meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Jordan sustains utility infrastructure progress

6 June 2023

This package on Jordan’s power and water sector also includes:

> Jordan extends $2bn water scheme bid deadline
> Masdar inaugurates 200MW Jordan solar plant
> Jordan signs Ghabawi wastewater plant deal
> Jordan signs $99m solar funding

 

Jordan reached a new level of electricity peak load on the evening of 1 February, recorded at 4,060MW by state utility National Electric Power Company (Nepco).

This was slightly higher than the previous peak registered in January 2022 of 4,010MW.

With a total generation installed capacity of over 6,400MW, the kingdom is comfortable dealing with such demand peaks.

However, with the share of total generation capacity accounted for by solar and wind sources estimated at a substantial 2,371MW, Jordan could benefit from battery energy storage systems (BESS), as well as grid interconnection with its neighbours. 

As it is, Iraq stands to benefit from Jordan’s substantial production surplus, with construction reaching the final stage for the Jordan-Iraq electricity interconnection project.

US-based GE is implementing the project. It comprises a 288-kilometre overhead line from Jordan to Iraq’s Qaim area.

Another project to connect the electricity grid of Jordan to Saudi Arabia is in the tendering process. The estimated $1bn package is expected to enable the daily exchange of 500MW of electricity in its initial phase and up to 1,000MW in a later phase. 

Region plans vital big grid connections

Renewable energy lead

Jordan is anticipated to sustain its renewable energy leadership in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.  

In February this year, Baynouna Solar Energy Company (BSCE) formally inaugurated the 200MW Baynouna solar park. BSCE is a joint venture of the UAE-based clean energy firm Masdar and the Finnish investment and asset management group Taaleri.

The project is Masdar’s second renewable energy asset in Jordan after the 117MW Tafila wind farm, which was completed in 2015.

The inauguration came on the heels of the signing in November 2022 of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Masdar and the Jordanian Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry (MEMR) to explore the development of a further 2GW of renewable energy projects in the country.

In addition to utility-scale power and wind projects, Jordan is also making progress with its small-scale solar distribution network.

In February this year, Amman-based Future Sun Renewable Energy Systems and Safwa Islamic finalised a loan agreement for a JD70m ($98.7m) project to install solar power plants at industrial enterprises.

The bank agreed to provide Future Sun with JD70m to fund a 100MW solar power project at 84 industrial enterprises that are Future Sun shareholders. The project is expected to cut electricity costs by JD15m, and each beneficiary will have a solar PV system with a maximum capacity of 2MW.

Water projects

There are growing opportunities for water infrastructure contractors in Jordan as well. A 200MW hydropower plant in Al-Mujib and a water desalination conveyance system in Hisban are planned. The Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) is planning several wastewater collection and network projects and a desalination plant.

In February, the Water & Irrigation Ministry and the local firm Arab Towers Contracting Company signed an agreement worth €79.5m ($84.7m) to design and implement a wastewater treatment plant in the Ghabawi region.

The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) will provide a €41.3m loan, while the EU has agreed to provide a €30m grant for the project.

Engicon and CDM Smith Europe have signed a $1.2m supervision contract for the project, funded by an EBRD grant.

Under the two agreements, the water authority will build a treatment plant with a capacity of 24,750 cubic metres a day, with sewage tanks instead of the primary type of treatment plant equipment in the Ain Ghazal region.

The project will help to improve the area’s environmental conditions and reduce the biological load on the Khirbet Samra treatment plant.

The country’s largest, single water infrastructure project to date continues to face delays, however. Tendered in March 2022, bids are due this month for the estimated $2bn Aqaba-Amman water desalination and conveyance project.

The build-operate-transfer (BOT) project will pipe water from the southern coast to the country’s northern regions.

The first phase will involve the construction of 280,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of capacity for desalination and 80,000 cm/d of groundwater. A planned second phase will raise the plant’s overall production to 600,000 cm/d.

The conveyance segment of the project includes the construction of a seawater intake pump station, reservoir, pipeline, booster pump stations and freshwater collection pipes.

The project is expected to use clean energy in line with the government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10909813/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Dubai picks contractor for Al-Maktoum airport terminal

    9 October 2026

     

    Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) has selected a contractor for an estimated AED10bn ($2.7bn) substructure package for the West Terminal, as part of the first phase of the $35bn expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport.

    A joint venture of Beijing-headquartered China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and Abu Dhabi-based Tristar Engineering & Construction will execute the contract.

    According to a description on DAEP’s website, the expanded airport’s West Terminal will be a seven-level facility spanning 800,000 square metres, with annual capacity for 45 million passengers.

    The terminal will be the second of three planned terminals at Al-Maktoum International airport. It will connect to the airside via a 14-station automated people-mover (APM) system.

    In July, MEED exclusively reported that DAEP had awarded an estimated $1.5bn contract to a joint venture of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and Indian contractor Larsen & Toubro for the APM system.

    The APM will run beneath the apron and terminal areas, using multiple tracks to transport passengers between terminals and concourses. Four underground stations are planned in the first phase, while the full airport development is expected to include 14 stations.

    The latest awards form part of a wider programme of contracts recently signed by DAEP, covering enabling works, the second runway, initial structural foundations for passenger terminals and concourse substructures.

    Upcoming awards

    In June 2026, DAEP said it will award construction contracts worth over AED55bn ($15bn) for Al-Maktoum International airport by the end of the year.

    At the time, DAEP said the planned awards included substructure works for the West Terminal, the fourth aircraft concourse and the baggage-handling system. The programme also included superstructure works for the West Terminal and the first, second and third aircraft concourses.

    The packages are expected to include long-span structural frameworks for buildings covering about 1.5 million square metres, infrastructure works for the southern airfield area, and power-generation and district-cooling plants supporting the construction programme.

    DAEP also plans to award façade and roofing packages in 2026.

    The Dubai Government approved updated designs and timelines for its largest construction project in April 2024. In September 2024, MEED exclusively reported that a team comprising Austria’s Coop Himmelb(l)au and Lebanon’s Dar Al-Handasah had been confirmed as lead masterplanning and design consultants for the Al-Maktoum International airport expansion.

    Construction of the airport is planned in three phases. Once complete, the airport will cover 70 square kilometres south of Dubai and include five parallel runways and 430 aircraft gates.

    It will be five times the size of Dubai International airport and is planned to have a passenger-handling capacity of 260 million passengers a year – the largest in the world. For cargo, it is planned to have the capacity to handle 12 million tonnes a year.

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

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20417755/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Nakheel awards Dubai Islands marine works contract

    9 October 2026

    Dubai-based developer Nakheel, part of Dubai Holding Real Estate, has awarded local firm Mar Marine & Building Contracting a contract for marine and beach works on Island B at Dubai Islands.

    The scope includes constructing breakwaters, removing existing rock revetments and forming a new 320-metre beach near the Bay Villas development.

    The contractor will also refurbish existing beach areas and undertake remedial works along approximately 3 kilometres of the island’s western shoreline.

    The works are scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2027.

    The package supports the Bay Villas project, which comprises 636 villas and townhouses on Island B. Nakheel awarded Fibrex Contracting an AED2.6bn ($708m) construction contract for the residential development in August 2025.

    The marine works award follows Nakheel’s AED527m primary infrastructure and utilities contract for Island B, which was awarded to Al-Nasr Contracting Company in April 2026.

    In September, Nakheel awarded a main construction contract worth more than AED800m ($218m) for phases one and three of Bay Grove Residences at Dubai Islands. The contract was awarded to local firm Metac General Contracting Company.

    The contract covers the construction of 537 apartments, comprising one- to four-bedroom units, across seven residential buildings. Phase one includes 296 units in four buildings, while phase three comprises 241 units across three buildings.

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

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20418469/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Iraq refinery project given regional approval

    9 October 2026

    Plans to establish a 70,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) refinery in the Iraqi town of Qayyarah have been approved by the Nineveh Provincial Council, which has called for the project to be referred to Iraq’s Council of Ministers. The council also recommended that Duhok-based Karband Company, an industrial manufacturer of asphalt products and lubricating oils, be involved in the project.

    The council’s vote follows a meeting held in September between Iraq’s Oil Ministry and Angola’s Sonangol on potentially jointly developing the Qayyarah refinery.

    The planned refinery would allow more of the crude produced in Qayyarah to be processed locally, increasing supplies of petroleum products and reducing the need to transport locally produced crude south for export via the Strait of Hormuz.

    Iraq awarded the Qayyarah oil field to Sonangol in its second licensing round in 2009, with an initial target of around 120,000 b/d.

    A new upstream expansion phase began in January 2025, when Sonangol contracted the Iraqi Drilling Company to drill 10 wells, with an option for three additional appraisal wells.

    An existing refinery in Qayyarah, built in 1955, has a capacity of 20,000 b/d.

    Progress on the new facility has stalled in recent years, with little movement since 2021, when Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding with Sweden’s SEAB and Turkiye’s Limak on developing the refinery.

    Previously, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said the project would include modern units and complex refining technology to produce products meeting Euro 5 standards

    The scope of the project is expected to include:

    • Processing units
    • Storage tanks
    • Distillation units
    • Associated facilities

    The project was first announced in 2018 and has encountered several delays due to funding problems.

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

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20413126/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • Oil exploration work ongoing in Iraq’s Block 7

    9 October 2026

     

    Oil and gas exploration is ongoing across Iraq’s Block 7, which spans the central and southern governorates of Diwaniyah, Babil, Najaf, Wasit and Muthanna.

    The work includes seismic activities, according to industry sources. The sources added that stakeholders have not yet made a final decision on plans for full-field development in the area.

    China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) won the exploration, development and production contract for Iraq’s Block 7 in May 2024.

    Block 7 was one of 10 blocks in Iraq that were won by Chinese companies as part of the country’s sixth licensing round.

    Erbil-based KAR Group was the only non-Chinese firm to secure acreage.

    On 19 May, Osama Hussein, director general of Iraq’s state-owned Oil Exploration Company (OEC), visited Block 7 and met the Fourth Seismic Crew of the Field Operations Division in Diwaniyah Governorate to review progress on the seismic survey.

    In a subsequent statement, OEC said the crew began operations on 5 May 2026 under a 180-day work programme.

    Block 7 covers 6,300 square kilometres within the Mesopotamian tectonic zone, located near existing petroleum infrastructure and established oil discoveries. The block was first offered during Iraq’s fourth licensing round in 2012, where it failed to attract bids.

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

    Industry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20411257/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • Contractors prepare bids for more Qiddiya infrastructure

    8 October 2026

     

    Saudi gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has tendered a design-and-build contract covering infrastructure works at District 0 in Qiddiya City.

    The scope includes the design, supply, construction, testing, commissioning and defects liability period for Road I in District 17, Road Q in District 19 and the District 18 Ring Road.

    In total, the package covers approximately 17.4 kilometres of roads, including 1.4km of bridge structures.

    Contractors have until 14 October to submit proposals.

    Beirut-headquartered Dar Al-Handasah is the lead design consultant for districts 17 and 19, with a remit that also includes potable water and recycled water storage tanks and pumping stations.

    US-based Jacobs is the lead design consultant for the District 18 Ring Road.

    The tender is the third infrastructure package for Qiddiya’s District 0. The first two packages, tendered in March, remain under procurement, as MEED exclusively reported.

    MEED understands that bid evaluation for these packages is in its final stages and that awards are expected shortly.

    QIC is also advancing plans to develop additional assets at Qiddiya City.

    Last month, MEED exclusively reported that QIC had awarded an estimated $500m-$600m contract to build an e-games arena, known as the Fortress Arena.

    The scope of work includes the construction of an auditorium with a capacity of about 5,100 seats, as well as commercial areas, hospitality facilities and other associated infrastructure.

    The Fortress Arena is one of several major projects within the wider Qiddiya development.

    Other projects include the Dragon Ball theme park, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a horse-racing venue, a performing arts centre, the Speed Park, the National Tennis Centre, Six Flags Qiddiya City and Aquarabia water park.

    The project is a key part of Riyadh’s strategy to boost leisure tourism in the kingdom. According to UK analytics firm GlobalData, leisure tourism in Saudi Arabia has grown significantly in recent years.

    MEED’s October 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Saudi projects hold steady
    > GOVERNMENT: Riyadh looks to reset its regional defence outlook
    > ECONOMY: Conflict bolsters case for Saudi economic diversification
    > BANKING: Saudi lenders readjust to lower lending and deposit climate
    > UPSTREAM: Aramco upstream spending gathers pace
    > DOWNSTREAM: Sabic steps up Saudi petchems investment
    > POWER: Saudi Arabia’s power award activity slows
    > WATER: Saudi water sector hits sharp slowdown
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction defies the headwinds
    > TRANSPORT: Saudi infrastructure pushes forward amid conflict
    > DATABANK: Saudi data indicates project spending shift

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20384978/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal