Egypt announces $19bn Red Sea Marassi project
10 September 2025
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Egyptian developers Emaar Misr and City Stars have launched the £E900bn ($19bn) Red Sea Marassi project on Egypt’s Hurghada coast.
The development spans more than 10 square kilometres (sq km) and is located near Hurghada International airport. It features a 1.5-kilometre beachfront, 400 metres of sea docks, 12 hotels and more than 500 retail facilities.
The masterplan also includes residential areas, schools, hospitals, a convention centre and associated infrastructure.
Emaar Misr is a subsidiary of UAE-based real estate developer Emaar Properties and the Al-Sharbatly Group.
The Red Sea Marassi project is the latest major real estate development to be announced in Egypt recently. Last year, Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ launched the estimated $35bn Ras El-Hekma project – a planned new city on the Mediterranean coast.
Ras El-Hekma is located on a spur of land along Egypt’s northern coastline, about 240km west of Alexandria. The greenfield development is planned as a combined business and leisure destination, featuring hotels, recreational facilities, a free zone, a financial district and residential components.
The master development is projected to attract over $150bn in investment.
The project spans approximately 170 million square metres (sq m).
According to an official statement: “The project forms part of a broader strategy to reassess and optimise coastal real estate assets, maximise state revenues and support Egypt's national plan to attract around $42bn in foreign direct investment during the current fiscal year.”
UK-based data analytics firm GlobalData expects Egypt’s construction industry to grow by 4.7% in real terms in 2025, supported by rising net foreign direct investment and increased government spending on real estate, renewable energy, and industrial projects.
According to the Central Bank of Egypt, net foreign direct investment into Egypt rose by 9.3% year-on-year in the first two quarters of the 2024-25 fiscal year.
READ THE SEPTEMBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF
Doha’s Olympic bid; Kuwait’s progress on crucial reforms reinforces sentiment; Downstream petrochemicals investments take centre stage
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the September 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
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> OLYMPICS: Qatar banks on infrastructure for Olympic bid
> QATAR TOURISM: Olympics bid aims to extend tourism gains
> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Syria charts post-war reconstruction course
> INDUSTRY REPORT: Regional chemicals spending set to soar
> DOWNSTREAM: Adnoc set to become a chemicals major
> SAUDI STADIUMS: Stadiums become main event for Saudi construction
> CONSTRUCTION: Middle East to be a growth leader for global construction
> LEADERSHIP: Dubai’s sea-air logistics model powers resilient trade
> KUWAIT MARKET FOCUS: Kuwait’s political hiatus brings opportunity
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Historically, this was measured in oil barrels and export volumes. Increasingly, this is extending to capital, structuring expertise and the ability to deliver record-low tariffs in competitive markets.
Announcing the deal, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said tariffs for the plants would be the country’s lowest on record, with electricity purchased under 25-year power purchase agreements.
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Whether Saudi-backed companies ultimately retain long-term stakes or primarily develop and build the assets, their role at the front end is significant.
Sponsors that bring sovereign backing, clear procurement processes and access to low-cost financing can influence tariffs and contract terms from the outset.
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Saudi Arabia appoints new investment minister13 February 2026
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King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has made a series of senior government changes, including Khalid Al-Falih leaving his role as investment minister to become minister of state and a member of the cabinet.
Al-Falih has been replaced by Fahad Al-Saif as investment minister. Al-Saif has been head of the Investment Strategy and Economic Insights Division at the Public Investment Fund (PIF) since 2024. That role involved formulating PIF’s long-term investment strategy. He has also served as head of the Global Capital Finance Division, a role he has held since joining PIF in 2021.
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King Salman also named Abdullah Al-Maghlouth as vice-minister of media and Abdulmohsen Al-Mazyad as vice-minister of tourism. Khalid Al-Yousef was named attorney general, and Sheikh Ali Al-Ahaideb will serve as president of the Board of Grievances.
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Indian firm wins major Oman substation contract12 February 2026

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Developers appoint contractor for $500m wastewater treatment project12 February 2026

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Egypt’s Orascom Construction has won the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a major wastewater treatment project in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
A consortium of Saudi utilities provider Marafiq, the regional business of France’s Veolia and Bahrain/Saudi Arabia-based Lamar Holding is developing the $500m (SR1.875bn) industrial wastewater treatment plant (IWWTP) in Jubail Industrial City 2.
Sources close to the project confirmed the appointment to MEED, adding that the project has now entered the construction phase.
Industry sources also said that financial close on the project is expected to be reached in the coming days.
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