meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Events in January will shape Saudi market in 2024

1 February 2024

 

Register for MEED's guest programme 

January was a pivotal month for Saudi Arabia with a series of significant events that will shape how the market performs in 2024.

The month started well with major project deals signed that boosted confidence further after the market recorded its best-ever total value of contracts awarded. That optimism was tempered later in the month as fresh concerns over the outlook for project spending emerged after a high-profile corruption case and a government directive instructing Saudi Aramco to halt its plans to increase the kingdom’s oil production capacity.

Oil decision

In a statement on 30 January, Aramco said it had received a directive from the energy ministry to maintain its maximum sustainable capacity (MSC) at 12 million barrels a day (b/d). The state energy giant had previously been set a target of achieving an oil output spare capacity of 13 million b/d by 2027.

While some have interpreted the decision as a political move aimed at propping up the global oil price, others say it has been made to reduce capital expenditure commitments so Aramco can make larger dividend payments to its shareholders. The government holds a 90% share of the company, the PIF owns an 8% stake, and the remaining 2% of the shares are listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

Building boom

For construction, the largest contract award in January was the $4.7bn deal signed by Italy’s WeBuild to deliver three dams at the Trojena mountain resort in Neom that will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Other major deals included the SR1.8bn deal signed by Dubai-based Alec for constructing the Ilmi Centre at Misk, and the local MBL being selected for the contract to build the opera house at Jeddah Central.

Meanwhile at Al Ula, the kingdom’s Oversight & Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has suspended the CEO of the Royal Commission for Al Ula Governorate on the grounds of corruption and money-laundering charges. The charges against the executive, Amr Bin Saleh Abdul Rahman Al Madani, relate to his activities both before and during his role at the Royal Commission, involving the awards of contracts to a company named National Talents Company (TalentS).

Economic forecasts

These developments came amid a backdrop of mixed economic data. In mid-January, the Washington-based IMF revised the expected real GDP growth figure for Saudi Arabia in 2024 to 2.7%, down from the projection of 4% that it made three months earlier in October. The downgraded forecast reflects Saudi Arabia’s deepening oil production cuts.

Saudi Arabia’s additional voluntary cuts are by far the deepest by Opec+, with Riyadh agreeing to cut its oil production by a further 1 million barrels a day (b/d) through to the end of Q1 2024 – a cut double the size of the voluntary 500,000 b/d reduction by Russia – the next largest – for the same period.

Despite Western sanctions, Russia has also overtaken Saudi Arabia as China’s biggest source of oil imports in 2023. According to Chinese customs data released on 22 January, China – the largest oil importer in the world – purchased a record 107.2 million tonnes of crude oil from Russia last year, about 25% more than in 2022. Falling by 1.8%, China imported about 86 million tonnes of oil from Saudi Arabia.

A more positive indicator for Saudi Arabia is FDI. The kingdom’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows increased by 29.1% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the previous three months, according to the Saudi Central Bank.

FDI inflows reached SR7.99bn ($2.13bn), rising from SR6.2bn recorded in the previous quarter. The announcement follows last year’s amendment of the country’s FDI calculation methodology by the government in Riyadh, showing that inflows doubled from 2015 to 2022.

Debt deals

As the economic outlook cools, Riyadh has tapped the debt markets. At the start of January, the Finance Ministry said it expects to borrow $23bn in 2024. The financing will be used to finance the deficit in the state budget and to pay existing debt that matures. The ministry added that by the end of 2024, it expects the kingdom’s total debt portfolio to reach SR1.115tn, which is about 29 per cent of GDP. That announcement was quickly followed by the issuance of $12bn of bonds under Saudi Arabia’s Global Medium-Term Note Issuance Programme (GMTN). Later in January, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) completed a $5bn bond issuance.

Both the government and the PIF could receive a cash boost from selling more shares in Saudi Aramco on the Tadawul. On 31 January, Bloomberg reported that the kingdom is working with a group of advisers and is seeking to potentially raise at least $10bn.

These developments are important for the projects sector. According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, there are contracts valued at $181bn at the tender stage in the kingdom. The prospects for many of these pending deals will be shaped by what happened in January.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11481164/main.gif
Colin Foreman

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Consultant wins Dubai Al-Maktoum airport metro link

    11 September 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    US-based engineering firm Aecom has won a design contract for the Route 2020 extension, which will start from the Expo 2020 metro station and connect with Al-Maktoum International airport’s West Terminal.

    Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) awarded the contract.

    The extension will run about 3 kilometres (km) and include two stations.

    MEED understands the invitation to bid was issued in January, with a submission deadline in mid-March.

    The existing Route 2020 metro link is a 15km-long line that branches off the Red Line at Jebel Ali metro station. The line comprises 11.8km of elevated tracks and 3.2km of tunnels, and has five elevated stations and two underground stations.

    The RTA awarded the AED10.6bn ($2.9bn) design-and-build contract for the project to a consortium of Spain’s Acciona, Turkiye’s Gulermak and France’s Alstom in 2016.

    The RTA also selected Aecom to provide consultancy services for the upcoming Dubai Metro Gold Line project, also known as Metro Line 4, in October last year, as MEED reported.

