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
  • Ashghal tenders Mekeines-Umm Bab link road

    30 October 2026

     

    Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has tendered a contract for the design and construction of the Mekeines to Umm Bab Link Road and associated infrastructure.

    The tender was issued on 29 October, with a bid submission deadline of 22 December.

    The scope comprises:

    • Highway works, including main carriageways, access roads, grade-separated ramps, junctions and tie-ins to existing networks
    • Dedicated non-motorised user facilities, footpaths and shared-use cycle paths
    • Structural installations, including camel underpasses, a QatarEnergy culvert and gateway monumentation
    • Extensive dry and wet utilities, encompassing Kahramaa potable water and electrical transmission networks, surface water drainage, street lighting and dedicated communication networks for Ooredoo, the Qatar National Broadband Network and the Qatar Armed Forces

    Under the scope of work, the appointed contractor will execute full design verification and turnkey construction under Ashghal’s standard Building and Engineering Design and Build General Conditions of Contract (2018 Edition) on a lump-sum basis. Engineering subconsultants must hold Grade 1 or International classification with the Ministry of Municipality across civil, architectural, mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines.

    The contract stipulates an execution period of 1,260 calendar days (3.5 years) from the commencement date, followed by a 400-day maintenance liability period. 

      The project is open to local and international contractors classified as Grade A in roads specialisation by Qatar’s Ministry of Finance (MoF).

      Foreign firms may participate independently or within a joint venture, provided the joint venture leader holds the requisite classification, by registering through the MoF e-procurement portal with attested equivalent certification from their home countries.

      The planned corridor is located within Al-Rayyan Municipality across Zones 82 to 84 in the Al-Sheehaniya area.

      At its eastern end, the link road begins about 40 kilometres southwest of central Doha, tying into the Salwa Road Interchange 42. At the western terminus, it connects to the roundabout adjacent to Umm Bab on the Abu Samra to Dukhan road (Route 39). 

      The link road serves as a critical logistics corridor connecting western settlements, residential districts and industrial installations, including concession areas operated by QatarEnergy.

      The western 7.5km of the alignment passes directly through the QatarEnergy District, where the corridor runs parallel to active oil and gas pipelines and includes a designated gateway monument.

      https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21041383/main.gif
      Yasir Iqbal
    • Contractors prepare bids for Petro Rabigh bottom-of-the-barrel project

      30 October 2026

       

      Contractors are preparing proposals for Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) for a major project to increase output and improve the efficiency of its integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in Rabigh, on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast.

      Petro Rabigh’s downstream complex, which is majority-owned by Saudi Aramco, includes a topping refinery with a 340,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) crude-distillation unit, a 47,000 b/d hydrotreater, a 12 million-cubic-feet-a-day hydrogen plant, a 75,000 b/d naphtha Merox unit and a 60,000 b/d kerosene Merox unit. The complex also includes supporting utilities, product tankage and a marine terminal.

      The main objective of the bottom-of-the-barrel project is to convert low-value, high-sulphur fuel oil and heavy-residue streams – which account for about 20% to 22% of refinery output – into higher-value, cleaner products, including diesel and lighter distillates.

      Petro Rabigh aims to achieve residue-conversion capacity of about 64,000 to 75,000 b/d by adding integrated fuel-oil upgrading and diesel-treatment units.

      The company issued the main tender for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works earlier this year. Contractors have until 19 November to submit proposals, sources told MEED.

      The following companies are understood to be among those bidding for the project:

      • CTCI Corporation (Taiwan)
      • JGC Corporation (Japan)
      • Larsen & Toubro (India) / Technip Energies (France)
      • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)

      The overall scope of work on the project covers the construction of the following units:

      • A light-naphtha isomerisation unit
      • A deasphalting and dewaxing unit
      • An ebullated-bed processing unit
      • A sulphur block, comprising sulphur-recovery, acid-gas-removal, sour-water-stripping and sulphur-forming units
      • Sales-gas allocation facilities and associated pipeline works
      • Utilities outside battery limits
      • Auxiliary piping modifications
      • Utility and hydrocarbon tie-ins

      Petro Rabigh appointed Australia-headquartered Worley last year to carry out front-end engineering and design (feed) work for the bottom-of-the-barrel project.

      MEED also reported that Petro Rabigh appointed Worley to provide engineering and project-management consultancy (PMC) services for the project in the first quarter of this year.

      Under the contract, Worley will carry out engineering studies and PMC functions. It will also support the development of cost estimates, project-specific execution procedures and technical procedures in line with Saudi Aramco guidelines. The work covers both the design-basis scoping-paper stage and the subsequent feed stage.

      Petro Rabigh will draw on Worley’s expertise in design, procurement and processing technologies, including light-naphtha isomerisation; vacuum-residue processing through deasphalting and dewaxing; an ebullated-bed configuration integrated with the diesel-hydrotreating section; and unconverted-oil hydrotreatment.

      Worley recently confirmed its contract award from Petro Rabigh, saying it will deliver engineering, project management, procurement support and related consultancy services for projects across its client’s portfolio.

      The scope includes developing design-basis documents, conducting technical evaluations, preparing cost estimates, supporting feed tender packages and providing detailed engineering and execution-phase support as projects advance through development and delivery.

      The services will support the evaluation and development of potential new facilities and infrastructure across the complex, including process units, utilities, sulphur recovery facilities and associated infrastructure.

      “The work will help Petro Rabigh advance future projects aimed at enhancing the long-term value and performance of its refining and petrochemicals operations,” Worley said in a statement on 28 October.

      Separately, Petro Rabigh awarded US-based KBR a 10-year maintenance contract in February to support its polymer plants in Rabigh.

      KBR’s Technology Led Industrial Solutions business line will execute the operations and maintenance contract, sources told MEED. The business operates within the Houston-headquartered company’s Technology Solutions portfolio.

      In March 2024, Petro Rabigh also awarded KBR a similar five-year asset-condition-monitoring contract. Under that programme, KBR is providing predictive-maintenance services at Petro Rabigh’s main plant.

      https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21032785/main.jpg
      Indrajit Sen
    • Contractors submit Riyadh Expo KSA pavilion bids

      30 October 2026

       

      Contractors submitted bids on 25 October for a contract to design and build the Saudi Arabia pavilion at the Expo 2030 Riyadh site.

      The facility will include exhibition halls, VIP and protocol areas, event and performance spaces, meeting rooms, food and retail outlets, and back-of-house facilities.

      The pavilion will host exhibitions, cultural and commercial showcases and official events throughout the six-month expo.

      External public realm works are also included.

      Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC), tasked with delivering the Expo 2030 Riyadh venue, issued the main tender on 19 May, as MEED exclusively reported.

      Earlier this week, ERC appointed UK-based Mace as procurement advisory consultant for Expo 2030 Riyadh, supporting procurement activities across the programme.

      Under the appointment, Mace will provide procurement services and advise on the management and delivery of procurement activities, with the aim of supporting the expo’s wider programme objectives.

      Expo 2030 Riyadh will run from October 2030 to March 2031 with the theme Foresight for Tomorrow, with host authorities projecting approximately 42 million visits.

      The masterplan covers 6 square kilometres, making it one of the largest sites ever designated for a World Expo event.

      Situated north of the Saudi capital, the site is located near the future King Salman International airport and will provide direct access to Riyadh landmarks.

      The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth vehicle, launched Expo 2030 Riyadh Company – a wholly owned subsidiary – in June 2025 to build and operate facilities for Expo 2030.

      https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21031590/main.jpg
      Yasir Iqbal
    • Oman announces $790m industrial investment deals

      30 October 2026

      Oman’s Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones has signed 28 investment agreements worth more than RO304m ($790m) for new projects and expansions across the country’s special economic zones, free zones and industrial cities.

      The agreements cover more than 2 million square metres (sq m) of land and span industrial manufacturing, food production, logistics, recycling and commercial activities.

      About $383.6m of the investment has been allocated to industrial cities operated by the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn). Sohar Free Zone accounted for $152m, followed by the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (Sezad) with $143.1m, Salalah Free Zone with $85.6m and Khazaen Economic City with more than $27m.

      The projects are expected to support Oman’s efforts to diversify its economy, expand industrial production and attract private investment in line with Oman Vision 2040.

      Investment deals

      In Sohar Industrial City, Atlas Steel will invest more than $291.1m in a plant producing iron and steel products on a site of about 440,000 sq m.

      Fujian Mancheng Industries & Investment will invest $52m in a ceramics facility covering more than 241,000 sq m. Other investments in Madayn’s industrial cities include an $18.2m phosphate and nitrogen fertiliser plant planned by Gulf Company for Organic and Biological Fertilisers in Raysut, as well as projects involving structural metal products, paper and corrugated cardboard, and oil and gas equipment and services in Raysut, Ibri and Nizwa.

