Meed | Gulf charts pathway to clean steel production

Gulf charts pathway to clean steel production

1 August 2024

Steel manufacturing accounts for 7%-9% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and is considered a hard-to-abate industry. With a forecast for strong growth in global steel production in the coming decades, changes need to be implemented to bring steelmaking in line with the UN Paris Climate Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The need for the international steel industry to slash CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions dominated the agenda at UN climate change summit Cop28 in Dubai last December, with about 35 companies and six industry associations, including the World Steel Association, endorsing the Industrial Transition Accelerator. The initiative aims to scale implementation and delivery of decarbonisation in the steel, aluminum, cement, transportation and energy sectors.

There are many levers for steel decarbonisation, including the electrification of heat generation, improving energy efficiency and increasing the utilisation of scrap steel. However, to reach net-zero, further steps are needed to address the emissions associated with coal’s role as a reducing agent in ironmaking. Breakthrough technologies that can accomplish this include hydrogen direct reduction to replace coal; carbon capture, utilisation and storage; and electrolysis-based, or green hydrogen-supported, production processes.

The Middle East and North Africa accounts for just 5% of global steel output. Despite this low market share, however, steelmakers in the region – particularly in the Gulf – have committed billions of dollars to investments in steel projects that could implement most proven clean technologies.

To reach net-zero, further steps are needed to address the emissions associated with coal’s role as a reducing agent in ironmaking

Saudi clean steel projects

Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth institution the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chinese steel manufacturing conglomerate Baoshan Iron & Steel Company (Baosteel) signed a joint venture agreement in May 2023 to establish an integrated steel plate manufacturing complex in Saudi Arabia’s Ras Al-Khair Industrial City.

The facility is expected to have a production capacity of up to 1.5 million tonnes a year (t/y). It will mainly cater to industrial sectors such as pipelines, shipbuilding, rig manufacturing, offshore platform fabrication and tank and pressure vessel manufacturing, as well as the construction, renewables and marine sectors.

The plant will be equipped with a natural gas-based direct reduced iron (DRI) furnace and an electric arc furnace to reduce CO2 emissions from the steelmaking process by up to 60% compared to a traditional blast furnace. The DRI plant will be compatible with hydrogen without major equipment modifications, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90% in the future, Aramco says.

The partners have invited contractors to submit engineering, procurement, installation and construction proposals for the project, which are due by 30 July.

Separately, Indian industrial conglomerate Essar Group is advancing its planned $4bn Green Steel Arabia project, which will also be located in Ras Al-Khair. Essar’s integrated steel complex will have a production capacity of 4 million t/y, and a cold rolling capacity of 1 million t/y, along with galvanising and tin plate lines. The complex will also have two DRI plants, each with a production capacity of 2.5 million t/y.

In September 2023, Essar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jeddah-based Desert Technologies to develop solar energy solutions to power its Green Steel Arabia project. Under the agreement, Essar and Desert Technologies will look to develop solutions for renewable energy generation – mainly solar photovoltaic power – and storage for the planned complex.

The parties will also explore opportunities for other similar projects in the region, Mumbai-headquartered Essar said at the time.

A third major clean steel project in the kingdom has been announced by Turkish steelmaker Tosyali Holding, which will invest up to $5bn in the venture. Tosyali said in January that it intends to produce steel with the help of green energy sources and will increase its solar energy output 10-fold to 2,500MW, up from the 240MW it currently uses.

Fuat Tosyali, Tosyali’s chairman, said the increase in solar output will be facilitated by a $1.5bn investment, as well as through plans to buy a stake in a hydrogen energy company.

UAE makes strides

Clean steel production efforts in the UAE have been led by Emirates Steel Arkan, the country’s largest steel manufacturer. The company has partnered with Japan's Itochu to develop a low-carbon iron processing plant in Abu Dhabi that will be capable of processing high-grade Brazilian iron ore into reduced iron, which will be sent to Japan.

The proposed plant will be built in collaboration with Japan’s JFE Steel and is expected to produce about 2.5 million metric tonnes a year of reduced iron starting in 2027. CSN Mineracao, a Brazilian company in which Itochu maintains a stake, will supply the iron ore.

Emirates Steel and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) have also started the concept design for an electrolyser plant that they are jointly developing. Powered by renewable energy, the plant will have a hydrogen output capacity of 160MW, which will be used in the production of steel.

Abu Dhabi aims to establish a large-scale steel production hub with an overall capacity of 15 million t/y. This projected capacity will be in addition to Emirates Steel Arkan's existing production level of 3.5 million t/y, according to the firm's group chief projects officer, Hassan Shashaa.

Meanwhile, Dubai-headquartered Liberty Steel signed an MoU in December 2023 with Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group to invest in a green iron production facility in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi.

Under the MoU, the two companies will explore the establishment of a green iron production facility and related port infrastructure and conveyor system at Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi. The MoU is part of Liberty’s early-stage concept development to convert its magnetite ore into green iron in the UAE, using gas and transitioning to green hydrogen once it becomes available at scale in the next decade.

Green steel producers [in Oman] could benefit from cheap, locally available green hydrogen feedstock

Oman’s green steel plans

The largest green steel project in Oman is being developed by Vulcan Green Steel (VGS), the steel arm of Vulcan Green, which is owned by India’s Jindal Steel Group. VGS broke ground on the estimated $3bn project in December 2023.

The planned facility, covering 2 square kilometres in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (Sezad), will have two production lines of 2.5 million t/y each, comprising DRI units, an electric arc furnace and a hot strip mill.

Set for completion by 2026, the planned facility will primarily utilise green hydrogen to produce 5 million t/y of green steel. This will make it the world’s largest renewable energy-based green steel manufacturing complex once it is commissioned.

Sezad could also host another large-scale green steel project if Japanese steel manufacturer Kobe Steel and Tokyo-based Mitsui & Company are able to achieve the final investment decision on a preliminary agreement they signed in April last year to develop a low-carbon iron metallics project.

The two Japanese firms agreed to conduct a detailed business study in line with the goal of commencing low-carbon dioxide iron metallics production by 2027. The project is expected to produce 5 million t/y of DRI using a process called Midrex, where DRI is produced from iron ores through a natural gas or hydrogen-based shaft furnace.

Green steel producers in the sultanate could benefit from cheap, locally-available green hydrogen feedstock if the Amnah consortium – which won the first land block contract that Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom) auctioned last year – achieves the financial investment decision on its planned project by 2026.

The estimated $6bn-$7bn project will supply green hydrogen to domestic and overseas steel producers, Amnah project director Mark Geilenkirchen told MEED last year.

The planned integrated facility is expected to have a capacity of 220,000 t/y of green hydrogen and will require up to 4.5GW of renewable energy capacity. Unlike other projects in the region that aim almost exclusively to export their green hydrogen derivative products such as ammonia, Amnah is considering converting or using green hydrogen to support sustainable steel production.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12176557/main.jpg

Indrajit Sen

Exclusive from Meed

Saudi Arabia raises electricity tariffs
26 October 2026
Dubai Municipality confirms AED3bn Tasreef drainage awards
26 October 2026
Nakheel awards $259m Dubai Islands buildings contract
26 October 2026
Morocco plans second high-speed rail phase to Agadir
26 October 2026
Riyadh tenders King Salman Stadium works
26 October 2026

Saudi Arabia raises electricity tariffs
26 October 2026

Saudi Energy, formerly Saudi Electricity Company, has announced revised electricity tariffs, with the new rates scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027.

The revised tariff schedule, published on the company’s official website, covers residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, charitable and government customers.

The largest percentage increase in consumption rates is 16.7%, for residential customers using up to 6,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month. Residential customers will pay 21 halalas/kWh for monthly consumption of up to 6,000kWh, up from 18 halalas. For consumption above 6,000kWh, the rate will rise from 30 to 33 halalas/kWh, a 10% increase.

The industrial tariff will increase by 15%, from 20 to 23 halalas/kWh. Commercial customers, private healthcare facilities and private educational facilities will pay 25 halalas/kWh (up from 22 halalas) for consumption up to 6,000kWh a month, and 35 halalas/kWh above that level, up from 32 halalas.

Tariffs for charities and government customers will also increase. In addition to charges based on electricity consumption, customers will pay a fixed monthly fee determined by the capacity of their electricity metre. This replaces the previous separate charge for meter reading, maintenance and billing, with VAT applied to the revised tariffs.

Electricity investment

The new tariffs coincide with changes to water consumption tariffs announced by the National Water Company, also effective from 1 January 2027.

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud directed support measures following a proposal presented by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

This includes raising the minimum wage required for Saudi nationals to count as full employees towards private sector localisation quotas under the Nitaqat programme.

The tariff changes come as Saudi Arabia plans substantial investment in its electricity infrastructure. In September 2025, Saudi Energy announced plans to invest SR220bn ($58.7bn) in power infrastructure projects between 2025 and 2030.

A June 2025 report by Fitch Ratings forecast negative free cash flow of about SR16bn a year over the period and rising leverage, reflecting the financial demands of the programme.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20924301/main.jpg

Mark Dowdall
Dubai Municipality confirms AED3bn Tasreef drainage awards
26 October 2026

Dubai Municipality has confirmed it has awarded four contracts worth AED3bn ($817m) to expand the emirate’s stormwater drainage network by about 100 square kilometres under phase three of the Tasreef programme.

The projects will cover Jumeirah, Umm Suqeim, Al-Quoz, Al-Barsha, Al-Wasl and Al-Marmoom. The works include constructing and extending main stormwater drainage lines with diameters of up to three metres.

The four packages are part of Dubai’s AED30bn Tasreef programme, which aims to increase the emirate’s stormwater drainage capacity by 700% and reduce costs associated with pumping stations, network operations and maintenance by 20%.

The contracts have been awarded to China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) and three local firms: Arifco Group, Nael Construction & Contracting (NCC) and Detech Contracting. Dubai Municipality did not state which projects the awards relate to.

According to sources, the contract awards include packages TF-15-C1, TF-15-C2 and TF-13-C1.

The first package, TF-15-C1, involves the construction of 21 kilometres of main and secondary drainage lines along Al-Wasl Road and in surrounding areas. It will cover Za’abeel 2, Al-Wasl, Jumeirah 1 and 2, Al-Bada’a, Al-Satwa and Dubai World Trade Centre. The estimated $100m contract was awarded to Detech in July, as exclusively reported by MEED.

The second package, TF-15-C2, covers the corridor between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al-Khail Road. It includes about 14km of main drainage lines serving Al-Quoz Industrial Areas 1, 3 and 4, and Al-Barsha 1. In July, MEED reported that CSCEC had won the engineering, procurement and construction contract for this project.

The third package, TF-13-C1, covers Al-Marmoom, where 23km of drainage infrastructure will be developed. According to a source, Arifco has been awarded this contract.

The final package covers Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim, where about 42km of main drainage lines will serve Umm Suqeim 1, 2 and 3; Umm Al-Sheif; Jumeirah 3; Al-Safa 1 and 2; and Al-Manara.

In May, MEED reported that NCC had been awarded a contract to build a sewage and stormwater drainage system, DS-204. However, it is unconfirmed whether this relates to the same project.

Earlier, in February, the municipality confirmed it had awarded contracts for five new projects under phase two of the programme to expand and strengthen Dubai’s stormwater drainage network.

These included two contracts awarded to Detech and one to CSCEC for stormwater drainage infrastructure. In addition, two consultancy contracts were awarded for the study and design of drainage systems in selected areas across the emirate.

Cumulatively valued at AED2.5bn, the new projects will serve 30 vital areas, spanning approximately 430 million square metres and supporting an estimated population of three million residents by 2040.

Previously, in April 2025, an earlier package of awards was announced under phase one of the Tasreef programme. The overall masterplan aims to expand Dubai’s rainwater drainage capacity by 700% by 2033.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20923924/main4827.jpg

Mark Dowdall
Nakheel awards $259m Dubai Islands buildings contract
26 October 2026

Dubai-based master developer Nakheel, part of Dubai Holding Real Estate, has awarded local firm Parkway International Contracting a construction contract valued at about AED950m ($259m) for phases two and four of Bay Grove Residences on Dubai Islands.

The package covers 617 residential units across eight buildings, ranging from one to four bedrooms, together with basement structures, infrastructure and community amenities including swimming pools, sports courts and fitness centres.

Phase two comprises 360 homes across four buildings, with main construction scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Phase four includes 257 homes across four buildings, with completion targeted for the second quarter of 2029.

The award follows an earlier contract valued at about AED800m ($218m) awarded to local contractor Metac General Contracting Company for phases one and three, covering 537 homes across seven buildings.

Together, the two contracts total more than AED1.75bn ($476m) and account for all 1,154 planned homes across the 15 buildings of Bay Grove Residences.

Project activity on Dubai Islands has gathered pace in recent months. Earlier this month, Nakheel awarded local firm Mar Marine & Building Contracting a contract for marine and coastal works on Island B. The scope includes constructing breakwaters, removing existing rock revetments and creating a new 320-metre beach near the Bay Villas development, as well as remedial and refurbishment works along approximately 3 kilometres of the island’s western shoreline.

In August 2025, Nakheel awarded Fibrex Contracting a AED2.6bn ($708m) construction contract for the Bay Villas residential project. That followed a AED527m ($143m) contract awarded to Al-Nasr Contracting Company in April 2026 for primary infrastructure and utilities on Island B.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20923389/main.jpg

Yasir Iqbal
Morocco plans second high-speed rail phase to Agadir
26 October 2026

Morocco has outlined a second rail investment cycle for 2030-35, which includes beginning construction of a high-speed rail extension from Marrakech to Agadir and connecting Essaouira to the national rail network.

The pipeline forms part of the government’s 2026-31 programme, presented to parliament last week.

The Marrakech-Agadir link is estimated to cost close to MD55bn ($5.5bn) and will cover a 240-kilometre (km) route through the High Atlas Mountains via Chichaoua. Civil engineering structures, including tunnels and viaducts, are expected to account for nearly 70% of the alignment.

In September, the government issued a decree declaring the Marrakech-Agadir and Chichaoua-Essaouira rail corridors to be of public utility, paving the way for land acquisition and expropriation procedures.

Under the long-term masterplan Plan Rail Maroc 2040, Essaouira is expected to connect to the network via a separate line branching off at Chichaoua, designed for operating speeds of up to 200km an hour. The mainline to Agadir is designed for speeds of up to 320km/h.

The 2030-35 cycle also includes rehabilitating the Casablanca-Khouribga-Oued Zem line; constructing a new line between Oued Zem and Beni Mellal via Bejaad, with a branch to Fquih Ben Salah; doubling and upgrading the 140km Benguerir-Safi line; expanding capacity on the Fez-Oujda corridor; and building new-generation passenger stations.

The plans follow Morocco’s ongoing MD134bn ($13.4bn) 2024-30 rail investment programme, which focuses on completing the Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed line ahead of the 2030 Fifa World Cup.

The programme also includes developing regional express network services across five regions, electrifying the Fez-Oujda line and completing a freight rail link to the Nador West Med port.

Work on the Kenitra-Marrakech line had reached about 30% by May 2026, with commercial services targeted to begin in September 2029.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20920349/main.jpg

Yasir Iqbal

Riyadh tenders King Salman Stadium works

26 October 2026

Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access

Saudi Arabia’s Sports Ministry has tendered a contract covering early works at King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh.

The scope includes enabling works, site preparation and initial construction activities.

The tender was issued on 11 October, with a submission deadline of 19 November.

The stadium will cover about 660,000 square metres (sq m) and seat 92,000. Facilities will include a 150-seat royal suite, 120 hospitality suites, 300 VIP seats and 2,200 dignitary seats.

The wider development will include sports facilities covering more than 360,000 sq m, including two training fields and fan zones; a closed sports hall; an Olympic-sized swimming pool; an athletics track; and outdoor courts for volleyball, basketball and padel.

The stadium is set to host the final of the 2034 Fifa World Cup and will serve as the Saudi national football team’s main base.

US-based architectural firm Populous is the lead architect for the stadium.

Construction of the stadium is expected to be completed by 2029.

The stadium will be located next to King Abdulaziz Park.

Firms submitted prequalification statements for the main design-and-build contract in February.

Saudi stadium plans

In August 2024, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia planned to build 11 new stadiums and refurbish four facilities for the 2034 Fifa World Cup.

Eight stadiums will be located in Riyadh, four in Jeddah and one each in Al-Khobar, Abha and Neom.

A further 10 cities will host training bases: Al-Baha, Jazan, Taif, Medina, Alula, Umluj, Tabuk, Hail, Al-Ahsa and Buraidah.

There are expected to be 134 training sites in the kingdom, including 61 existing facilities and 73 new venues.

Saudi Arabia was officially selected to host the 2034 Fifa World Cup during an online convention of Fifa member associations at the Fifa Congress on 11 December 2024.

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