Diriyah confirms $490m museum construction contract
27 April 2026
Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company has formally announced the award of a SR1.84bn ($490m) construction contract for its Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA) within the Diriyah development in Riyadh.
The contract has been awarded to a consortium comprising Egyptian contractor Hassan Allam Construction and Saudi Arabia’s Albawani.
In February, MEED exclusively reported that the contractors were preparing to start construction work on the project. MEED understands Diriyah Company awarded the contract to the consortium in December last year.
The announcement follows Diriyah Company’s award of an estimated SR2.5bn ($666m) contract to build the Pendry superblock package in the DG2 area.
The Pendry superblock includes the construction of the Pendry Hotel alongside residential and commercial assets. The package will cover 75,365 square metres and is located in the northwestern district of the DG2 area.
In February, Diriyah Company also awarded a SR717m ($192m) contract for the construction of the One Hotel, located in the Diriyah Two area of the masterplan, with a gross floor area of more than 31,000 sq m.
The Diriyah masterplan envisages the city as a cultural and lifestyle tourism destination. Located northwest of Riyadh city centre, it will span 14 square kilometres and combine 300 years of history, culture and heritage with hospitality facilities.
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Firms prepare bids for 250MW Airtrunk data centre
27 April 2026
Contractors are preparing to submit commercial offers by 4 May for a contract to build a 250MW data centre in Riyadh.
The project is being co-developed by Australian firm AirTrunk in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company Humain, which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The bidders include:
- El-Seif Engineering Contracting / Larsen & Toubro (local/India)
- FCC / Alfanar Projects (Spain/local)
- Albawani / Orascom (local/Egypt)
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- James L Williams (UAE)
- Alec (UAE)
In October last year, AirTrunk and Humain announced a $3bn partnership to build data centres in Saudi Arabia, marking AirTrunk’s first move into the region.
The firms said they would, along with AirTrunk investor Blackstone, “develop a long-term strategic partnership focused on financing, developing and operating next-generation data centres and AI infrastructure across the kingdom”.
This was followed by Humain signing a $1.2bn financing agreement with the state-backed National Infrastructure Fund to support the expansion of AI and digital infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia. The agreement was signed in January on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Humain said the deal will support its plan to develop up to 250MW of hyperscale AI data centre capacity in the kingdom.
According to a joint statement, the data centres will use graphics processing units for AI training and inference, serving Humain’s customers locally, regionally and globally.
The National Infrastructure Fund and Humain will also explore launching an AI data centre investment platform, with the two organisations acting as anchor investors to enable local and international institutional investors to back the scale-up of Humain’s AI programme.
The National Infrastructure Fund is Saudi Arabia’s lead development financing partner for infrastructure and operates under the supervision of the National Development Fund.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16577720/main.jpg -
UAE mandates In-Country Value for state firms
27 April 2026
The UAE Cabinet, chaired by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has approved an update to the National In-Country Value (ICV) programme that will shift it from an incentive-based framework to a mandatory requirement.
The mandate will apply to all federal entities and companies in which the UAE government holds a stake of 25% or more. The decision aims to steer government procurement and institutional demand towards national products, leveraging state spending to localise critical industries and strengthen national industrial security.
The cabinet also approved the establishment of the National Industrial Resilience Fund with a capital of AED1bn ($272m) to support the development of local industries. The fund will support the localisation of critical industries and strengthen supply chain resilience, focusing on improving industrial readiness for vital products and securing continuity of supply by leveraging artificial intelligence for forecasting and risk management.
Resources will be allocated based on national priorities, with a focus on food security, manufacturing, primary metals, and mechanical, electrical and chemical industries. Further investment will target pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, medical supplies, advanced technology and the construction sector.
“Our target is clear: fully localise more than 5,000 critical products,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “We are launching an AED1bn fund to strengthen resilience, expand local production, secure supply chains, and scale the use of artificial intelligence across production and operations.”
MEED’s May 2026 report on the UAE includes:
> COMMENT: Conflict tests UAE diversification
> GVT &: ECONOMY: UAE economy absorbs multi-sector shock
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> ATTACKS: UAE counts energy infrastructure costs
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> 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/16577427/main.jpg -
UAE GDP projection corrects on conflict
24 April 2026
MEED’s May 2026 report on the UAE includes:
> COMMENT: Conflict tests UAE diversification
> 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/16554417/main.gif -
April 2026: Data drives regional projects
24 April 2026
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MEED’s May 2026 report on the UAE includes:
> COMMENT: Conflict tests UAE diversification
> 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/16553627/main.gif -
Boutique Group tenders Tuwaiq Palace hotel in Riyadh24 April 2026
Saudi Arabia’s Boutique Group, backed by the sovereign wealth vehicle Public Investment Fund (PIF), has retendered a contract to convert Tuwaiq Palace in Riyadh into a hotel.
Contractors have been given a deadline of 31 May to submit proposals.
The scheme comprises 40 hotel rooms and suites and 56 one- and two-bedroom villas.
According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the contract was first tendered in 2022.
In January of that year, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman launched Boutique Group to manage and convert historic and cultural Saudi palaces into ultra-luxury hotels.
Boutique Group’s first phase covers three palaces, two of which are under construction. Al-Hamra Palace in Jeddah is being converted to include 33 suites and 44 villas. In July 2023, MEED reported that Jeddah-based Al-Redwan Contracting was appointed the main contractor for the Al-Hamra Palace conversion.
The other project is the Red Palace in Riyadh, which will feature 46 suites and 25 guest rooms. In 2023, local contractor Mobco won the contract to undertake the project.
In 1957, the Red Palace became the headquarters of the Council of Ministers for 30 years, and later served as the main office for the Board of Grievances until 2002.
Jordan-headquartered Dar Al-Omran is acting as supervision consultant on all three projects.
Photo credits: Omrania
MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:
> COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
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> BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
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> TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure pushTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16549695/main.jpg