Diriyah CEO sets the record straight
17 February 2025
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There can be few busier people in Saudi construction right now than Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Diriyah Company, the developer behind the $63.2bn Diriyah gigaproject.
A charismatic New Yorker with the distinctive accent to match, he has been the most visible persona behind what is arguably one of the most impressive and advanced projects of the kingdom’s $1tn capital expenditure drive.
Centred around the At-Turaif Unesco World Heritage Site on the western outskirts of Riyadh, Diriyah has opened its first assets to the public, most notably the retail-focused Bujairi Terrace and its first hotel, the Luxury Collection Bab Samhan Hotel.
These are already proving popular; even on a weekday lunchtime, the former was packed with Saudis enjoying a meal or simply walking between the rows of upscale boutiques enveloped in Diriyah’s characteristic Najdi architectural style.
At night, Bujairi Terrace is so busy that advanced tickets are required just to enter the precinct to avoid overcrowding.
Opened in December 2022, Diriyah's Bujairi Terrace offers an array of restaurants and cafes
Asset manager role
Managing this is a new challenge for Diriyah Company as it transitions from a developer primarily focused on infrastructure delivery to one that is now also operating as an asset manager for its completed elements.
“Think about it: right now in the day, we have 40,000 construction workers on site, but last night, we had 13,000 people visiting At-Turaif,” Inzerillo said in early January.
“We’re trading; we’re open; we’re earning revenues from Bab Samhan, the first of 40 hotels to open. It’s already trading very, very well – it’s going to be a very popular hotel.
“I’ve been here 6.5 years now and I’m more optimistic than I’ve ever been.”
Visitors are not just there to shop and eat. Diriyah’s protocol department now has more than 20 staff to handle between nine and 15 protocol moments a day.
“Heads of state, cabinet members and prominent CEOs come every day to see His Royal Highness [Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman]. They view the masterplans, see it being built and then have a meal before going to the Unesco site,” says Inzerillo.
I’m seeing robust interest and activity now, not just kicking the tyres as we say in New York. I’m seeing people really coming up to us now. We have dozens of deals right now. We’re very far down the road in terms of equity
Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Diriyah Company
Concrete proof of delivery
The Diriyah CEO spoke with MEED at the opening of two new $200m substations built by Saudi Electricity Company to serve the gigaproject specifically. His presence at the event was a reminder of how keen Diriyah Company is to tell the world – and potential investors – about the development’s progress.
It is no secret that the gigaprojects programme has failed to attract the amount of local or foreign sector investment that it may have initially expected. Opinions vary, but it is fair to say a lack of clarity on project scopes, timeframes and visions, combined with the Covid pandemic and missteps in the initial communication strategy on what the gigaprojects stood for, have all been stumbling blocks in drawing in private investment.
However, this is changing as the gigaprojects themselves start to be delivered and more concrete proof of their demand potential is made clear.
Not that Inzerillo has any doubts about their ultimate investment potential and successful delivery. When asked about these issues, his response was clear: “Look I think there are two factors [behind these issues] and I don’t see them as unhealthy. In fact, it’s the opposite – I see them as healthy,” he asserts.
“Our [Saudi Arabia’s] intention was to take tourism from 3% of GDP to 10% by 2030, while our target was to attract 100 million visits by the same date. We achieved this by December 2023. We’ve already broken 5% of GDP and we feel very confident that we’ll make the 10% objective.
“We’re now putting the infrastructure in the new 58 million square-metre King Salman International airport and other transport infrastructure around the country. All the gigaprojects are opening hotels; for example, look at the great work being done along the Red Sea coast; the great work being done now on Qiddiya.
“So, I think what happened was a lot of people said, ‘Ok, we believe in Saudi Arabia. We certainly believe in its vision. But you know what? We’re going to wait a year or two till we see evidence that the projects are progressing as projected. We intend to be in the kingdom a long time, so let’s wait a year or two before committing.’”
