Related Articles

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  Oman receives Misfah and Duqm applications Jennifer Aguinaldo

  4 April 2025

  Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP) has received statements of qualifications (SoQs) from 12 firms for a competitive tender to develop a gas-fired independent power producer (IPP) project in the sultanate.

  The Misfah and Duqm combined-cycle gas turbine plants will have a capacity of 2,400MW and will be tendered as one contract, a source close to the project previously told MEED. 

  Nama PWP invited interested firms to submit their prequalification applications for the project in January, with a deadline of 13 March.

  The utility developers that submitted their SoQs include:

  • Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia)
  • Korea Western Power Company (Kowepo, South Korea)
  • Marubeni Corporation (Japan)
  • Nebras Power (Qatar)
  • Alghanim International (Kuwait)
  • Etihad Water & Electricity (UAE)
  • Reliance Power (India)
  • Samsung C&T Corporation (South Korea)
  • Sembcorp Utilities (Singapore)
  • Shenzhen Energy Group Company (China)
  • Sumitomo Corporation (Japan)
  • Al-Jomaih Energy & Water (Saudi Arabia)

  In December, the project client invited companies to express interest in the project, which will be implemented on a build, own and operate (BOO) basis.

  At the time, Nama PWP said it expected to issue the tender in the first quarter of 2025 and award the BOO contract by Q4.

  The company also said it expects early power in Q2 2028 and full commercial operation in Q2 2029.

  US/India-based Synergy Consulting is the client’s financial adviser.

  The new project represents a u-turn on a previous announcement that Oman would not build any new gas-fired power generation plants, which local media reported in 2022.

  In May last year, Nama PWP announced the award of renewed contracts for four gas-fired independent power and water projects (IWPPs) in the sultanate.

  The agreements collectively secured over 1,500MW of electricity and 200,000 cubic metres a day of desalinated water for up to nine years.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13616470/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
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  Trump tariffs hit 13 Mena states Jennifer Aguinaldo

  4 April 2025

  Over a dozen Middle East and North Africa (Mena) countries will face US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs – at rates varying between 10% and 41% – from 5 April.

  Trump announced an executive order on 2 April regarding “regulating imports with a reciprocal tariff to rectify trade practices that contribute to large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits”.

  Six of these countries – Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – face 10% tariffs, which is the minimum rate, or universal tariff, imposed on US trading partners.

  Goods from Syria and Iraq face the highest tariff rates of 41% and 39%, followed by Libya and Algeria, which each face tariffs of 31% and 30%, respectively.

  The executive order imposes 28% tariffs on goods originating from Tunisia, 20% from Jordan and 17% from Israel.

  The impact of the new tariffs on regional businesses is less clear compared to their effect on US consumers, who will have to bear the brunt of increased prices of imported products.

  US media outlets report that goods included in the reciprocal tariff regime include electronics, automobiles, clothing and shoes, wine and spirits, furniture, coffee and chocolates.

  Dubai-based global ports operator DP World said that businesses will face significant adjustments in response to the tariffs, according to a report by the UAE’s The National.

  “With tariffs increasingly shaping policy, we recognise that businesses are facing significant adjustments. As supply chains realign, new manufacturing and trading hubs may emerge in response to shifting cost structures and market access considerations,” DP World said.

  The firm added that it is working closely “with our customers to navigate these complexities – helping them maintain continuity, find efficiencies and build resilience in an evolving global landscape”.

  Photo credit: Pixabay, for illustrative purposes only

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13616433/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
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  Bahrain receives solar IPP consultancy bids Jennifer Aguinaldo

  4 April 2025

  Three firms have submitted proposals for a consultancy services contract for a new solar independent power project (IPP) in Bahrain.

  Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) will procure the solar IPP project in the Belaj Al-Jazaer area of the kingdom’s Southern Governorate.

  According to an industry source, the planned solar IPP will have a capacity of between 160MW and 200MW.

  As with most IPPs, a financial adviser will lead the project’s consultancy services team.

  KPMG Fakhro, a subsidiary of the UK-based consultancy services firm, submitted the lowest bid of BD506,000 ($1.3m). 

  Deloitte & Touche Middle East offered BD589,480 for the contract, while EY Middle East offered BD770,510.

  In January, EWA received proposals from 10 firms for a contract to establish a 44MW solar power plant at the University of Bahrain premises.

  The project will be implemented on a turnkey basis, which includes engineering, designing, manufacturing, installing and commissioning the project. The proposed project is expected to generate approximately 75 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually.

  The construction of solar power plants supports Bahrain’s 2060 net-zero carbon emissions target.