    The Gold Line will start at Al-Ghubaiba in Bur Dubai. It will run parallel to – and alleviate pressure on – the existing Red Line, before heading inland to Business Bay, Meydan, Global Village and residential developments in Dubailand.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19571676/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Saudi Arabia sets October deadline for Mecca metro design

    11 September 2026

     

    The Royal Commission for Makkah City & Holy Sites (RCMC) has set a deadline of 14 October for a contract covering the initial design studies for its long-planned metro network in the holy city.

    The scope includes reviewing existing studies, preparing a concept design, conducting land acquisition studies, developing an integration concept for future phases and other related studies.

    The notice was issued in May, with an initial submission deadline of 5 August, as MEED reported.

    In September last year, RCMC invited contractors to attend an early market engagement meeting for the project.

    In an explanatory document inviting companies to attend the event, the RCMC’s General Transport Centre said it was seeking to gauge market interest in the multibillion-dollar project and obtain feedback on its proposed procurement approach.

    MEED exclusively reported in June last year that the project was restarting. Current plans envisage a four-line network, named lines A-D, with 89 stations and three depots, to be implemented over three phases between 2032 and 2045.

    Project scope

    Stage 1 focuses on lines B and C, involving 2.4 kilometres of tunnelling under the Masar project and integration with the existing Mashaer line.

    The network will run just over 62km and comprise 31 stations, 21 of which will be underground, including three iconic stations. A total of 19.5km will run through tunnels, while 41.2km will be elevated, with the remainder at grade.

    The 66 required trainsets are projected to provide a daily passenger capacity of about 450,000, equating to annual ridership of 171 million.

    The 84.7km-long second phase, due to be operational by 2038, will extend the two lines towards the outskirts of Mecca and includes construction of the initial inner and central segments of lines A and D.

    Comprising 61.1km elevated and 18.6km underground, Phase 2 is planned to add 45 stations serving the two new lines, as well as two depots and a potential interconnection with the planned Saudi Landbridge. The 59 trainsets for Phase 2 will increase the network’s projected total annual passenger capacity to more than 500 million.

    Phase 3 covers the elevated 36km extension of lines A and D and involves procurement of a further 72 trainsets, increasing the network’s ultimate passenger capacity to 1.2 million daily and 642 million annually by completion in 2045.

    Associated development

    The metro plan also envisages several transit-oriented developments (TODs) at different points on the route. These will typically comprise commercial, residential and retail elements to maximise the investment case.

    The client’s proposed procurement approach involves three distinct packages: civil and systems works, TODs, and operations and maintenance.

    The initial concept calls for some of the project to be delivered on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, wherein the private sector, through special purpose vehicles, will part-finance, build, operate and then transfer commercially viable elements of the scheme.

    The then-called Mecca Mass Rail Transit Company (MMRTC) first launched the metro project in 2013; however, the scheme has faltered for more than a decade due to funding issues, land acquisition challenges and scope changes.

    The relaunch of the procurement process raises hopes that the project will now come to fruition, although it is likely to be at least 18 months before any definitive works start.

    Mecca is home to Saudi Arabia’s first metro, the nine-station, 18km-long Mashaer line, which opened in 2010. It operates only seven days a year during Hajj, but carries more than 2 million pilgrims during that time.

    Some 30 million pilgrims visit the city each year, with this number set to grow. A known, quantifiable and growing demand base will help facilitate the use of a PPP mechanism if the framework is adopted.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19569659/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Consortiums submit bids for Sadara cogeneration plant

    11 September 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    At least three consortiums have submitted bids for the contract to develop and operate a cogeneration steam and power plant catering to the Sadara petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia.

    The planned independent steam and power plant (ISPP) project will have a capacity for 400MW-450MW of combined-cycle electricity generation and 550-700 tonnes an hour of steam.

    According to sources, bids were submitted for the contract at the end of August.

    The consortium bidders include: 

    • Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) / Samsung C&T (South Korea)
    • Al-Jomaih Energy & Water (Saudi Arabia) / Albawani (Saudi Arabia) / Sepco 3 (China)
    • Acwa (Saudi Arabia), Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) / Doosan Enerbility (South Korea)

    Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) is the project client. It is the downstream joint venture of Saudi Aramco and US-headquartered Dow Chemical.

    The estimated $500m project includes construction of a power plant, substations, a seawater intake system and associated switchyards and switchgear.

    The project will also include gas turbines and a back-pressure steam turbine, as well as facilities for steam production.

    In 2024, MEED exclusively reported that Sadara had prequalified potential bidders for the project. It is understood that the request for proposals was issued towards the end of last year.

    The first units at the $20bn Sadara petrochemicals complex in Jubail began production in 2016, and the complex became operational in 2017.

    The Sadara complex is designed to produce more than 3 million tonnes a year (t/y) of chemicals and performance plastics, including polyurethanes, propylene oxide, propylene glycol, elastomers, polyethylene, glycol ethers and amines.

    Construction is also continuing on the Najim cogeneration facility, which will supply the Amiral petrochemicals complex with up to 475MW of power and approximately 452 tonnes an hour of steam.

    Previously known as the Amiral cogeneration independent steam and power plant, the project is being developed by a team comprising Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Japanese power generation company Jera.

    South Korean contractor Samsung C&T is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19567716/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • UAE plans 150km Boring Company tunnel network

    11 September 2026

    The UAE plans to build more than 150 kilometres of underground tunnel with US tunnelling firm The Boring Company, in a programme backed by a $3bn funding round the UAE led.

    The Series D round values the Boring Company at $23bn, about four times the $5.7bn it was worth after a 2022 funding round. The UAE and affiliated investment entities led the round, which will accelerate a partnership to deploy underground infrastructure across the UAE, the firm said.

    The 150km target marks a substantial expansion of the company’s footprint in the country, extending work already committed through the Dubai Loop project. It contrasts sharply with what has been contracted so far. The Boring Company has signed a construction contract with Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) for the pilot phase of Dubai Loop, covering a 6.4km route and four stations linking Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Dubai Mall. The pilot is expected to cost about AED565m ($154m), with tunnelling due to begin in the second half of this year.

    The 150km figure therefore represents an ambition for the wider partnership rather than a contracted volume, with the bulk of the network yet to be tendered, designed or awarded. No timeframe has been attached to the target.

    A second Dubai Loop phase will connect Dubai World Trade Centre and DIFC with Business Bay, extending the tunnels to 22km across 19 stations. The total cost across both phases is expected to be about AED2bn ($545m), with completion scheduled within three years. The pilot route is projected to carry about 13,000 passengers a day, rising to about 30,000 a day across the full route.

    Other investors in the round include Human Capital, Vy Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Temasek, Shamal Holding and Baron Capital. The proceeds will also fund hiring, the scaling of the company’s Loop transit systems in the US cities of Las Vegas and Nashville, and further development of its Prufrock tunnel-boring machines, which it says can operate in both soft ground and hard rock.

    The RTA and the Boring Company signed a memorandum of understanding in February last year to explore developing the Dubai Loop, and the construction contract followed in February this year. In May, US engineering firm Parsons was appointed as programme manager for the pilot phase, with a scope covering independent design verification, permitting and multidisciplinary design reviews.

    The appointment comes amid a broader shift towards underground construction across the Gulf, as metro, sewerage and highway works in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar increasingly default to tunnelling.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19567623/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Heisco wins $359m oil contract in Kuwait

    11 September 2026

    Kuwait-based Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) has been awarded a contract worth KD111.05m ($359m) to develop storage tanks for Kuwait’s Jurassic Light Oil (JLO) export facilities, according to a stock market filing.

    The scope of the contract includes civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation works, as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the tanks.

    The contract was awarded by India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the main contractor for a broader project to develop JLO storage and export facilities in Kuwait, as well as upgrade Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC’s) existing export network.

    The $979.2m main contract for this broader project was awarded to L&T on 15 July.

    The contract for Heisco’s scope of work has a time period of 42 months, according to its stock market filing.

    Oil crisis

    Kuwait’s oil and gas sector is currently in crisis due to the regional war that started after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

    The war has severely disrupted exports through the Strait of Hormuz, which Kuwait relies on in order to ship crude exports.

    It has also disrupted imports of equipment and materials for projects, raising project costs.

    Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah, deputy chairman and CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), the country’s national oil company, has described the current conflict as the biggest oil crisis the country has faced since Iraq’s 1990 invasion.

    Despite the significant reduction in crude exports, Kuwait’s state-owned oil companies have continued to tender some projects.

    Export facilities

    The scope of work under the contract awarded to L&T in July includes the EPC of six new crude oil storage tanks, each with an operating capacity of 618,000 barrels, along with associated facilities, the Mumbai-headquartered company said on 29 July.

    The project also involves “the installation of new pipelines and comprehensive upgrades to Kuwait’s existing crude loading and export network, to seamlessly accommodate increased production and enhance the country’s crude handling capabilities”, the Bombay Stock Exchange-listed company said.

    L&T also said that the contract will be executed on a lump-sum turnkey basis.

    Only two companies submitted bids for the contract in October last year:

    • L&T (India): KD303.5m ($988m)
    • Petrofac (UK): KD310.6m ($1.01bn)

    Following bid submission, KPC discussed the potential cancellation of the tender due to bids coming in significantly over budget and Petrofac becoming ineligible to win contracts in Kuwait.

    The contractor was temporarily barred from participating in tenders in Kuwait’s oil and gas sector in December last year.

    Petrofac received the ban after the company announced it had applied to appoint administrators, a move that potentially put thousands of jobs at risk and increased uncertainty for projects worth billions of dollars in the Middle East and North Africa region.

    Despite discussions about cancelling the tender, KPC ultimately decided to proceed with the award process because it considered the project a high priority.

    One source previously told MEED: “Around the same time, projects worth around $8bn were cancelled because of bids coming in over budget, but this one has gone ahead because KPC sees it as an essential project.”

    The project was originally tendered in November 2024, with a bid deadline of 1 December the same year. The bid deadline was extended several times before bids were ultimately submitted.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19556019/main.png
    Wil Crisp