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Optimistic outlook
Inzerillo highlights Covid’s impact on the investment environment, adding that it delayed investment plans by two years, but appetite has now caught up.
“I’m seeing robust interest and activity now, not just kicking the tyres as we say in New York,” he states. “I’m seeing people really coming up to us now. We have dozens of deals right now. We’re very far down the road in terms of equity.
“I’m feeling very, very optimistic. I mean, you would think the CEO would naturally be optimistic, but I’m seeing a lot of evidence now.”
This bullishness is underpinned by three huge contracts awarded last year, totalling more than $5.6bn to build the North Cultural and Qurain Avenue districts, forming core components of the Diriyah Gate (DG) 1 phase of the gigaproject, as well as hotel and leisure assets on its residential and hospitality-focused Wadi Safar district.
The pace of activity is continuing into 2025 with a number of major contracts under tender or bid evaluation on the DG2 second phase, including three interchanges on King Khalid Road, the King Salman Grand Mosque, Royal Diriyah Opera House, infrastructure development works, the Northern Community and Diriyah Arena assets.
Just as significant was the award in early January of a $114m contract covering architectural construction and design services for DG2’s Boulevard District. One of the centrepieces of this second phase, the boulevard will be almost two kilometres long and will be lined on both sides by luxury boutiques and restaurants. Construction work on the boulevard should start in 2026.
One of the largest palaces in Diriyah, Salwa Palace extends over an area of 10,000 square metres
On time, on budget
Maintaining this pace of procurement is important given some of the – often negative – headlines following the ‘pause’ in gigaproject spending in the first half of 2024 as the government and the gigaproject companies’ owner, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), assessed their priorities and expenditure allocations in the face of soaring costs and timelines that threatened to be missed.
While much of this attention has been on Neom, particularly its The Line component, other gigaprojects such as The Red Sea, Roshn and Qiddiya threaten to be put into the same basket, an argument Inzerillo is keen to set straight.
“Now, one has to deal with real economic facts, and that is that post-Covid, you had major supply chain issues, which caused this hyperinflation. We’ve taken that into consideration and made adjustments. We’re on time, we’re on budget,” he stresses.
“We’ve been very fortunate because of our track record. We have a rockstar team. None of our funding has been even touched in the slightest by the PIF.”
Diriyah has had success in mitigating soaring materials and contracting costs primarily by bundling different works packages into the three ‘mega’ contracts awarded in 2024 as a means of consolidating work to just a handful of contractors.
At the same time, it secured long-term supply agreements from local manufacturers for key materials such as windows, doors and concrete. Scope revisions, such as the incorporation of the originally planned DG3 residential district into the DG1 element, have also contributed to putting a lid on cost pressures.
“We always said we had five gigaprojects,” explains Inzerillo. “We had the DG1 historical district. We had DG2, which is 500 tech companies, 100 media companies and 50 entertainment companies. And then there was talk about DG3. When we revisited DG3, it really was just an extension of DG1. So now what we’ve done is [merged] what was called DG3 into DG1. In other words, we merged two phases into one family, but the investment remains the same.”
Reprioritisation of resources
As for last year’s re-evaluation of the gigaprojects’ priorities and delays to the programme overall, Inzerillo attributes these to unforeseen events.
“Now, here’s the other point about the reprioritisation,” he says, referring to last year’s slowdown in gigaproject activity. “Three years ago, no one had any definitive evidence that Saudi Arabia would win the 2027 Asian football games. Three years ago, no one knew that we would be able to win the Winter Asian Games. Three years ago, no one knew we would win the 2030 World Expo in Riyadh. And three years ago, no one predicted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would win the 2034 World Cup.
“So, what would need to happen to do those four global events? The answer is, of course, it requires a reprioritisation of resources because now there’s a giant emphasis on delivering these events, especially in Riyadh …. It’s a natural recalibration to host these global events to diversify the economy and certainly hyper stimulate tourism.”
The PIF is expected to provide another SR12bn this year for further development at the gigaproject
Investor interest
Inzerillo, who started his varied, five-decade career in the kitchens of a Brooklyn catering company and then onto senior hotel management positions in the US and South Africa before heading up both IMG Artists and the Forbes Travel Guide, is equally forthright about Diriyah’s investment potential and the success it has had to date, even if much of it has yet to be formally announced.
“We have a very big interest from investors now,” he says. “I’m seeing my investment division getting really busy, which is very encouraging. I think that when we get to this time next year, we’re going to see a big repetition of what I call replacement equity.
“On some of the commercial assets right now, we’re getting great interest from foreign equity. We’ve had several cases now where foreign partners, such as Saudi, GCC and international partners, have seen the project out of the ground. They can really see it right in front of them.
“We have a major development with a retail developer from Italy and one from Colombia on buying hotels and going into residential sales with us as joint-venture partners. Funding has been front-loaded from the PIF, which is why it’s important to be a gigaproject within the PIF family. What’s also important is that it allows us to keep up the pace and, more importantly, maintain our quality.”
To date, the PIF has funded all of the infrastructure works on the gigaproject and is expected to provide another SR12bn this year for further development.
But at some point, Diriyah Company and the other PIF project subsidiaries are expected to obtain financing, particularly once they start earning revenues. Neom and Red Sea Global have already successfully raised funds through a combination of bond issuances and corporate loan agreements, and Diriyah itself is likely to go down the same route.
Likewise, it is expected to eventually go public when the time is right.
“When will that happen,” says Inzerillo. “That will obviously depend on PIF’s input, which is very important, but we’ve already started the process of getting ready for an initial public offering at some point. I’d be very happy to see that happen before 2030 as I think it would be a great accomplishment. And I’m optimistic to that effect.”
With its first assets up and running and a record value of contracts awarded in 2024, Diriyah is developing at a rapid pace and its CEO is clearly confident it will have most of its core components ready by the launch of the World Expo 2030.
Much still needs to be done, however. Line 2 of the Riyadh metro will be extended into the development, where it will interchange with the planned Line 7, linking the new King Salman International airport with Qiddiya via Diriyah. The Q Express, a planned express train linking the airport with the entertainment gigaproject, will also stop at Diriyah. All three projects will be handled by other clients and, therefore, somewhat out of Diriyah Company’s direct control.
Likewise, it remains unclear what the full impact of Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup will be on the project ecosystem in the capital. Combined with the giant New Murabba development and ongoing works on the King Salman Park and Sports Boulevard megaprojects, the market is not likely to settle any time soon.
And despite all the positive talk, there are still very few concrete announced investments in the gigaprojects. Yet, with its first areas already opened and other key elements well under way, Diriyah is arguably better placed than most to capitalise on this unprecedented investment opportunity.
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Regional IPO market dries up amid war
22 April 2026
> This package also includes: Damage avoidance frames debt issuance
Both the number and value of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) fell in 2025. Any hopes that the trend might be turned around this year have largely disappeared thanks to the Iran war.
Stock markets tumbled in the opening days of the conflict and, unless they have a good reason not to, most companies thinking of launching onto the stock market are likely to put their plans on hold until there is greater certainty about the direction of political and economic events.
According to global advisory firm EY, there were 49 new listings across the Mena region last year, five fewer than the year before, when activity was at a near-record level. The value of the market debuts last year dropped by far more though, with total proceeds falling to $7.3bn, down by 42% compared to the $12.5bn seen in 2024 and the lowest annual total since 2020.
One reason for this was the notable slowdown in the UAE, where confidence may have been dented by the poor performance of several new listings in recent years. In 2025, there were just three IPOs across the UAE’s markets, compared to seven the year before.
Last year’s listings included one on the Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX) and two on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), between them raising $1.1bn. The largest was the Dubai Residential Reit, which secured proceeds of $584m on the DFM in May. Technology firm Alpha Data raised $163m on the ADX in March, while construction and engineering company Alec Holding’s IPO brought in $381m in October.
Saudi surgeSaudi Arabia was by far the most active market last year – maintaining its position as the dominant bourse in the region. It hosted 39 IPOs, including 15 on the Tadawul main market and 24 on the junior Nomu market. Between them, these raised $4.9bn, or two-thirds of the regional total, with the majority coming via the main market listings.
Across the other GCC states, there were just two listings: Asyad Shipping Company on the Muscat Stock Exchange, which netted proceeds of $333m in March 2025, and Action Energy Company on the Boursa Kuwait, which raised $180m in December.
Bahrain and Qatar saw no new listings and the total of 44 IPOs for the six-country Gulf bloc was the lowest since 2021.
Activity outside the Gulf was even more limited, although the five IPOs last year – three on Morocco’s Casablanca Stock Exchange and two on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) – was the most since 2018.
These listings raised a little more than $700m between them, with the largest being the $525m secured by construction company Societe Generale des Travaux du Maroc on the Casablanca bourse late in the year.
The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market proved more robust in 2025, with 635 deals completed in the region last year. That marked a 33% year-on-year rise and saw the market return to its 2022 peak, according to global professional services company PwC.
The total included 238 inbound M&A deals, up from 182 the year before – and was the first significant rise in foreign investment since 2023. From within the region, sovereign wealth funds played a central role, in line with their mandates to help diversify their home economies.
The total of 44 IPOs for the six-country Gulf bloc [in 2025] was the lowest since 2021
Optimism dampened
At the turn of the year there had been some optimism about the potential for the IPO market to also start accelerating. In a report in January, Fitch Ratings said: “The initial public offering and debt capital market pipelines [in the GCC] remain robust into 2026.”
EY said 18 companies and funds had expressed an intention to list in the first quarter, including 16 in Saudi Arabia alone.
The reality has been very different, with just a handful of listings across the Arab world in the first quarter of the year.
Among the few deals, high-end supermarket chain Gourmet Egypt listed on the EGX on 1 February, raising $28m and, in the process, becoming the first food and beverage retailer on the exchange.
The market in the Gulf has almost dried up, although a couple of deals have gone ahead since the war began on 28 February.
There was just one new listing on the Saudi Tadawul in the first quarter, with construction firm Saleh Abdulaziz Al-Rashed & Sons raising $67m via its debut on 11 March.
Retailer Trolley General Trading Company also listed on the Premier Market of Boursa Kuwait via a private placement in March. EFG Hermes, which acted as a global coordinator and bookrunner on the transaction, said the size of the offer had been increased from 30% of the company’s issued share capital to 35% due to strong investor demand, with total proceeds reaching $195m.
Co-head of investment banking at EFG Hermes, Karim Meleka, described it as “a successful transaction in an uncertain market”. It was also the largest IPO in the Middle East and Africa in Q1 2026, according to financial data provider Dealogic.
The prospects for the rest of the year have been badly dented by the war, in line with the dimmer economic outlook. In its latest forecast, issued in April, the World Bank said it expects GDP growth across the GCC to slow to 1.3% this year, compared to the prediction of 4.4% growth it made in January.
If a lasting peace deal can be agreed, then some sectors could see a quick rebound, but some key areas of economic activity, such as tourism, could take far longer to recover. And the pain will not be evenly spread. The World Bank expects Saudi Arabia will post 3.1% growth in GDP this year, but the economies of Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar will contract by 8.6%, 6.4% and 5.7%, respectively.
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Consultant appointed for Expo Valley Views project
22 April 2026
Expo City Dubai has appointed local firm SSH to provide lead design consultancy and construction supervision services for its Expo Valley Views residential project.
In a statement, SSH said its scope includes lead design consultancy across architecture and interior design; structural, mechanical, electrical and civil engineering; roads and infrastructure; and public realm and landscape design, along with construction supervision services.
Expo Valley Views is an upcoming multi-building complex featuring eight residential buildings offering 800 apartments.
The appointment follows Expo City Dubai’s selection of Engineering Contracting Company as the main contractor for its Sidr Residences project in October last year.
Sidr Residences comprises three residential towers connected by three common basements, ground floors and mezzanine floors. Two towers will be 15 storeys high and one will be 13 storeys high.
The development will offer 455 one- to four-bedroom apartments, lofts and townhouses, and is slated for completion by 2027.
Expo City Dubai has recently launched several real estate projects at the Expo 2020 Dubai site, including Expo Valley, Mangrove Residences, Sky Residences, Sidr Residences and Al-Waha Residences.
The developments will be built close to the Dubai Exhibition Centre, for which Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum approved the masterplan last year.
Expo City will gradually expand to cover a total area of 3.5 square kilometres, with facilities for 35,000 residents and 40,000 professionals.
Dubai real estate developments continue to dominate the UAE’s construction market, with schemes worth more than $323bn in execution or planning.
This aligns with a GlobalData forecast projecting the UAE construction sector will grow by 3% in real terms in 2026, supported by infrastructure, energy and utilities, and residential construction projects.
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Damage avoidance frames debt issuance
22 April 2026
It is still early days, but Gulf fixed-income markets appear to have averted the worst of the conflict, with limited selloffs witnessed during the first six weeks of the Iran war.
This reflects a strong tailwind for GCC debt capital markets (DCM) in 2026, for both conventional and sukuk (Islamic bonds) – even if geopolitical turmoil may upend issuers’ best-laid plans.
Issuers started this year on the front foot, with Fitch Ratings recording $1.2bn in outstanding issuance as of 9 March, an increase of 14% in year-on-year terms, almost two-thirds of which is denominated in US dollars.
Those issuers were taking a long-lens view of their funding priorities looking forward. Despite that, there is a strong sense that Gulf markets have been hit harder than other emerging markets by the Iran conflict. For example, in the first trading week after the US-Israel attacks on Iran on 28 February, Asian investors were reducing their exposure to Gulf sovereign and corporate paper.
Pressure on sukuk
The impact on the sukuk market has been particularly pronounced. According to Fitch Ratings, the global sukuk market experienced a notable slowdown in dollar issuance during March, following strong activity in the first two months of 2026.“If you look at the numbers for the first quarter of 2026 overall, the volume of sukuk issuance is slightly up, but the volume of issuance in FX [foreign exchange] is definitely down,” says Mohamed Damak, senior director, financial services at S&P Global Ratings.
“And the volume of issuance in FX in March was supported by some transactions that were announced before the start of the war.”
If there is a much more protracted conflict or with a much more severe implication on the economy, there could be a much more severe implication on the overall volume of issuance in the GCC. But the numbers as of the end-March indicate this is still not yet fully visible.
“The drop in the volume of issuance in FX is just 12% compared with March 2025, and the overall volume of issuance in local currency and foreign currency is still up by 2.3% year-on-year,” says Damak.
Strong foundationsLast year proved an active one for Gulf DCM issuance. Overall, GCC countries accounted for 35% of all emerging market dollar debt issuance in 2025 (excluding China). According to Kuwait-based Markaz, primary debt issuances of bonds and sukuk in the GCC amounted to $189.47bn, through 515 issuances, up 28.13% on 2024.
“Prior to the conflict, GCC DCMs were performing strongly and building clear momentum,” says Bashar Al-Natoor, global head of Islamic finance at Fitch Ratings. “Most GCC issuers maintained robust market access throughout 2025 and into early 2026.”
Combined GCC issuance in January and February 2026 reached about $73bn, marking a 14.5% increase from the previous year, according to Fitch. “Sovereign and quasi-sovereign issuers remained foundational to the GCC DCM, but corporate and institutional participation was steadily rising, driven by favourable financing conditions,” says Al-Natoor.
Kingdom equation
Saudi Arabia made an auspicious start to 2026, raising $11.5bn on international markets in January, in a sale that was three times oversubscribed.
Saudi debt issuance forms part of the kingdom’s wider plans for increased borrowing, framed not just to plug a widening fiscal deficit, but also to take on a greater burden of debt repayment. The kingdom’s outstanding central government debt portfolio reached SR1.52tn ($405.15bn) by the end of 2025, about one-third of GDP.
The kingdom’s National Debt Management Centre’s long-term plan envisages 45%-60% of borrowing from domestic and international DCM, the latter comprising about $14bn-$20bn.
The Public Investment Fund sold $2bn of bonds on the London Stock Exchange in January, an issuance that was more than five times oversubscribed. In 2025, monthly Saudi debt issuance averaged $6.4bn a year, more than double the figure seen two years earlier.
Saudi banks’ interest in bonds is driven by a need to support loan activity, with credit outpacing deposits. Issuing bonds will help close a rise in the loan-deposit ratio, which is well above 100%.
“You would expect to see probably a lower level of issuance in Saudi Arabia, where the banks were contributing to a significant amount of issuance. They will probably see lower landing growth this year, which could result in lower overall refinancing needs,” says Damak.
The UAE is another prominent Gulf issuer that entered 2026 with a robust pipeline of DCM activity in the works.
Last year, issuance of $47.71bn absorbed a quarter of all GCC issuance, a 24% increase on 2024. That put it comfortably ahead of Kuwait on $23.7bn, and Qatar on $22.47bn, although one of the fastest increases in DCM issuance last year was from Bahrain, which raised $11.24bn, a 63% increase on the previous year.
UAE DCM was expected to exceed $350bn this year, notes Fitch Ratings, supported by strong sukuk issuance and the need to diversify funding sources. Dollar sukuk issuance in the UAE last year grew on 21.4% in 2024.
Ceasefire dependency
Much will inevitably hinge on the evolution of the Iran conflict. Here, it may pay to take the long-lens view, say analysts. “The liquidity declines observed in the Middle East and North Africa and GCC sukuk are unlikely to be permanent,” says Fitch’s Al-Natoor.
“As stability returns and the ceasefire holds, liquidity is expected to gradually recover, although the pace of recovery will be heavily dependent on investor confidence and sentiment.”Al-Natoor emphasises that the market itself has not undergone a structural transformation. Instead, some investors have repriced risk and adjusted premiums to reflect heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
“This distinction matters, as the underlying fundamentals of GCC credit remain intact, with the majority of issuers holding stable outlooks. Notably, the number of GCC issuers placed on Rating Watch Negative increased during this period, reflecting elevated uncertainty.”
Rating Watch Negative flags that the rating is under review and could be resolved either by affirmation or downgrade, depending on subsequent developments.
“Perceptions and risk appetite may take time to recalibrate,” says Al-Natoor.
“Despite that, there has been some private placement activity during this period, which hints that investors may be selectively engaging with the market while monitoring developments.
“If current stability is sustained, a broader return to public markets could follow.”
This reinforces the sense that it is the sustainability and longevity of the ceasefire that will be decisive in shaping both the pace and strength of market recovery.
Fitch Rating’s base case leans towards gradual recovery in GCC DCM markets, both sukuk and conventional, rather than sustained structural damage.
“The fundamentals remain solid, but longer-term effects will ultimately depend on post-war sentiment and market access,” says Al-Natoor.
“We continue to see subdued dollar-denominated issuance, although some local currency activity persists.”
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Conflict tests UAE diversification
22 April 2026
Commentary
John Bambridge
Analysis editorThe UAE entered 2026 as the region’s strongest economic performer, with GDP forecast at 5% and construction output at a record $59bn. The Iran conflict that began on 28 February did not simply damage assets; it stress-tested the structural assumptions underpinning that performance.
This occurred across a clear fault line. Sectors with state depth behind them have largely held; sectors built on openness and connectivity have not.
