meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

What happens in Georgia matters to the Gulf

28 May 2024

 

Register for MEED's guest programme 

The ongoing demonstration of tens of thousands of ordinary Georgians against the reintroduction of a so-called “foreign influence” bill is an emerging source of uncertainty for investors at home and abroad, including in the Arab Gulf States.

Backed by the governing Georgian Dream party, the controversial legislation requires media and non-governmental organisations receiving more than 20% funding from abroad to register as an organisation “pursuing the interests of a foreign power”.

Critics have branded the bill the “Russian law”, warning that similar legislation has been used there to quieten free speech and crack down on dissent.

After being passed by Georgia’s unicameral parliament, President Salome Zurabishvili refused to sign the bill into law, despite her opposition being likely to be overruled by Georgian Dream. Following its forced passage, protestors gathered outside Georgia’s parliament building and clashed with police.

A further intensification of protests and violence cannot be ruled out in a country with a rich history of political instability. It would therefore be wise for the GCC states to pay close attention to what might happen next.

Gulf exposure

The GCC has an active interest in maintaining a wary eye on Georgia due to the exponential growth of the region’s economic interests in the Caucasian country in recent years, particularly in its tourism sector.

Statistics suggest that by the end of 2022, the country welcomed almost 210,000 tourists from Gulf states, 15 times more than a decade ago. With a 60% increase in visitors between 2019 and 2022, Saudi Arabia arguably provides the most intriguing rise.

Irrespective of where they come from, many GCC tourists enjoy visiting Georgia for its acceptance of Halal and other Islamic practices, its temperate summer climate and increasing opportunities to indulge in winter sports at its mountain resorts.

Presently, the UAE leads the GCC’s investment into Georgia’s tourist economy. Tourism is also one of the focus areas of the UAE-Georgia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between the two countries in October 2023.

The agreement not only reinforces the UAE’s status as Georgia’s sixth largest investor, but also seeks to double non-oil trade from $481m to $1.5bn in five years. Beyond tourism, target sectors include agriculture, renewables and technology.

The UAE’s foothold in Georgia’s infrastructure is also growing following AD Ports Group’s recent acquisition of a 60% stake in Tbilisi’s dry port. This inland terminal is situated along the Middle Corridor, a trade lane linking manufacturing hubs in Asia with consumer markets in Eastern Europe.

Other significant players in Georgia’s infrastructural development include China, which recently completed a 9,000-metre-long tunnel along the country’s Kvesheti-Kobi road. Improved infrastructure is also integral to Georgia’s currently imperiled candidacy for membership of the EU.

Business conditions

Economists will tell you that the ideal conditions for economic development include infrastructure investment, open trade and investment regimes and political stability.

There can be no denying that Georgia’s steady economic growth in recent years has benefitted from having all three pillars in place, even if political stability is perceived by some to have come at the cost of bona fide democracy.

Conversely, expert-level knowledge is not required to make the connection between political unrest and faltering economic conditions, particularly in key sectors such as tourism.

While Tbilisi remains the main focus of protests and international coverage, opponents of the “foreign influence” bill have made their presence felt in other parts of Georgia, including Batumi, the country’s third city and Black Sea resort.

This places Georgia’s two leading tourist destinations and associated logistics – most notably Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International airport – on the frontline of both current and future instability. The same can also be said of many GCC investments and business interests in Georgia’s tourist sector.

Next month’s Eid Al Adha will provide valuable insights into how Georgia’s political turmoil is starting to influence choices made by GCC residents and impacting regional economic objectives. Islam’s second major holiday is regularly accompanied by a getaway from the region to cooler climes.

With a two-hour flying time and regular flights from Doha, Dubai and Riyadh, among others, Georgia represented a convenient, relatively safe and value-for-money tourist destination. That is until the country’s latest round of political protests and volatility.

Unlike tourists, those GCC companies and investors with a long-term stake in Georgia’s economy and infrastructure have little option but to watch how political events unfold.