      In Sohar Free Zone, Sohar Automotive & Advanced Industries Company will invest $98.8m in an automobile assembly complex covering 317,000 sq m. The complex aims to attract vehicle manufacturers, automotive supply-chain companies and advanced-manufacturing businesses.

      Voltamp High Voltage Transformers has announced a $39m investment in a plant that will produce power and electrical-distribution transformers for regional and international markets.

      Lalan Middle East will invest a further $3.9m to expand its medical-device manufacturing facility.

      ALSO READ: Oman’s Madayn prepares $637m investment drive

      In Sezad, Al-Jazir Feed Plant will invest $104m in a shrimp-feed facility to support an integrated shrimp-farming project.

      In Salalah Free Zone, Al-Nawras Industries will invest $50m in a steel-structures manufacturing facility, while Integrated Gypsum Company will invest $20m in gypsum-products production. Marai Dhofar will invest $15.6m in the production of Italian cheeses and other dairy products.

      Projects in Khazaen Economic City include a plant by Aleemit International Services to manufacture electric-vehicle chargers and components, with an investment of more than $8.8m, and a $6.5m facility by Joger Modular Building Technologies to produce precast-concrete building components.

      Additional investments in Khazaen include construction materials, ready-mix concrete, industrial units, logistics facilities and warehouses.

      https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21016368/main.jpg
      Indrajit Sen
    • Sabic swings back to profit in Q3 with $224m net income

      30 October 2026

      Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

      Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) returned to profitability in the third quarter of the year, reporting adjusted net income of SR840m ($224m) as revenue and earnings improved from the previous quarter.

      The Saudi chemicals giant had posted an adjusted net loss of $100m in the second quarter.

      Revenue increased 14% on a quarter-on-quarter basis to $7.51bn, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) climbed 40% to $1.27bn. Adjusted Ebitda surged 434% to $578.67m.

      Sabic’s net debt stood at $808m as of 30 September compared with $728m as of 30 June.

      Adjusted earnings per share rose to SR0.28 ($0.07) from a loss of SR0.13 ($0.03).

      The recovery occurred despite persistent margin pressure across the global petrochemicals sector and heightened geopolitical risk in the Middle East.

      Additionally, Sabic said it achieved $949.33m of its broader portfolio optimisation programme target of $3bn by 2030 in positive recurring Ebitda impact from its transformation efforts.

      During the third quarter, Sabic received its Local Content Certificate for 2025 from the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, recording a score exceeding 61% – an increase of more than nine percentage points over the prior evaluation period. The company attributed the increase to domestic procurement agreements, including a memorandum of understanding with Lenovo.

      Capital projects

      After several years of subdued project spending, Sabic is beginning to step up investment in new production capacity, with major projects reaching key milestones this year.

      In February, affiliate Petrokemya awarded China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a new ethylene oxide catalyst production facility. The 4,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) unit at Jubail Industrial City includes catalyst carrier washing, drying facilities and associated utilities.

      Major ammonia-urea complex

      In September, Sabic Agri-Nutrients awarded South Korea’s Samsung E&A a $3.465bn EPC contract for its seventh production complex in Jubail Industrial City (San VII).

      The project will have an annual capacity of approximately 1.2 million metric tonnes of conventional ammonia and 2.6 million tonnes of urea, integrated with a post-combustion carbon-capture unit.

      The Ministry of Energy approved feedstock allocation for the project in March. San VII will expand the company’s total urea capacity by 54%, from approximately 4.8 million t/y to 7.4 million t/y.

      The development reflects a shift in project scope. Originally conceived as San VI – a low-carbon facility designed to yield 1.2 million t/y of blue ammonia alongside specialised nutrients – the scheme was re-engineered as a conventional ammonia and urea plant using carbon-capture systems to manage emissions intensity.

      Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Commissioning is slated for the third quarter of 2030, with full commercial operation targeted before year-end 2030.

      Sabic Agri-Nutrients positions the project as central to its 2040 strategy to expand export market share and support international supply chains.

      Greenfield methanol plant

      San VII is not the only major project moving forward.

      Also in September, Sabic subsidiary Saudi Methanol Company (Ar-Razi) secured feedstock approval from the Ministry of Energy to build a 1.8 million t/y greenfield methanol plant in Jubail.

      The project aligns with Sabic’s focus on scale in core petrochemical chains and provides intermediate feedstock for expanding domestic downstream manufacturing.

      https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21015944/main2510.jpg
      Indrajit Sen