French firm wins $1bn of Qatar road contracts
26 August 2025
The Qatari subsidiary of Waagner Biro, which is owned by French firm Egis, has won two contracts worth QR3.5bn ($961m) for the operations and maintenance of two schemes in Qatar.
The contracts were awarded by the Qatar Public Works Authority (Ashghal).
The first contract is worth QR2.6bn ($713m) and covers the operations and maintenance of strategic highways.
The other contract, valued at QR898m ($246m), covers the operations and maintenance of intelligent transportation systems.
Ashghal's official description of its road operations and maintenance department involves:
- Taking over the road assets after completion by the contractor until expiry of their prescribed maintenance period, and handing them over to the Transport & Communications Ministry
- Developing and managing traffic control systems and traffic signals
- Periodic maintenance of roads, tunnels and bridges
- Installation and maintenance of street lighting devices, traffic signs and signals
- Performing emergency maintenance works on roads, tunnels and bridges
- Receiving complaints from the public concerning roads, and resolving those complaints
- Management of works within the road corridor in accordance with the established laws
The contract awards follow the awarding of two contracts worth QR3.3bn ($931m) in July for the completion, operations and maintenance of schemes in Qatar North and Qatar South.
The first contract, for the Qatar North scheme, is worth over QR1.6bn ($446m) and was awarded to a joint venture of local firms Al-Mohannadi for Roads & Trading & Contracting and Aktor Qatar.
A QR1.7bn ($480m) contract for the Qatar South scheme was awarded to a joint venture of Beijing-headquartered China Harbour Engineering Company and local firm Alcat Contracting.
According to the official notice, the contracts will have a duration of seven years, with an option of three-year extensions.
These contract awards followed the announcement of Ashghal’s five-year project plan, valued at about QR81bn ($22bn). The plan covers a range of infrastructure projects to be implemented between 2025 and 2029.
Market overview
After 2019, there was a consistent year-on-year decline in contract awards in Qatar’s construction and transport sectors. The total value of awards in that year was $13.5bn, but by 2023 it had fallen to just over $1.2bn.
In 2024, the value of project contract awards increased to $1.7bn, bucking the downward trend in the market in the preceding four years.
Of last year’s figure, the construction sector accounted for contract awards of over $1.2bn, while transport contract awards were about $200m.
There are strategic projects worth more than $5bn in the bidding phase and these are expected to provide renewed impetus to the construction and transportation market, presenting opportunities to contractors in the near term.
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The request for qualifications (RFQs) was issued by the municipality’s Sewerage and Recycled Water Projects Department (SRPD).
The bid submission deadline is 26 February.
The first scheme under the package is TF-16-C1, which involves upgrading and rehabilitating the stormwater system east of the Dubai Canal.
The second, TF-15-C2, will deliver stormwater links along Umm Suqeim Road to serve the Al-Barsha and Al-Quoz communities.
The third project, TF-13-C1, focuses on developing a drainage system for the Al-Marmum area.
Several engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts have been awarded under the Tasreef initiative, which aims to expand Dubai’s rainwater drainage capacity by 700% by 2033
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READ THE FEBRUARY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFSpending on oil and gas production surges; Doha’s efforts support extraordinary growth in 2026; Water sector regains momentum in 2025.
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Modon tenders Ras El-Hekma construction contracts
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Abu Dhabi-based developer Modon Holding has tendered several contracts as part of the first phase of development at Ras El-Hekma, a planned new city on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.
MEED understands that the tenders were issued in January.
These include:
DP3 assets: covering 146 residential villas, 590 three-bedroom townhouses, 356 four-bedroom townhouses, a mall and other associated works.
Bids due on 23 February.
DP4 assets: DP4 includes 54 villas, a clubhouse and other associated infrastructure.
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Bids due on 17 March.
DP7 assets: 120 five-bedroom villas, 230 seven-bedroom villas, 284 branded residential units and other infrastructural works.
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Modon has accelerated development works at Ras El-Hekma this year. In January, MEED reported that Modon Holding had awarded a E£15bn ($316m) contract for the construction of a project at Ras El-Hekma.
The contract was awarded to the local firm Orascom Construction.
The scope of the contract covers the construction of residential units, commercial facilities and a 70-key hotel.
In September, MEED reported that Modon Holding had tendered contracts for the infrastructure works for the first phase of the Ras El-Hekma project.
As part of the first phase, Modon plans to develop more than 50 million square metres (sq m), including hotels and a marina.
Ras El-Hekma is on a spur of land on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean coastline, about 240 kilometres west of Alexandria.
Last year, Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ appointed Modon Holding as the master developer for the Ras El-Hekma project.
According to an official statement, Modon will act as the master developer for the entire development, which will cover more than 170 million sq m.
Modon Holding will develop the first phase of the project, which will cover 50 million sq m.
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In September 2024, Modon signed several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with local and international firms to join the development. It signed a framework agreement with Orascom Construction to serve as the primary contractor for the project’s first phase.
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Commercial International Bank Egypt (CIB) has provided €58m in credit facilities to local firm Elsewedy Electric for the construction of a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in Hungary.
Located in Visonta, the plant will be the largest combined-cycle facility built in Hungary in decades and the country’s first power plant capable of using hydrogen.
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AD Ports signs Jordan Aqaba port PPP deal
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AD Ports will manage and operate the port under a 30-year concession agreement.
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AD Ports will hold a 70% stake in the joint venture, with the remaining 30% held by ADC.
AD Ports Group will also invest AED141m ($38.4m) in the joint venture.
The signing ceremony was held at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority headquarters in Aqaba on 5 February.
The agreement was signed by Hussein Safadi, CEO of ADC, and Ahmed Al-Mutawa, regional CEO of AD Ports Group.
Aqaba port handles about 80% of Jordan’s exports and 65% of its imports.
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The Al-Madouneh customs centre covers about 1.3 million square metres (sq m) and was inaugurated in June last year.
The announcement followed AD Ports Group’s signing of a shareholders’ agreement in January 2024 between its digital arm, Maqta Gateway, and Jordan’s Aqaba Development Corporation regarding their existing joint-venture company, Maqta Ayla.
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Chinese firm wins Ceer automotive supplier park deal
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Beijing-headquartered Metallurgical Construction Corporation (MCC) has won a contract to undertake the steel structure works on the Ceer automotive supplier park in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).
The supplier park is located next to Ceer’s electric vehicle (EV) production facility in KAEC.
The automotive supplier park will include production and ancillary facilities for various suppliers and provide the material supply infrastructure for Ceer’s EV plant.
The facilities include:
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Ceer retendered the project in September last year.
The latest contract award is another significant contract win for MCC in Saudi Arabia. In January, MEED reported that MCC had won a contract to undertake the steel structure works on Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium at the Qiddiya City project on the outskirts of Riyadh.
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