Some worst-case scenarios could prove unpalatable: real estate in tourist locations underutilised during peak seasons; logistics hubs losing business as manufacturers divert to safer trading routes; missed opportunities to bolster regional food security through the export of cheaper agricultural products.

The GCC, and especially the UAE, is by no means the only regional grouping or country that is keeping an eye on Georgia’s uncertain political situation. With growing interest in developing the Middle Corridor and Black Sea port of Anaklia, China particularly stands to benefit from the country’s return to stability.

The same is also true of the US and EU, both concerned about Russia’s rising influence over a country that was once part of the Soviet Union

Accordingly, the GCC has options regarding who it can work with to persuade Georgia to collectively do more to resolve its political crisis.

The challenge facing the group is making the most politically astute and economically expedient choice of partner(s) at the appropriate time in Georgia’s unfolding political drama.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11821175/main.gif

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Contractors submit prices for Upper Zakum expansion project

    16 March 2026

     

    Contractors have submitted commercial proposals for the next expansion phase of the Upper Zakum offshore field development in Abu Dhabi, aimed at increasing the asset’s oil production potential to 1.5 million barrels a day (b/d).

    The offshore oil and gas production business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Offshore) has divided the UZ 1.5MMBD project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope of work into three packages, MEED previously reported.

    Contractors submitted commercial bids for package 1 by the 23 February deadline and for packages 2 and 3 by the 27 February deadline, according to sources. The previous deadline for submission of commercial bids was 15 January.

    Adnoc Offshore is understood to have issued the main tender for EPC works for the UZ 1.5MMBD project in the third quarter of last year.

    Contractors submitted technical bids for package 1 by 21 November, while proposals for packages 2 and 3 were submitted by 14 November, MEED previously reported.

    In November 2024, MEED reported that Adnoc Offshore had awarded a contract for front-end engineering and design (feed) and pre-feed services on the project to France-headquartered contractor Technip Energies.

    A kick-off meeting between Adnoc Offshore and Technip Energies took place on 21 November 2024.

    Located 84 kilometres offshore in Abu Dhabi, Upper Zakum is the world’s second-largest offshore oil field and fourth-largest oil field.

    The UZ 1.5MMBD project is the latest crude output expansion undertaken by Adnoc Offshore at the Upper Zakum field development.

    Upper Zakum expansion

    The first phase of the programme to raise the Upper Zakum offshore field development’s oil production capacity to 1.2 million b/d was launched in 2019. The initial goal was to increase the field’s output potential to 1 million b/d by 2024, which was later increased to 1.2 million b/d, with the project execution timeline eventually extended.

    In April last year, MEED reported that Adnoc Offshore had awarded the main EPC contract for the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-1 project to UAE-based Target Engineering Construction Company. The value of the contract was estimated to be $825m.

    The project’s main scope involved the EPC of several surface facilities and plants at the Upper Zakum offshore development’s four main artificial islands: Al-Ghallan, Umm Al-Anbar, Ettouk and Asseifiya – also known as Central Island, West Island, North Island and South Island, respectively.

    Spanish contractor Tecnicas Reunidas won the contract for the feed works on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-1 project in 2019. UK-headquartered Wood Group was appointed as the project management consultant for the EPC phase.

    In November 2024, MEED reported that Adnoc Offshore had also selected Target for the second phase of the Upper Zakum 1.2 million b/d project (UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2). The value of the contract was estimated to be about $500m, according to sources.

    Target began work on the project in December last year, MEED previously reported.

    The scope of work on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2 project covers the EPC of several structures on Assefiya Island.

    Adnoc Offshore performed the feed work on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2 project in-house.

    Upper Zakum oil production

    Adnoc Offshore has committed to a total capital expenditure budget of approximately $30bn, along with its operating partners in the Upper Zakum hydrocarbons concession, Japan Oil Development Company (Jodco) and US-based ExxonMobil.

    The strategic objective is to first raise the asset’s oil output from 640,000 b/d to 750,000 b/d through the UZ 750 project, then to 1.2 million b/d through the two phases of the ongoing UZ 1.2MMBD project, and eventually to 1.5 million b/d.

    Zakum Development Company (Zadco), which later merged into Adnoc Offshore, awarded EPC contracts for the UZ 750 project in 2012 and early 2013.

    The $817m first package was awarded to a consortium of Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy (then known as National Petroleum Construction Company) and Technip Energies. Package two, the project’s largest EPC package, worth $3.7bn, was awarded to a consortium of UK-headquartered Petrofac and South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Engineering.

    EPC work on UZ 750 began in 2014 and was completed in 2022.

    In October 2022, Adnoc Group subsidiary Adnoc Drilling set a world record for drilling the longest oil and gas well at the Upper Zakum concession, stretching 50,000 feet.

    The extended-reach wells will tap into an undeveloped part of the Upper Zakum reservoir, potentially increasing the field’s production capacity by 15,000 b/d without expanding or building any new infrastructure, Adnoc said.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15996020/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Neom cancels The Line tunnels contracts

    16 March 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Neom has cancelled the contracts related to the construction of the tunnel sections of The Line in northwest Saudi Arabia.

    In a stock exchange announcement filed on 13 March, South Korean contractor Hyundai E&C said that Neom cancelled its contract on 29 December last year.

    Hyundai E&C was executing the drill-and-blast section of The Line’s tunnels in a joint venture with Greece’s Archirodon and South Korean counterpart Samsung C&T.

    The firm said its share of the joint venture was about 35%, amounting to $483m.

    Neom awarded contracts for constructing the mountain tunnel sections of The Line in June 2022.

    The drill-and-blast works were split into four packages, with two contracting teams winning two packages each.

    The other joint-venture team comprised Spain’s FCC, the local Shibh Al-Jazira Contracting Company (Sajco) and Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation. 

    The tunnels formed part of the infrastructure backbone of Neom’s 170-kilometre The Line development, launched in January 2021.

    What began as Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s defining symbol of a post-oil Saudi Arabia unravelled with quiet finality over roughly two years. By April 2024, planners were reportedly being forced to cut the initial phase to just 2.4km by 2030.

    By July last year, with the sovereign wealth fund facing tightening liquidity, the kingdom was reported to have conducted a “strategic review” to determine whether The Line was feasible – a process described as a “recalibration” of Vision 2030.

    Resources are now being directed to projects essential for the Fifa World Cup 2034, Expo 2030, and critical housing, healthcare and education targets.

    According to media reports, the government has pivoted towards repositioning what remains of Neom as an industrial and data centre hub, leveraging the Red Sea coastline’s access to seawater cooling for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

    READ THE MARCH 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15995688/main.gif
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Bidders get more time for Riyadh East sewage treatment plant

    16 March 2026

     

    State water offtaker Sharakat, formerly Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), has extended the bid submission deadline for the Riyadh East independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP).

    The new deadline is 30 June. The original deadline was 2 April.

    The project will be developed under a build‑own‑operate‑transfer (BOOT) model with a 25‑year concession term.

    The plant will have a treatment capacity of 200,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) in its first phase, expanding to 500,000 cm/d in the second phase.

    It includes the development of a treated sewage effluent transmission pipeline, forming part of the kingdom’s wider programme to expand wastewater treatment capacity through public-private partnerships.

    The request for proposals (RFP) was issued last October. 

    In 2024, Sharakat prequalified 53 companies that could bid for the Riyadh East ISTP, part of seven planned ISTP projects it said it would procure between 2024 and 2026

    WSP is the technical adviser and KPMG Middle East is the lead and financial adviser on the project.

    The targeted commercial operation date for the facility is 2029.

    ISTP plans

    Sharakat’s current ISTP portfolio includes 10 large plants that are operational, under construction or under tendering, with a combined initial treatment capacity of 1.79 million cm/d.

    These projects include North Taif, Jeddah Airport, West Dammam, Madinah 3, Buraydah 2, Tabuk 2, Al-Haer, Arana, Hadda and Riyadh East. 

    In December, two consortiums were selected for contracts to develop and operate the Hadda and Arana ISTP projects in Mecca province.

    That same month, Sharakat prequalified 63 developers for upcoming ISTP projects under a revised prequalification process.

    According to Sharakat’s newly released seven-year statement, it has identified six additional large ISTPs in the development pipeline.

    These include:

    • Kharj (75,000 cm/d)
    • Abu Arish (50,000)
    • Hafar Al-Batin (100,000)
    • Riyadh North (TBD)
    • Najran South (50,000)
    • Khamis Mushait (50,000)

    The company is also pursuing a nationwide small sewage treatment plant programme covering about 139 smaller ISTPs grouped into seven clusters.

    These are designed to add roughly 521,450 cm/d of additional treatment capacity across the kingdom.

    READ THE MARCH 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15993509/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Modon launches Tara Park on Abu Dhabi’s Reem Island

    16 March 2026

    Abu Dhabi-based Modon Holding has launched the Tara Park residential project in the Reem Island area.

    The project comprises two residential towers with a total of 340 residential units.

    The development includes a 527-metre jogging track.

    The latest project launch follows Modon Holding’s launch of the Bashayer residential waterfront community on Hudayriyat Island.

    The project will comprise 157 four- and five-bedroom villas centred around a clubhouse with a rooftop infinity pool, and 330 one- to four-bedroom apartments across two low-rise buildings.

    The development comprises a 3.5-kilometre waterfront promenade and a park.

    In October last year, Modon Holding launched the Maysan residential development on Abu Dhabi’s Reem Island.

    This development covers an area of about 600,000 square metres.

    Maysan is being developed in several phases. The project’s first phase involves developing two districts: Mayar and Thoraya.

    The first district, Mayar, consists of 132 mansions. The four-storey mansions will be located within a gated community featuring a central park and walking trails.

    The second district, Thoraya, features 184 townhouses. It will include gardens, play areas, a gym and other associated facilities.

    READ THE MARCH 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15993317/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Jordan begins prequalification for Amman water project

    16 March 2026

    Jordan’s Ministry of Investment has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for a non-revenue water (NRW) reduction project in the southern and southeastern areas of Amman.

    The project will be delivered under a public-private partnership (PPP) model using a design, build, finance, operate and maintain structure. It aims to reduce water losses and improve the efficiency of water distribution networks in the targeted areas.

    The initiative is being led by the Ministry of Investment through its PPP unit in collaboration with the Ministry of Water & Irrigation, the Water Authority of Jordan and Miyahuna.

    The procurement is expected to attract international water operators, engineering contractors and infrastructure investors with experience in NRW reduction programmes.

    The bid submission deadline is 23 April.

    Jordan has prioritised reducing NRW as part of efforts to improve the efficiency of its water sector. The country is among the most water-scarce in the world, and losses from distribution networks are estimated to account for about 45% of water supplied.

    NRW reduction programmes typically involve measures such as network rehabilitation, leak detection, pressure management and improved metering to reduce physical and commercial losses across water systems.

    Jordan is also advancing its $6bn Aqaba-Amman water desalination and conveyance project that aims to meet about 40% of Jordan’s municipal water demand by 2040.

    As MEED recently reported, the project is nearing financial close. Once complete, it will supply about 300 million cubic metres of potable water a year from the Red Sea to Amman and other regions.

    In February, the Water Authority of Jordan signed a four-year performance-based management contract with France’s Veolia to support water and wastewater services in the country’s northern governorates.

    Under the contract, Veolia will provide operations, maintenance and management services to Yarmouk Water Company, the public utility responsible for water supply and wastewater services in the region.

    READ THE MARCH 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15993071/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall