Hazardous area open drains system
      • Industrial water system
      • Drinking water system
      • Flare gas recovery system and a low-pressure flare system
      • Fire water system
      • Emergency diesel generator
      • Sewage treatment

    Discovered in 1965, the Dorra gas field is estimated to hold 20 trillion cubic metres of gas and 310 million barrels of oil.

    Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been pressing ahead with their plan to jointly produce 1 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas from the Dorra gas field.

    The two countries have been producing oil from the Neutral Zone – primarily from the onshore Wafra field and offshore Khafji field – since at least the 1950s. With a growing need to increase natural gas production, they have been working to exploit the Dorra offshore field, understood to be the only gas field in the Neutral Zone.

    Progress has been hampered by a dispute over ownership of the Dorra gas field. Iran, which refers to the field as Arash, claims it partially extends into Iranian territory and asserts that Tehran should be a stakeholder in its development. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia maintain that the field lies entirely within their jointly administered Neutral Zone – also known as the Divided Zone – and that Iran has no legal basis for its claim.

    In February 2024, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia reiterated their claim to the Dorra field in a joint statement issued during an official meeting in Riyadh between Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

    France-based Technip Energies has performed the entire concept study and feed work on the overall Dorra gas field development programme.

    ALSO READ:

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18365989/main3026.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Oman reaches financial close on 120MW wind project

    12 August 2026

    Oman’s 120MW Jaalan Bani Bu Ali (JBB) wind independent power project (IPP) has reached financial close, according to the consortium developing the project.

    The project is being developed by a consortium comprising French firm EDF Power Solutions, Oman’s Al-Khadra Partners and OQ Alternative Energy.

    Located in South Al-Sharqiyah Governorate, about 440 kilometres from the Port of Duqm, the project will comprise 16 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 7.7MW.

    Commercial operations are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2027. The JBB project is EDF Power Solutions’ first wind project in Oman.

    Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement (Nama PWP) signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to develop, finance, build and operate the project last December.

    As exclusively reported by MEED, a consortium of Chinese companies also signed the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the plant that same month.

    The consortium comprises China Energy Engineering Corporation, PowerChina, East China Electric Power Design & Research Institute and Hunan Thermal Power, all headquartered in Beijing.

    Once operational, the wind farm is expected to generate enough renewable electricity to supply more than 13,500 Omani households annually. It is also expected to avoid more than 270,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

    The project supports Oman’s target of increasing the share of renewable energy in its national electricity mix to at least 30% by 2030. It also supports the country’s Net Zero 2050 target.

    In May, Muscat-based Monenco Consulting Engineers won a consultancy contract for a grid station project linked to the Jaalan Bani Bu Ali wind farm project.

    The contract was awarded by China Energy Engineering Corporation, the lead EPC contractor for the Jaalan Bani Bu Ali IPP.

    The scope includes engineering and detailed design consultancy services for the grid station and associated overhead line linked to the wind farm, which is expected to begin construction by the end of the third quarter.

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

    Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18364806/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Kuwait utilities investment shifts towards water

    11 August 2026

     

    China State Construction Engineering Corporation recently signed a contract for Kuwait’s North Kabd wastewater treatment plant, the country’s largest wastewater infrastructure project to date.

    The award, following more than a decade of planning, propelled Kuwait’s water sector contract awards to more than $4bn as of early August, according to regional project tracker MEED Projects.

    The facility will have a treatment capacity of up to 1 million cubic metres a day (cm/d), with the $3.3bn contract covering the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the plant over a 10-year period.

    It marks a significant recovery for the sector after several years of subdued activity and the first time since 2020 that annual water awards have exceeded $1bn.

    North Kabd is the largest of several major water projects awarded this year, alongside contracts covering desalination and the expansion and rehabilitation of water distribution infrastructure.

    Desalination and distribution

    These include a $316m contract awarded to local firm United Gulf Construction (UGC) by the Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy (MEWRE) for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Doha water distribution complex.

    The five-year project includes a new pump station and will add about 130 million imperial gallons of storage capacity, while increasing pumping capacity to 220 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD).

    UGC was also selected in February to upgrade the Hawally water distribution complex in Kuwait’s Hawalli Governorate. The facility serves one of Kuwait’s most densely populated governorates, with the project intended to address chronic low water pressure, particularly during peak summer demand, and improve continuity of supply.

    The upgrade will increase freshwater storage capacity by 66 million gallons and raise potable-water pumping capacity to 54.5 million gallons a day.

    In April, Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders approved MEWRE’s recommendation to award a $371m contract for phase two of the Doha seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant.

    A joint venture of Kuwait-based Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) and India’s VA Tech Wabag will carry out the project, which will have a capacity of about 272,000 cm/d.

    Upcoming water awards

    Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works (MPW) has been progressing several tenders for major water infrastructure projects covering rainwater drainage and treated water systems in the country’s southern and northern regions.

    In July, local Combined Group Contracting submitted the lowest bid for a contract to develop a major treated water system in the southern region. The contractor submitted a price of about $515m for the scheme, according to a company disclosure.

    For the smaller northern treated water system, Contractor General Trading & Contracting submitted the lowest bid of $169m.

    In what is already a standout year for Kuwait’s water sector, further awards could push activity significantly higher. More than $1bn of water projects are currently under bid evaluation, indicating further evidence of a sustained recovery in the months ahead.

    Power sector activity

    Kuwait’s power sector recorded just $271m of contract awards by early August, according to MEED Projects, putting activity well below recent annual levels.

    This compares with a record full-year total of $5.5bn in 2025 and $2.7bn in both 2024 and 2023.

    Several large-scale generation projects have been slow to advance, with deadline extensions a notable feature in recent months. The outlook is stronger, however, with these projects now progressing through procurement and significant awards expected in the months ahead.

    Kuwait is advancing the 1,800MW Al-Khairan phase one independent water and power project (IWPP), for which two developer consortiums led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa submitted bids in June.

    The project will also include a desalination plant with a capacity of 125 MIGD. A second phase of the Al-Khairan IWPP, estimated at $750m, is understood to include a further 1,800MW of generation capacity through a combined-cycle gas-fired power plant. The project remains in the early development stages, with tendering not expected until at least 2027.

    Renewable energy programme

    The Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (Kapp) is also progressing the Al-Dibdibah power and Al-Shagaya renewable energy programme in partnership with Kuwait’s MEWRE.

    The contract to develop the 1,100MW phase three, zone one solar photovoltaic (PV) project is expected to be confirmed soon, with a consortium led by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) previously reported to be the frontrunner.

    A separate 500MW solar PV project is also being procured under phase three, zone two of the same programme, with bids submitted on 26 July. If the contract is awarded by the end of the year, the two Shagaya contracts would add about $2bn to the value of power sector awards.  

    Another notable development was the 25-year energy conversion and water purchase agreement signed in February for the Al-Zour North IWPP phases two and three. The signing marked a key step towards financial close on the estimated $4bn project. Once completed, the facility will add 2,700MW of power and 120 MIGD of desalinated water to Kuwait’s supply network

    The Shagaya, Khairan and Zour North projects form a key part of Kuwait’s generation portfolio. The country is aiming to reach 22,100MW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, under a 20-year strategy announced in March 2025 that extends to 2050.

    Kuwait is also continuing to invest in existing generation plants. MEWRE is evaluating bids for the $1.7bn upgrade of the Subiya power and water plant, including the conversion of units from open-cycle to combined-cycle operation and the modernisation of existing facilities.

    Battery energy storage systems

    In the near to medium term, more than $10bn-worth of power projects are under bid evaluation. This includes several battery energy storage system projects with a planned total storage capacity of 1.5GW.

    In June, Kuwait approved sites in Al-Mutlaa and Jaber Al-Ahmad cities for the development of the projects. The projects will be implemented in phases, with the first phase providing 500MW of storage capacity. The first facilities are expected to be operational by summer 2027 and will supply stored energy to the electricity grid during periods of peak demand.

    Elsewhere, MEWRE continues to evaluate offers from Shanghai Electric Group and local firm Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) for the estimated $400m engineering, procurement and construction contract to rehabilitate and modernise eight boilers at the Subiya power generation and water distillation station. The bid bond validity has been extended to 23 August, indicating that the procurement process remains ongoing.

    MEED’s September 2026 report on Kuwait also includes:

    > ECONOMY: Kuwait shows tentative signs of economic development
    > BANKING: Necessity is the mother of invention for Kuwaiti lenders
    > OIL & GAS: Regional war to have lasting impact on Kuwaiti oil sector
    > CONSTRUCTION: Kuwait construction holds up despite regional strife

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18333042/main.gif
    Mark Dowdall
  • Syrian court gives death penalty to Bashar Al-Assad

    11 August 2026

    A Syrian court has sentenced former president Bashar Al-Assad to death after trying him in absentia, convicting him of crimes committed during the country’s nearly 14 years of civil war.

    It is the first such ruling under Syria’s transitional authorities, who ousted Al-Assad in December 2024 and vowed justice and accountability for crimes committed under his rule.

    Al-Assad fled to Moscow as Islamist-led forces closed in on Damascus after a lightning offensive.

    In a Damascus court, Judge Fakhr Al-Din Al-Aryan convicted Al-Assad of crimes including “premeditated murder, the intentional killing of more than one person, the intentional killing of children under 15 years … torture, torture leading to death, and deprivation of liberty on multiple occasions” — acts the court classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.

    “He is therefore sentenced to death,” the judge said in his ruling.

    The court also sentenced six former military and security officials to death in absentia, including Al-Assad’s brother Maher, who ran the army’s elite Fourth Division and also fled the country.

    Those convicted included former defence minister Fahd Al-Freij and Louay Al-Ali, who headed military intelligence in Daraa province in 2011.

    ALSO READ: Syria charts post-war reconstruction course

    The officials were convicted of crimes including murder, incitement to murder, torture leading to death and repeated deprivation of liberty, also classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.

    Former security official Atif Najib – the only defendant tried in person – was also sentenced to death for crimes against humanity committed while he headed political security in Daraa province, the cradle of the country’s 2011 uprising.

    Najib, a cousin of Al-Assad who was arrested in January last year, was convicted of crimes including murder, the intentional killing of children under 15 and torture leading to death.

    The acts attributed to him are “crimes against humanity”, the court said as it handed down “the harshest punishment … which is the death penalty”.

    ALSO READ: US lifts sanctions on Syria after the EU takes similar action

    Syria began proceedings in April against Al-Assad and other officials, accused both in person and in absentia of atrocities during the civil war, which erupted after the former authorities’ brutal repression of pro-democracy protesters.

    More than half a million people were killed and millions displaced, while tens of thousands disappeared, many into the country’s brutal prison system.

    The uprising began in Daraa in March 2011 after 15 students were arrested for allegedly writing anti-government slogans on the city’s walls.

    Residents said the students were tortured, prompting protests demanding their release that ended in bloodshed.

    Security forces suppressed demonstrations and fired live ammunition to disperse sit-ins at several locations.

    Najib was dismissed after the crackdown as protests spread to other provinces.

    Judge Al-Aryan said Najib had denied the charges and shown “no remorse”.

    Al-Assad took power in Syria in 2000 in an unopposed election following the death of his father, Hafez Al-Assad, who was president from 1971.

    ALSO READ: Syria exports first crude oil batch in 14 years
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18331541/main.gif
    MEED Editorial
  • Oman extends deadline for $150m water transmission project

    11 August 2026

     

    State-owned Nama Water Services (NWS) has extended the bid submission deadline for a contract to build a $150m water distribution network project in Jalan Bani Bu Ali Wilayat in Oman’s South Sharqiyah Governorate.

    The new deadline is 24 August. The original deadline was 17 August.

    The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covers the development of water distribution infrastructure in the JBBA North and JBBA Coastal areas.

    The scope includes new water storage reservoirs, elevated tanks, booster pump stations and transmission and distribution pipelines.

    The project includes two reservoirs in the JBBA North area with a capacity of 40,000 cubic metres, along with about 58 kilometres of ductile iron distribution pipelines and 343km of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipelines.

    The JBBA Coastal works include reservoirs at Asilah, Ashkarah, Wadi Sal and Khabbah, as well as elevated tanks and pump stations. The scope also includes about 38.5km of 400mm-diameter ductile iron transmission pipeline.

    NWS issued the main contract tender on 4 June. UK-headquartered Mott MacDonald is the main consultant on the project.

    The project is one of three water distribution schemes being tendered under a wider $350m masterplan covering Jalan Bani Bu Hassan, Jalan Bani Bu Ali, and Al-Kamil and Al-Wafi wilayats.

    The Jalan Bani Bu Hassan scheme includes a new 40,000-cubic-metre ground reservoir at Al-Sayah Al-Sharqi 4, a pump station and associated transmission and distribution pipelines. It will also include a pump station serving the Industrial Area and an inline booster pump station supplying Al-Mintajjah and Sariq Haryah.

    The projects covering Jalan Bani Bu Ali and Al-Kamil and Al-Wafi wilayats are estimated to cost £100m each. The bid submission deadline for both projects is 17 August.

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

    Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18326851/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall