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
  • Chinese contractor wins Saudi power and gas contracts

    4 August 2026

    Chinese contractor Ningxia Power Construction has announced it has won two contracts in Saudi Arabia covering power and gas infrastructure projects with a combined value of about RMB280m ($39m).

    The awards cover the third phase of cable laying and connection works for Saudi Aramco’s Master Gas System (MGS-III) project and the first phase of a 380kV transmission line for the Red Sea Aluminium project, the company said in a statement.

    The MGS gas booster station contract covers electrical, instrumentation and control, communications, pre-commissioning, commissioning and defect rectification works.

    The project is located northwest of Al-Mendassah in Medina Province. Construction is scheduled to last 670 days and continue through to partial mechanical completion and mechanical completion.

    The Red Sea Aluminium contract involves the first phase of a 380kV overhead transmission line project.

    The scope includes eight new transmission circuits. Four incoming double-circuit lines will extend about 15.2 kilometres from the connection point to the switchyard. Four outgoing double-circuit lines will run about 0.2 kilometres from the switchyard to the aluminium plant power station. Provision has also been made for two additional outgoing circuits in the future.

    The Red Sea Aluminium complex is a planned integrated aluminium production facility in Yanbu Industrial City being developed by Red Sea Aluminium Holdings (RSAH), a joint venture of Innovation Global Industries, Innovation New Materials and Shandong Innovation Group

    In June, RSAH awarded China’s Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation (Sepco) an estimated $100m engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 380kV overhead transmission line project at the Red Sea Aluminium complex.

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

    Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18081852/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Contractors submit bids for key Aramco offshore tenders

    4 August 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Contractors in Saudi Aramco’s Long-Term Agreement (LTA) pool of offshore service providers have submitted bids for five offshore tenders covering the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of structures at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan, Safaniya and Zuluf offshore oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia.

    The tenders are numbers 167, 168, 169, 170 and 171 on Aramco’s Contract Release and Purchase Order (CRPO) system, according to sources.

    Aramco issued the five CRPOs to its offshore LTA contractors in December, setting an initial bid submission deadline of 3 February.

    The Saudi energy giant has since extended the bid submission deadline several times – to 31 March, 1 June, 1 July and then 30 July – to allow LTA contractors sufficient time to prepare proposals.

    At the request of certain bidders, Aramco granted a final two-day extension, with LTA contractors submitting their proposals for the five CRPOs on 1 August, sources told MEED.

    The basic scope of EPCI work on the tenders is as follows:

    • CRPO 167 – eight jackets at the Marjan field development
    • CRPO 168 – four production deck modules (PDMs) at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa and Safaniya fields
    • CRPO 169 – three PDMs at the Marjan field development
    • CRPO 170 – three PDMs at the Marjan field development
    • CRPO 171 – three PDMs at the Zuluf field development
    Offshore contract awards

    Aramco spent almost $11bn on offshore EPCI contracts last year, more than double its capital expenditure on offshore projects in 2024, marking another year of robust upstream project spending in Saudi Arabia.

    In July, Aramco selected contractors for five CRPOs – numbers 150, 157, 158, 159 and 160 – worth over $3bn. These involve EPCI work and infrastructure upgrades at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan and Zuluf offshore fields.

    The Saudi energy giant then picked contractors for four more CRPOs that are part of the large-scale project to expand infrastructure at the Zuluf offshore field development. The tenders are CRPOs 145, 146, 147 and 148, and their combined value is estimated to be almost $6bn.

    In late December last year, Italian contractor Saipem announced securing contracts for CRPOs 162 and 165. The scope of work on CRPO 162 covers the EPCI of two rigid pipelines – a 30-inch pipeline stretching 23.98 kilometres (km) and a 20-inch pipeline, 10.23km-long; replacement of a flexible 10-inch pipeline that spans 5.1km; and modification work on topsides at the Berri and Abu Safah field developments. The duration of this contract is 32 months, Saipem said.

    The scope of work on CRPO 165, lasting 12 months, includes subsea interventions at the Marjan field development and the EPCI of 300 metres of onshore pipeline and associated tie-ins.