Banks entered the crisis in the best shape in a decade. Capital adequacy at 17.1% and a loan-to-deposit ratio of 77.7% as of Q4 2025 gave lenders genuine capacity to absorb the shock. Emirates NBD raised $2.25bn in syndicated financing in what it described as the tightest pricing in its history. This was a clear signal that international confidence in the UAE’s financial architecture, if not its near-term growth trajectory, remains intact.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s capital programmes are also continuing. Gas processing expansion targeting 30% additional output capacity by 2030 is advancing through final investment decisions, even as Habshan – one of the programme’s key sites – sustained damage in the 3 April strikes. Infrastructure investment on a five-year horizon is not managed on six-week threat windows.
Energy infrastructure took the most visible physical hit. Export routes through the Strait of Hormuz remain constrained, Emirates Global Aluminium’s Al-Taweelah smelter faces up to a year of restoration, and the full damage assessment across Abu Dhabi’s industrial corridor is not yet complete.
Aviation, tourism and trade logistics absorbed a simultaneous shock. Airline operational capacity dropped dramatically and is still working to find a new equilibrium. Hotel occupancy fell from a reported monthly average of 86% to a weekly average below 23% within a fortnight. Prior to the conflict, Jebel Ali was the most connected container port in the Middle East, and carriers have concentrated transshipment traffic there to mitigate Red Sea disruptions. The closure of Hormuz severed the hub and unmade the logic of the recent traffic consolidation.
The transit hub paradox is now observable rather than theoretical. Dubai’s competitive advantage rests on connectivity; that connectivity is also its vulnerability. When the Gulf becomes unsafe, Dubai’s own trade does not simply freeze; its hub function collapses.
What the ceasefire opens is a recovery window, not an immediate reversal of impacts. Traveller confidence, insurer risk pricing and carrier route economics do not normalise with a political announcement. The summer travel season, which begins in May, will provide the first measurable answer to how much of the pre-conflict model is recoverable – and how quickly.
MEED’s May 2026 report on the UAE includes:
> GVT &: ECONOMY: UAE economy absorbs multi-sector shock
> BANKING: UAE banks ready to weather the storm
> ATTACKS: UAE counts energy infrastructure costs
> UPSTREAM: Adnoc builds long-term oil and gas production potential
> DOWNSTREAM: Adnoc Gas to rally UAE downstream project spending
> POWER: Large-scale IPPs drive UAE power market
> WATER: UAE water investment broadens beyond desalination
> CONSTRUCTION: War casts shadow over UAE construction boom
> TRANSPORT: UAE rail momentum grows as trade routes face strainTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16477034/main.gif -
Firms submit Qiddiya high-speed rail EPC prequalifications22 April 2026
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Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for Riyadh City, in collaboration with Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) and the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP, received bids on 16 April from firms for the engineering, procurement, construction and financing (EPCF) package of the Qiddiya high-speed rail project in Riyadh.
Firms interested in bidding for the project on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis have been given until 30 April to submit their prequalification statements, as MEED reported earlier this month.
The prequalification notice was issued on 19 January, and a project briefing session was held on 23 February at Qiddiya Entertainment City.
The Qiddiya high-speed rail project, also known as Q-Express, will connect King Salman International airport and the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) with Qiddiya City. The line will operate at speeds of up to 250 kilometres an hour, reaching Qiddiya in 30 minutes.
The line is expected to be developed in two phases. The first phase will connect Qiddiya with KAFD and King Khalid International airport.
The second phase will start from a development known as the North Pole and travel to the New Murabba development, King Salman Park, central Riyadh and Industrial City in the south of the city.
In November last year, MEED reported that more than 145 local and international companies had expressed interest in developing the project, including 68 contracting companies, 23 design and project management consultants, 16 investment firms, 12 rail operators, 10 rolling stock providers and 16 other services firms.
In November 2023, MEED reported that French consultant Egis had been appointed as the technical adviser for the project. UK-based consultancy Ernst & Young is acting as the transaction adviser, and Ashurst is the legal adviser.
Qiddiya is one of Saudi Arabia’s five official gigaprojects and covers a total area of 376 square kilometres (sq km), with 223 sq km of developed land.
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