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• 
  Delivery unlocks gigaproject investment

  29 September 2026

  

   

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  Completed infrastructure and open assets are making it easier to attract private developers and foreign investors to Saudi Arabia’s gigaprojects, said speakers at MEED’s Shaping Mega Projects conference in Riyadh on 28 September.

  Dale Chadwick, acting CEO of King Salman Park Foundation, said investor appetite had grown as construction advanced. The foundation has received 23 expressions of interest from private developers, and Chadwick said that number was increasing.

  “What the private sector is looking for in terms of investment is surety of what we’re doing,” he said. “As soon as a private developer comes in and sees what we’re doing, they’re blown away. The closer we get to completion, the greater the appetite.”

  He said interest from foreign direct investors was also rising, and that a deal the foundation expects to award soon involves foreign investment.

  The foundation times its private asset awards to follow infrastructure and landscaping works. “They don’t have to take the leap of faith that we are going to execute on our side of the equation,” said Chadwick. “They can see it.”

  Partnership model

  Mohamed Saad, president of DevCo at Diriyah Company, said investors wanted a relationship rather than a transaction.

  “The first thing they’re looking for is partners,” he said. "They’re looking for master developers who act as true partners to them.”

  Saad said master developers acted as the catalyst, investing in infrastructure and anchor assets before the private sector joins. He said investors also wanted healthy supply and demand, and a market able to absorb commercial assets in phases.

  He said Diriyah had prioritised delivery over publicity. “People want to see to believe,” said Saad. “We are delivering on the ground, and when people come and visit, they’re pleasantly surprised.”

  Chadwick said developers also wanted flexibility, with some seeking more height or a different mix of uses. “We ourselves have a plan, but in order to make that more attractive, we have to be prepared to make adjustments as well,” he said.

  Ben Edwards, group head of cost, commercial and procurement at Red Sea Global, said the operating track record of The Red Sea and Amaala was now its strongest pitch to investors.

  "We’ve gone past the field of dreams approach of ‘if you build it, they will come',” he said. "We’ve built it now. The tourists are coming.”

  Edwards said Red Sea Global was at various stages of negotiation on several joint venture opportunities for future projects.

  The developer’s utilities public-private partnership (PPP) at The Red Sea is fully operational. Its Amaala equivalent is in final testing and commissioning and is due to be operational before the end of the year. Edwards expects the model to spread.

  "I’m sure the PPP market will continue to expand into the different infrastructure sectors here, and then lead into other sectors, from schools to hospitals,” he said.

  He added that Red Sea Global’s environmental credentials were a selling point for investors.

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  Colin Foreman
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  KBR seeks renewable energy contracts in Libya

  29 September 2026

  

   

  The US-headquartered technology and engineering company KBR is seeking renewable energy project contracts in Libya.

  Representatives from KBR met with Abdussalam Elansari, chairman of the Renewable Energy Authority of Libya, earlier this month to discuss project opportunities, sources said.

  The meeting with Elansari followed KBR’s opening of a new branch in Libya and its securing of several contract awards in the oil and gas sector.

  In March, KBR announced that it had been awarded a contract by Zallaf Exploration, Production & Refining of Oil & Gas Company to provide project management and technical services for the South Refinery Project in Libya’s southern city of Ubari.

  Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide contract management, project management and supporting technical services throughout the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phases of the project, according to a company statement.

  The EPC work is expected to be executed over a 50-month period.

  KBR is also carrying out work to re-evaluate the front-end engineering and design (feed) for the project to develop Libya’s J6 North Gialo field.

  In January, KBR signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state-owned Libyan Post, Telecommunications & Information Technology Company.

  Under the MoU, KBR agreed to support efforts to develop and improve Libya’s communications infrastructure and enhance fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks in the country.

  KBR has previously provided engineering services for major national projects in Libya, but was forced to shut down its office in the country several times amid political instability and security issues.

  When the company was known as Brown & Root, it worked on the Great Man-Made River Project in Libya, which is widely recognised as the largest irrigation project in the world.

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  Wil Crisp
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  Giga developers absorb supply chain shocks

  29 September 2026

  

   

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  Saudi Arabia’s gigaproject developers are rerouting shipments and absorbing higher freight costs as regional geopolitical tensions disrupt supply chains. Executives discussed the impact at MEED’s Shaping Mega Projects conference in Riyadh on 28 September.

  Mohamed Saad, president of DevCo at Diriyah Company, said supply chain disruption was one of several challenges facing the developer. He said it required the company to be adaptive and quick in its decision-making.

  He said the wider situation had also weighed on end-user demand. “The appetite to buy residential units or lease retail or commercial office spaces has softened,” he said. “We also see opportunity, and developers who believe in the future and invest and develop in these times will catch the opportunity.”

  Rerouted shipments

  Dale Chadwick, acting CEO of King Salman Park Foundation, said the park had been fortunate because much of its supply chain was already in place.

  Some bespoke construction materials sourced from India have been affected, forcing suppliers to change routes. The foundation has also been unable to import some trees from China, because extended delivery times meant they would spend too long at sea.

  “It is a genuine challenge, and it’s on a case-by-case basis,” said Chadwick. “We make the call, then we pivot and start trying to secure the material from elsewhere.”

  He said one alternative was sourcing from Europe through a different supply route into the kingdom’s west coast. Chadwick said the impact had so far been manageable, with no significant effect on the park linked to the geopolitical situation. He added that contractors were facing the same pressures and suggested some might be seeking higher margins as a result.

  Local content

  Ben Edwards, group head of cost, commercial and procurement at Red Sea Global, said the developer had been shielded by the stage its projects had reached. The high proportion of local content in its procurement had also helped.

  Red Sea Global set up a landscape nursery to bring plants in early and acclimatise them. Edwards said the nursery, the largest in the region, had doubled in size to about 200 hectares.

  Freight costs have still risen sharply. “Container prices have doubled, and you have to just face that,” he said. “Where you haven’t got any other route to bring things in, and you’ve got to pay double, and you need the stuff, then you have to be flexible and deal with it accordingly with the supply chain.”

  Edwards said the local supply chain had strengthened since the peak of gigaproject construction activity.

  “The capability was here in Saudi, but the capacity wasn’t necessarily here at the time that everybody needed it three or four years ago,” he said. “Everybody needed all the same stuff all at the same time.”

  He said support from the Ministry of Investment and government programmes to build supplier capability was starting to pay off. Supplier quality was improving as capacity grew.

  Saad said the contracting market was also maturing. A correction was allowing contractors to be more selective about the work they pursue.

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Sharakat receives bids for Riyadh East sewage treatment plant

  29 September 2026

  Saudi Arabia’s state water offtaker Sharakat has received bids for the contract to develop the $150m Riyadh East independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP).

  Bids were submitted on 28 September.

  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.

  Five consortiums made offers, including:

  • EtihadWE (UAE) / Metito (UAE) / Thrustboring Construction Company (TCC, Saudi Arabia)
  • GS Inima (Spain) / Alkhorayef (Saudi Arabia) 
  • Lamar (Bahrain) / China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC)
  • Miahona (Saudi Arabia) / Marafiq  (Saudi Arabia) / Bin Omairah Holding (Saudi Arabia)
  • Suez (France) / Civil Works Company (Saudi Arabia) / Alwael (Saudi Arabia)

  In May, MEED exclusively reported that groups had begun to form for the project, which will be developed under a build‑own‑operate‑transfer model with a 25‑year concession term.

  It is understood that at least two other potential consortiums weighed up making an offer for the contract, but did not bid.

  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. The request for proposals was issued last October. 

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

  The targeted commercial operation date for the facility is 2029.

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Egypt firm wins Al-Dabaa desalination O&M contract

  29 September 2026

  Elsewedy Utilities has been awarded a three-year operation and maintenance (O&M) contract for a seawater desalination plant in Al-Dabaa on Egypt’s north coast.

  The plant has a production capacity of 40,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), and the contract runs for three years.

  The award reflects Egypt’s increased focus on involving local private sector companies in operating and maintaining existing seawater desalination plants.

  In March, Egypt’s Ministry of Housing, Utilities & Urban Communities directed that a number of existing desalination plants with capacities of more than 10,000 cm/d be offered to specialised local private sector companies for O&M. The plants include facilities in Al-Dabaa, Matrouh and El-Alamein, as well as sites in the Red Sea region and North and South Sinai.

  The government said the move is intended to improve operating efficiency, strengthen maintenance systems and make greater use of specialised technical expertise. The contract value was not disclosed.

  Elsewedy Utilities is the utilities and facilities management arm of Elsewedy Electric, with activities spanning engineering, procurement and construction, O&M and utility management.

  As MEED understands, the contract is separate from the South Med desalination project at Al-Dabaa, which is being developed for the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces’ Water Management Department.

  Elsewedy Electric Infrastructure previously announced it is the main engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the planned 160,000-cubic-metre-a-day seawater reverse-osmosis plant.

  Cairo-headquartered Engineering Experience Group also won a design and engineering services contract for the project in June.

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  Mark Dowdall