Related Articles

• 
  Saudi Arabia appoints new investment minister

  13 February 2026

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  King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has made a series of senior government changes, including Khalid Al-Falih leaving his role as investment minister to become minister of state and a member of the cabinet.

  Al-Falih has been replaced by Fahad Al-Saif as investment minister. Al-Saif has been head of the Investment Strategy and Economic Insights Division at the Public Investment Fund (PIF) since 2024. That role involved formulating PIF’s long-term investment strategy. He has also served as head of the Global Capital Finance Division, a role he has held since joining PIF in 2021.

  The change of investment minister comes at a time when securing investments has become a key priority for Saudi Arabia as it prepares to hand over more projects to the private sector for delivery.

  King Salman also named Abdullah Al-Maghlouth as vice-minister of media and Abdulmohsen Al-Mazyad as vice-minister of tourism. Khalid Al-Yousef was named attorney general, and Sheikh Ali Al-Ahaideb will serve as president of the Board of Grievances.

  Faihan Al-Sahli was selected as director general of the General Directorate of Investigation, while Abdulaziz Al-Arifi was chosen to lead the National Development Fund. Haytham Al-Ohali will head the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, and Fawaz Al-Sahli will chair the Transport General Authority.

  

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Dewa raises Empower stake in $1.41bn deal

  12 February 2026

  Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has announced it has increased its stake in Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) from 56% to 80%.

  The transaction was completed through the purchase of 2.4 billion shares and the transfer of the entire ownership of Emirates Power Investment (EPI), which is wholly owned by Dubai Holding.

  The total value of the deal is AED5.184bn ($1.41bn).

  Empower currently holds over 80% of Dubai’s district cooling market and operates 88 district cooling plants across the emirate.

  According to MEED Projects, the UAE’s district cooling sector currently has nine projects worth $1.29bn in the pre-execution phase.

  Empower has ownership in four of these projects, which have a combined value of $472m.

  This includes a $200 million district cooling plant at Dubai Science Park, with a total capacity of 47,000 refrigeration tonnes serving 80 buildings.

  Empower signed a contract to design the plant last August, with construction scheduled to begin by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

  The utility is also building a district cooling plant at Dubai Internet City.

  UAE-based TMF Euro Foundations was recently appointed as the enabling and piling subcontractor for the project.

  

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15635949/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Saudi cabinet approves Qatar high-speed rail link

  12 February 2026

  Saudi Arabia has approved the establishment of a proposed high-speed rail line connecting Riyadh and Doha.

  The approval was granted during a cabinet session chaired by King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in Riyadh on 10 February.

  The high-speed railway line will cover 785 kilometres (km) and will pass through Hofuf and Dammam, while also linking King Salman International airport and Hamad International airport.

  Saudi Arabia and Qatar signed an agreement in December last year to build a high-speed rail line.

  The agreement was inked by Saudi Arabia’s Transport & Logistics Services Minister, Saleh Al-Jasser, and Qatar’s Transport Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulla Bin Mohammed Al-Thani.

  Trains will reach speeds exceeding 300 kilometres an hour, reducing the travel time between the two capitals to about two hours.

  The project is slated for completion in six years. It is expected to serve over 10 million passengers annually and create more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.

  Riyadh and Doha relaunched the proposed rail link between the two countries in 2022, after agreeing to set a date to begin studying the connection. 

  In July of that year, France’s Systra was selected to conduct a feasibility study on the proposed scheme, as MEED reported.

  A rail link connecting Saudi Arabia and Qatar was planned before the diplomatic dispute that froze relations between Riyadh and Doha from 2017 until the Al-Ula Declaration was signed in January 2021.

  In 2016, Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) planned to tender a design-and-build contract for the construction of regional railways in Qatar, including a link to the Saudi border.

  

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15635582/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Bidders line up for Saudi sewage treatment contract

  12 February 2026

  

   

  Six bidders are competing in the next phase of Saudi Arabia’s long-term operations and maintenance (LTOM) sewage treatment programme, as National Water Company (NWC) moves closer to awarding a contract.

  The contract covers the North Western A Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 11 (LTOM11) and has an estimated value of about $211m.

  The project involves the construction and upgrade of two sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of about 440,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

  As MEED understands, the companies that have submitted proposals include:

  • Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (Saudi Arabia)
  • Civil Works Company (Saudi Arabia)
  • United Water (China)
  • Kuzu Group (Turkey)
  • VA Tech Wabag (India)
  • Aguas de Valencia (Spain)

  LTOM11, also known as the North Western A Cluster, forms part of the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.

  The scheme is being procured on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis with a long-term operations component.

  The scope also includes a pumping station, surplus discharge lines, SCADA installation and associated infrastructure.

  The main contract was tendered last year, with an award initially expected by the end of 2025.

  It is now understood that NWC is preparing to offer the main contract in this quarter.

  LTOM programme

  LTOM11 follows a series of earlier awards under the programme.

  In January, a consortium of United Water (China), Prosus Energy (UAE) and Armada Holding (Saudi Arabia) won the main contract for the Northern Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 10 (LTOM10).

  This has an estimated value of about SR203m ($54.1m).

  NWC previously awarded $2.7bn-worth of contracts for the first phase of its LTOM programme. This comprises nine packages covering the treatment of 4.6 million cm/d of sewage water for the next 15 years.

  As MEED reported, local contracting firm Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies won three contracts with a combined capacity of 2.04 million cm/d, nearly half of the awarded total. These three contracts are worth more than SR5.53bn ($1.47bn).

  A consortium of France’s Suez and the local Al-Awael Modern Contracting Group, with its affiliate Civil Works Company (CWC), won two packages worth a combined SR1.84bn.

  A consortium comprising France’s Veolia and Awael-CWC won a single package worth SR1.26bn, and local utility developer Miahona won one package worth SR392m.

  In 2024, a joint venture of CWC and Al-Awael Modern Contracting was awarded a $211m contract for LTOM9.

  As part of the second phase, the main contract bids for LTOM12 (North Western B Cluster) have also been submitted.

  

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15635292/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Indian firm wins Dubai Latifa Bint Hamdan road project

  12 February 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Indian contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has won a contract to construct the first phase of the Latifa Bint Hamdan Street development project in Dubai.

  The contract value is between $110m and $275m, according to L&T’s contract classification.

  This project covers 12.2 kilometres of road network from its intersection with Al-Khail Road to Emirates Road.

  The project also includes 8.1km of bridges and will add capacity for about 16,000 vehicles an hour in both directions.

  The scope also involves widening the two-lane dual carriageway to four lanes in each direction.

  The project is scheduled for completion within 36 months.

  The contract was awarded by Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

  The project is part of the RTA’s estimated AED16bn ($4.3bn) 2024-27 Main Roads Development Plan, which includes 22 projects across Dubai’s road network, as announced in November 2024.

  The development plan includes the construction of new roads and bridges to alleviate traffic congestion at several key locations across Dubai.

  Planning for growth

  The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan was launched in March 2021. Its launch referenced studies indicating that the emirate’s population will reach 5.8 million by 2040, up from 3.3 million in 2020. The daytime population is set to increase from 4.5 million in 2020 to 7.8 million in 2040.

  In December 2022, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the 20-Minute City Policy as part of the second phase of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. 

  In addition to the road projects, the RTA’s Dubai Metro Blue Line extension also forms part of Dubai’s plans to improve residents’ quality of life by cutting journey times, as outlined in the policy.

  The policy aims to ensure that residents can meet 80% of their daily needs within a 20-minute walk or bike ride. This goal will be achieved by developing integrated service centres with the necessary facilities and by increasing population density around mass transit stations.

  

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  Yasir Iqbal