  In July last year, EWA received a single bid for a contract to design and build solar power stations in the Al-Dur area in the Southern Governorate. The project is expected to have a capacity of between 90MW and 100MW.

  In August 2023, EWA awarded Deft Contractors a contract to build, own, operate and maintain grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) power panels with a minimum capacity of 72MW in Sakhir in the south of the kingdom.

  EWA also recently prequalified bidders for a thermal independent water and power project and an independent water project. 

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
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  First Siemens Energy turbine reaches Qassim 2 Jennifer Aguinaldo

  4 April 2025

  The first combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) has arrived at the Qassim 2 independent power producer (IPP) project site in Saudi Arabia.

  According to one of the project owners, France’s EDF, its arrival marks a key milestone in the construction of the 1,800MW “decarbonised combined-cycle gas turbine project with provision for carbon capture, utilisation and storage”.

  EDF Renewables Middle East said in a social media post that the turbine was made in Saudi Arabia, where the next two turbines are also being manufactured.

  Germany’s Siemens Energy confirmed winning the contract, worth $1.5bn, to supply gas turbines and other equipment to Qassim 2 and another CCGT plant, Taiba 2, in June 2024. 

  Siemens Energy’s HL-class gas turbines, in combination with steam turbines and generators, will generate approximately 2,000MW of electricity at each site.

  A utility developer team led by the local Al-Jomaih Energy & Water Company (Jenwa) reached financial close in July 2024 on the contract to develop and operate the Taiba 2 and Qassim 2 IPPs.

  The developer team, which includes EDF and the local Buhur for Investment, signed a 25-year power-purchase agreement with the principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), for the projects in November 2023.

  Subsequently, an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) team led by China Energy International Group was appointed.

  The EPC contractor awarded the contract to supply the project with gas turbines and other related equipment to Siemens Energy.

  Siemens Energy said last year that the Taiba 2 and Qassim 2 power plants will initially be connected to the grid in simple-cycle mode in 2026 and permanently operated as combined-cycle power plants a year later.

  The new plants are expected to save up to 60% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions compared with oil-fuelled power plants.

  They will also be compatible with Saudi Arabia’s energy strategy, which calls for the construction of CO2 capture and storage facilities in the medium term, to enable a carbon-neutral energy supply.

  Photo credit: EDF Renewables Middle East

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Saudi Arabia launches Landbridge design tender Edward James

  4 April 2025

  

   

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has issued a tender for the lead design consultancy services contract on its long-planned Saudi Landbridge railway network.

  Interested companies have until 15 May to bid for the work, which covers the concept design and options for the preliminary and Issued for Construction (IFC) design stages on the 1,000 kilometre (km)-plus network.

  The estimated $7bn project comprises more than 1,500km of new track. The core component is a 900km new railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, which will provide direct freight access to the capital from King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea.

  Other key sections include upgrading the existing Riyadh-Dammam line, a bypass around the capital, and a link between King Abdullah Port and Yanbu.

  The Saudi Landbridge is one of the kingdom’s most anticipated project programmes. Plans to develop it were first announced in 2004, but put on hold in 2010 before being revived a year later. Key stumbling blocks were rights-of-way issues, route alignment and its high cost.

  More recently, the project has been under negotiation between Saudi Arabia and China-backed investors keen to develop it on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis. However, the launch of a design tender directly by SAR suggests that Riyadh is looking at other options to develop it alongside the Chinese proposal.

  In December 2023, MEED reported that a team of US-based Hill International, Italy’s Italferr and Spain’s Sener had been awarded the contract to provide project management services for the programme.

  If it proceeds, the Landbridge will be one of the largest railway projects ever undertaken in the Middle East and one of the biggest globally. Based on typical design timeframes, tenders for construction are likely to be ready by mid-2026, although the question of how it will be financed will need to be answered before it can proceed to the next step.

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  MEED’s April 2025 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > GOVERNMENT: Riyadh takes the diplomatic initiative
  > ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy forges onward
  > BANKING: Saudi banks work to keep pace with credit expansion
  > UPSTREAM: Saudi oil and gas spending to surpass 2024 level
  > DOWNSTREAM: Aramco’s recalibrated chemical goals reflect realism
  > POWER: Saudi power sector enters busiest year
  > WATER: Saudi water contracts set another annual record
  > CONSTRUCTION: Reprioritisation underpins Saudi construction
  > TRANSPORT: Riyadh pushes ahead with infrastructure development
  > DATABANK: Saudi Arabia’s growth trend heads up

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  Edward James