    In early January 2026, MEED reported that Aramco had selected US-based McDermott International for CRPO 166. The scope of work is understood to have been carved out of the $15bn Marjan offshore field development project, under which Aramco issued contracts for 20 EPCI packages in 2019. McDermott won the largest share of work on the project, securing an estimated $4.5bn of contracts across two packages.

    The contract for CRPO 166 was single-sourced to McDermott without a competitive tendering process and issued as a change order, sources told MEED.

    Aramco then awarded its second offshore contract of the year, CRPO 156, to Saipem. The scope of work covers the EPCI of a 48-inch trunkline, spanning roughly 65km offshore and 12km onshore, from the Safaniya offshore oil field to the onshore processing facility, plus associated works such as subsea hook-ups.

    CRPO 156 comprises the third package in Aramco’s latest expansion phase at Safaniya – the world’s largest offshore oil field, with a production capacity of nearly 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d). Discovered in 1951, the field is located in Gulf waters approximately 265km north of Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.

    MEED also reported that Saipem was selected by Aramco for two more tenders as part of the Safaniya field development expansion phase – CRPOs 154 and 155. The combined contract value for CRPOs 154 and 155 is estimated at $600m, sources said.

    In April, state-owned China Offshore Oil Engineering Company won CRPO 161, which covers the EPCI of four gas jackets at the Arabiyah, Hasbah and Karan offshore fields.

    Healthy contract award pipeline

    Looking ahead, in addition to CRPOs 167-171, which are currently under bidding, Aramco is evaluating bids submitted by its offshore LTA contractors in July and August last year for at least two additional tenders.

    These are CRPOs 163 and 164, relating to the EPCI of infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Karan, Marjan and Safaniya fields.

    Separately, the offshore LTA contractors are also bidding for a new tender – CRPO 176 – that was issued by Aramco in May, according to sources.

    The scope of work on CRPO 176 covers the EPCI of seven flexible subsea pipelines with a combined length of 17km at the Berri and Marjan offshore field developments.

    Aramco’s LTA pool of offshore service providers comprises the following entities:

    • Saipem (Italy)
    • McDermott International (US)
    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH, India) / Subsea7 (UK)
    • NMDC Energy (UAE)
    • Lamprell (UAE/Saudi Arabia)
    • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (China)
    • Dynamic Industries (US)
    • Sapura Energy (Malaysia)
    • TechnipFMC (France) / MMHE (Malaysia)
    • Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

    In April 2025, Aramco renewed its LTAs with the following contractors, whose contracts had either lapsed or were close to expiry:

    • Saipem
    • McDermott International
    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon / Subsea7
    • NMDC Energy
    • Lamprell
    • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company
    ALSO READ: Aramco moves apace with Jafurah unconventional gas campaign

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18080836/main0627.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Credit ratings key to infrastructure finance

    4 August 2026

    A global convergence in how infrastructure is financed is creating new pools of capital for Gulf projects, but the region’s non-OECD status means credit ratings will be central to unlocking the largest of these, according to Fitch Ratings.

    The ratings agency said the boundaries between project finance, corporate credit and structured finance are blurring as investors seek to optimise financing for the infrastructure required to support the digital buildout and energy transition. Rising interest from institutional investors in private credit, particularly asset-backed lending, is accelerating the adoption of tailored financing structures.

    For the GCC, the shift is important because of a specific regulatory constraint. Under EU Solvency II rules, unrated infrastructure debt sourced from outside the OECD cannot be treated as qualifying infrastructure. Fitch said this means that for investors seeking to access infrastructure opportunities in Saudi Arabia, India and other non-OECD markets, a credit rating is necessary for regulatory capital treatment.

    The distinction is significant for a region running one of the world’s largest project pipelines. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their neighbours are financing large-scale projects across the power, water, transport and digital infrastructure sectors, and much of the incremental capital Fitch identifies is held by regulated institutions for which ratings determine capital charges.

    Insurers pivot

    Insurers and pension funds are among the most significant structural sources of infrastructure capital, with global aggregated assets of about $45tn and $40tn respectively. Fitch says their increasing involvement is directly intertwined with the role of credit ratings, as cost-of-duration mismatches within solvency regimes push insurers towards liability-driven investment strategies that better match assets with liabilities.

    Insurer allocations to infrastructure have historically been low, at a global median of about 1% of investment portfolios. Fitch said this is changing rapidly. It cited a Nuveen survey conducted at the end of 2025 indicating that private market infrastructure debt is set to be the most favoured destination for fixed-income allocation for the third consecutive year, with 46% of respondents planning to grow allocations over the next two years.

    Sovereign wealth funds also play a major role, with over 30% of their private market fund allocations going to infrastructure, with AI-linked infrastructure the dominant sub-theme, displacing transport and logistics for new commitments. Energy transition ranked a close second, often aligned with national strategic objectives.

    Larger funds with more than $100bn in assets are deploying directly and through co-investments, bypassing fund structures to reduce fees and increase control. Fitch said such funds are increasingly price-setters in large infrastructure deals, and that their strategic national mandates mean they will absorb assets at returns that pure financial investors would reject.

    Regional outlook

    For the GCC specifically, Fitch said additional investment is likely to support security enhancements for core infrastructure assets in response to conflict in the region, alongside upgrades to transport and social infrastructure. It expects increased renewable power capacity and enhanced oil and gas-related infrastructure.

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

    Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18079923/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • AtkinsRealis confirms Sphere Abu Dhabi role

    4 August 2026

    AtkinsRealis has confirmed it has been appointed lead design and supervision consultant on the $1.7bn Sphere Abu Dhabi project on Yas Island.

    The Canadian engineering and project management firm said it will partner with local firm Alec Engineering & Contracting on the venue, which is scheduled to open in 2029.

    AtkinsRealis will be responsible for overall design coordination across architecture, structural engineering and specialist immersive technologies. Alec – appointed by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) – will oversee procurement, construction delivery and project completion.

    The project is being delivered under a design-and-build framework.

    Alec Holdings confirmed in May that its subsidiary, Alec Engineering & Contracting, had received a letter of award for the construction contract. MEED previously reported that Alec was the selected contractor and had been working on the project during the pre-construction phase.

    Sphere Abu Dhabi will be built on Yas Island on a plot between Yas Mall and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi. It will be the first Sphere venue outside the US and is expected to echo the scale of Sphere Las Vegas, with a capacity of up to 20,000, depending on configuration.

    The venue will feature a fully programmable LED exosphere and a wraparound interior display capable of delivering 16K-resolution visuals, alongside beamforming audio technology that can direct sound to individual seats.

    DCT Abu Dhabi is developing Sphere Abu Dhabi with US-based Sphere Entertainment.

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

    Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18079715/main.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Oman opens door to direct power sales

    4 August 2026

    Commentary
    Mark Dowdall
    Power & water editor

    Oman’s Direct Sales Framework has been in place since April, but its success will ultimately depend on whether developers and large electricity users choose to adopt it.

    The framework establishes a regulated process that allows qualifying private renewable energy developers to sell electricity directly to eligible consumers, instead of through Oman’s traditional single-buyer model.

    For the first time, large electricity consumers have a formal mechanism to procure renewable power directly from developers, rather than relying solely on electricity supplied through the wider grid.

    The recently tendered 280MW Marsa solar independent power project could provide an early indication of how the framework will be used in practice.

    The project has been identified as a potential early application of the new regime, with electricity generated near Haima expected to be supplied to the Marsa LNG facility at Sohar through Oman’s transmission network.

    The framework also requires grid-connection studies, network approvals and annual capacity limits, underscoring that direct sales will continue to operate within a regulated market rather than an open one.

    Developers will also need customers willing to sign long-term agreements, while large electricity users will need to see clear value in procuring renewable power directly.

    The scale of electricity demand expected over the coming decade will be a key factor in driving these decisions. Large industrial consumers are expected to account for a growing share of Oman’s future electricity demand as mining, green hydrogen, metals and other energy-intensive industries expand.

    Oman’s procurement of utility-scale generation through competitive tenders is not slowing down either, as evidenced by recent advisory tenders for up to 4GW of solar projects targeted for commercial operation by Q2 2030.

    In the meantime, for some users, securing renewable electricity directly from developers may become an attractive alternative to relying solely on the traditional supply model.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18038648/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall