Related Articles

• 
  Spanish/local firm wins $544m Saudi desalination contract Yasir Iqbal

  28 July 2025

  

  Saudi Water Authority (SWA) has awarded a $544m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to a consortium of Madrid-headquartered Lantania and local firm Mutlaq Al-Ghowairi Contracting Company for a project to develop a reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

  The Jubail desalination plant will be able to treat 600,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of seawater using reverse osmosis technology.

  The joint venture will carry out the design, supply, construction, assembly and commissioning of the plant, as well as the seawater intake, outfall and all associated infrastructure required for the project.

  According to Lantania, the Jubail desalination plant will be the firm’s third desalination project in the kingdom.

  In March, MEED reported that India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Lantania had won the EPC contract for the Ras Mohaisen independent water project (IWP) in Saudi Arabia.

  The Ras Mohaisen IWP will be able to treat 300,000 cm/d of seawater using reverse osmosis technology. It will also include storage tanks with a capacity of 600,000 cubic metres – equivalent to two operating days – as well as intake and outfall facilities, process units and pumping stations.

  Lantania has also been involved in the Jubail 3A desalination project.

  In July last year, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia's main producer of desalinated water, Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), had set a deadline of 4 July to submit proposals for two other water desalination plant projects located in Jubail and Ras Al-Khair.

  SWCC is the world's largest producer of desalinated water, with a capacity of at least 6.6 million cm/d.

  

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  L&T wins Muscat business park deal Yasir Iqbal

  28 July 2025

  

   

  Indian contractor Larsen & Toubro has won a contract to build an office complex at the business park within the Madinat Al-Irfan development in Muscat.

  The project involves the development of three eight-storey office buildings surrounding a central park, called the Oasis.

  L&T described the contract as “large”, a term it uses to denote values exceeding INR25bn ($289m).

  MEED reported in August last year that Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) had issued a tender for the project on 22 August. It is understood that bids were submitted in September last year.

  Omran signed an agreement in April 2024 with Muscat-based Alizz Islamic Bank to establish a financial partnership for the project's development.

  UK analytics firm GlobalData expects the Omani construction industry to register an annual average growth of 4.2% in 2025-28, supported by investments as part of the Oman Vision 2040 strategy. Under this strategy, the government plans to allocate RO20bn ($52bn) to the tourism sector and aims to attract 11 million visitors annually by 2040. 

  In May, the Washington-based IMF said that Oman’s economy is showing steady growth and low inflation despite ongoing oil production cuts.

  Real GDP growth strengthened to 1.7% in 2024, up from 1.2% in 2023, driven by robust non-hydrocarbons activity, particularly in manufacturing and services. Growth is projected to accelerate further, reaching 2.4% in 2025 and 3.7% in 2026 as Opec+ production curbs are phased out and investments in logistics, renewables and tourism gain traction.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Cyprus gas field to be connected to Egypt Wil Crisp

  28 July 2025

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  Cyprus’ Cronos natural gas field is expected to be linked to Egypt’s gas infrastructure by 2027, according to a statement from Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources.

  The statement was released after meetings in Cyprus attended by Karim Badawi, Egypt’s minister of petroleum and mineral resources, and George Papanastasiou, Cyprus’ minister of energy, commerce and Industry.

  The meetings were also attended by representatives from the Italian oil and gas company Eni and France’s TotalEnergies.

  Officials are preparing to make their final investment decision (FID) for the development of the field later this year and link the field to Egyptian infrastructure, processing facilities and machinery by 2027, according to the statement.

  Badawi said that Egypt is ready to help complete the project and that providing a new energy corridor in the region would strengthen regional cooperation and benefit both countries.

  The ministers also reviewed developments at Cyprus’ Aphrodite field, including the marine surveying of the planned gas pipeline.

  The survey is currently under way in the economic waters of both Cyprus and Egypt, and is expected to pave the way for a link from Aphrodite to Egyptian facilities.

  

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Chinese company signs Egypt chemicals deal Wil Crisp

  28 July 2025

  Egypt’s Red Sea Refining & Petrochemical Company (RSNRPC) and China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC) have signed a non-binding framework agreement to develop the Red Sea petrochemical project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, according to a statement from Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources.

  The signing of the agreement for the project, which has previously been estimated to be worth $1.7bn, took place at CNCEC’s headquarters in Beijing.

  At the signing ceremony, Ibrahim Abdel Qadir Makki, chairman of the board of directors of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECM), said the agreement represented a milestone in the development of a “promising” project.

  He also said that CNCEC had shown it was prepared to potentially contribute to the project’s capital, alongside its potential support in a financing arrangement, covering up to 85% of the value of the engineering, procurement and construction contract (EPC).

  The agreement signing ceremony was also attended by representatives from Chinese financial institutions, including Bank of China, China Export & Import Bank and Sinosure Export Insurance Company.

  Makki said that the Red Sea project has competitive advantages due to its strategic location near the Suez Canal, and the availability of production unit licences.

  He also said that there was increasing global demand for products such as polyethylene and polypropylene (PP).

  Project delays

  Prior to the latest deal with CNCEC, the project had been on hold for more than 18 months.

  The project has seen several setbacks over recent years.

  Previously, the project was set to be developed by Sidpec in Alexandria with a budget of $1.7bn.

  In 2020, Sidpec initiated a review of the feasibility and financial structure of the polypropylene facility, given the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

  Bids for the polypropylene plant were submitted on 2 October 2019 and, at the time, the contract was expected to be awarded in April 2020.

  There were significant delays to the contract award amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to restrictions on movement and a decline in demand for refined products and petrochemicals.

  In October 2020, MEED reported that Sidpec had extended the bid bond for its project to develop the polypropylene facility in Alexandria.

  The companies that submitted bids for the project were:

  • Saipem (Italy)
  • Samsung (South Korea)
  • HQC (China)
  • China National Chemical Engineering Company (China)
  • Technip Energies (France)

  Bids for the project were submitted after several delays and bid deadline extensions.

  Prequalification documents for the project were submitted in April 2019, and the contract for the front-end engineering and design (feed) was awarded to US-based Jacobs.

  Sidpec partnered with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources and Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (Echem) for the project.

  The project’s scope originally included the construction of a polypropylene plant with a capacity of 450,000 tonnes a year, as well as an air-separating unit and associated facilities.

  

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  September deadline for $1.1bn Riyadh mixed-use project Yasir Iqbal

  28 July 2025

  

   

  Contractors have been given until 21 September to prepare bids for an estimated SR4.2bn ($1.1bn) contract to build a mixed-use development in the Al-Yasmin district of Riyadh.

  The project, named Thee Erth, is being developed by Riyadh-based developer Erth Real Estate.

  MEED understands that the tender for the main contract was released in May. The previous submission deadline was 26 July.

  The Thee Erth development spans an area of about 60,000 square metres (sq m). It features multiple towers comprising a 230-key Raffles hotel, a 250-key Sofitel serviced residence block and a 60-villa MGallery resort.

  The development will also offer office facilities, residential apartments and retail spaces.

  UK-based architectural firm Foster & Partners is the project architect.

  The client has signed up French hotel operator Accor to manage two hotels at the development.

  UK-headquartered analytics firm GlobalData expects the kingdom’s construction industry to record an annual average growth rate of 5.2% in 2025-28, supported by investments in transport, electricity, housing and tourism infrastructure projects and the Saudi gigaprojects programme.

  The industry will also be supported by the government’s aim to increase homeownership from 62% in 2020 to 70% by 2030, as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

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  Yasir Iqbal