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  Record investment drives Jordan’s utilities market

  9 June 2026

  

   

  In April, Jordan signed the final technical and legal agreement for its landmark National Water Carrier Project, paving the way for the financial close of the kingdom’s largest planned water infrastructure project to date.

  The agreement represents a significant step forward for the scheme, which is now projected to reach $5.6bn in total costs, including financing, up from earlier estimates of $3.5bn.

  Paris-based investment and utility firms Meridiam and Suez were awarded the contract last year to develop the project in partnership with Jordan’s Water & Irrigation Ministry.

  Since then, multiple large-scale financing agreements have been put in place for the project, which is expected to supply about 40% of Jordan’s drinking water needs.

  While new contract awards have been limited in 2026, the successful execution of the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance scheme will help reassure the market that large-scale infrastructure projects of this nature can move forward.

  The project is set to reduce the benchmark water cost from about $3 a cubic metre in 2024 to approximately $2.7 and is crucial to addressing Jordan’s severe water scarcity.

  Prime Minister Jafar Hassan recently said that the scheme, along with the Aqaba Port railway project, represented “the largest level of foreign investment in the kingdom’s history”.

  For its part, the government has said it will contribute $722m to the Aqaba-Amman project, representing the largest single capital expenditure in the state budget.

  Upcoming projects

  Looking forward, there is a healthier pipeline of new water projects, led by a two-phased wastewater treatment project at Wadi Zarqa.

  The first phase will have an initial capacity to treat 150,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of wastewater by 2030.

  The $150m second phase covers an independent sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 200,000 cm/d. Both tenders are expected to be released in the coming months.

  Two larger projects, valued at $300m each, are currently in the planning stages. Both are managed by Yarmouk Water Company and involve major transmission pipeline works in Ajloun and Irbid as part of the Jordan Water Sector Efficiency Project.

  The Jordan Water Sector Efficiency Project is a World Bank-backed programme aimed at reducing water losses, improving utility performance and enhancing the efficiency of water services across the kingdom.

  Power contracts

  Jordan’s power sector is set for a record-breaking year following the announcement that a $900m combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant will be developed in partnership with Etihad Development Company, a subsidiary of the UAE’s Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE).

  The project will be developed under a build-own-operate model with Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco) purchasing electricity under a 25-year power-purchase agreement.

  For context, Jordan’s power sector saw just $33m in total contract awards in 2025, according to MEED Projects.

  The full-year total last exceeded $100m in 2022, when there were $111m of contract awards. The plant is expected to meet about 10% of Jordan’s electricity demand once operational.

  The kingdom has also been looking at other forms of power generation, such as Jordan’s first 450MW pumped hydroelectric energy storage project near Al-Mujib Dam.

  Earlier this year, US-headquartered K&M Advisors and France’s Artelia were appointed as transaction advisers to carry out the final feasibility study for the project, which is expected to be tendered in the third quarter of 2026.

  The Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources (MEMR) is also planning to undertake the construction of a 1,000MW wind power plant and battery energy storage system near the Port of Aqaba in Jordan.

  The renewable energy scheme could potentially support the kingdom’s emerging green hydrogen industry, including a separate planned $1bn green ammonia and hydrogen project in Aqaba.

  In May, the project became the first publicly announced green ammonia project in Jordan to receive development approval from the Council of Ministers.

  The project would be developed by Jordan Green Ammonia, a special-purpose vehicle funded by the UAE-based 7Fidelity Group and Poland’s Hynfra.

  The project in Aqaba is expected to produce 100,000 tonnes a year of green ammonia from 2030

  Of approximately $6bn-worth of power projects in the pre-execution phase, it is worth noting that about $4.4bn are still in the early study or feed stages.

  Near-term awards are likely to come from several smaller substation and power generation schemes.

  Jordan-Syria power link

  Among the wider pipeline of regional opportunities, Jordan’s power sector could also benefit from efforts to restore electricity connectivity with neighbouring Syria.

  Syria’s Public Establishment for Transmission & Distribution of Electricity recently tendered a contract to repair the 400kV high-voltage interconnector transmission lines between the two countries.

  The works form part of Syria’s $146m Electricity Emergency Project, which is being financed through a World Bank grant and aims to restore critical electricity infrastructure across the country.

  The rehabilitation of the Syria-Jordan interconnector is expected to enable the import of up to 600MW of electricity and represents one of several initiatives under way to rebuild Syria’s power network following years of conflict and underinvestment.

  More broadly, Syria is emerging as an active power market in its own right. In April, Germany’s Siemens Energy signed manufacturing agreements for major power plant projects being developed by a consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Holding.

  The contracts cover combined-cycle power packages for the Zayzoun and Deir Azzour power plant projects, announced last year as part of a $7bn memorandum of understanding between the consortium and Syria’s Ministry of Energy.

  The May 2025 agreements include four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants in Traifawi, Homs and Zayzoun, Deir-Azzour and Mehardeh in Hama with an installed capacity of 4GW.

  Additionally, a 1GW solar power plant will be developed in Wedian Al-Rabee in Syria’s southern region.

  Most of these projects, awarded under concession agreements following a strategic memorandum of understanding framework, are due to come online in 2029.

  After years of inactivity, this is considerable progress. The next step is attracting sufficient interest in new and upcoming tenders. This will signal whether international contractors are ready to re-engage with the country’s power sector.

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  Mark Dowdall
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  Abu Dhabi selects team for 3.3GW Al-Nouf IPP

  9 June 2026

  

   

  State utility Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) has selected a preferred developer and contractor for the 3.3GW Al-Nouf independent power producer (IPP) project in Abu Dhabi, according to sources.

  Located within the newly established Al-Nouf complex, the facility will be the largest single-site, carbon-capture-ready, combined-cycle gas turbine plant in the UAE. 

  Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation has been selected as the preferred developer, with the power-purchase agreement (PPA) expected to be signed in the coming weeks, sources said.

  It is also understood that a joint venture of Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas and Egypt’s Orascom Construction has been picked as the preferred engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

  Three developer consortiums submitted bids earlier this year, along with Sumitomo as the only company to bid individually.

  The bidders included:

  • Aljomaih Energy & Water (Saudi Arabia) / Sembcorp Industries (Singapore) / EDF Power Solutions (France)
  • Engie (France) / Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (Kind) / Korea Western Power Company (Kowepo)
  • Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) / Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE) (UAE)
  • Sumitomo (Japan) 

  Ewec issued a request for proposals for the project last August. It had previously received statements of qualifications for the contract in April 2025.

  This follows confirmation earlier this month that Ewec has signed a PPA with a developer consortium for the 2.5GW Taweelah C IPP project.

  A team of UK-based Alderbrook Finance and US-based Sargent & Lundy is providing financial and technical advisory services to Ewec for the Taweelah C IPP.

  As MEED previously reported, both projects are following the model of Abu Dhabi’s IPP programme, in which developers enter into a long-term agreement with Ewec as the sole procurer. 

  This involves the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of the plant, with the successful developer or developer consortium owning up to 40% of the entity. The remaining equity will be held indirectly by the Abu Dhabi government.

  The project site for the Al-Nouf plant was selected for its ability to accommodate both seawater-cooled power generation and reverse osmosis desalination technologies. The plant will have the capacity to support several utility-scale energy and desalination projects in the future.

  The facility is scheduled to begin commercial operations in the third quarter of 2029.

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  > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

  

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  Mark Dowdall
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  Zoom launches new Saudi data centre at center3

  9 June 2026

  Zoom has announced a new data centre in Saudi Arabia to boost in-kingdom capacity for government and enterprise customers requiring local data residency.

  In a statement, Zoom said the data centre is located within center3, a Saudi-headquartered provider of carrier-neutral data centres and subsea cable systems linking Europe, Asia and Africa. Zoom said the data centre builds on its broader investment plans in the kingdom, including a $75m commitment made last year focused on artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled innovation and the advanced infrastructure required to scale it.

  Zoom said its existing regional data centre, established in 2023, already supports customers with local data residency requirements, while the new site will enhance services for government entities, enterprises and critical national infrastructure organisations.

  AI is an important part of Saudi Arabia’s economic growth plans leading up to 2030. In January, government officials confirmed that as the global economy is evolving rapidly with the rise of AI, some projects such as The Line at Neom have slowed down, while other projects related to the World Cup, Expo 2030, technology and AI have accelerated. 

  The largest AI project in the kingdom is being developed by Humain, which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). In May, it issued a tender inviting firms to develop infrastructure for its planned 6GW hyperscale AI data centre campus in Riyadh.

  

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  Colin Foreman
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  Joint venture confirms Saudi rail construction deal

  9 June 2026

  A joint venture of OHL Arabia, the Saudi subsidiary of Spain’s OHLA, and Hassan Allam Construction Saudi Company, a subsidiary of Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding, has confirmed it has been awarded the contract to complete construction works on the Dammam 2nd Industrial City railway connection project in Saudi Arabia.

  In a statement, the companies said they will deliver the full scope of civil engineering and railway works, including the development of a 22.7-kilometre single-track railway supported by extensive civil foundations, earthworks and track infrastructure. The project also includes major structures, notably a 265-metre bridge over Highway HW615 and a 118-metre bridge over the Aramco Pipeline Corridor.

  The scope also covers the installation of signalling and telecommunications systems, as well as all works required by Saudi Electricity Company to ensure full integration of the new line into the wider network. MEED reported in January that OHL and Hassan Allam had been selected for the SR500m ($133m) contract. SAR tendered the contract in April 2025.

  

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  Colin Foreman
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  Construction of $13bn Trans-Sahara gas pipeline starts in Algeria

  9 June 2026

  On-the-ground work on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) has officially started, according to a statement from Algeria’s oil and gas ministry.

  Project work has begun in southern Algeria, and the project will be jointly supervised by the oil and gas ministries of Algeria, Nigeria and Niger, the statement said.

  The project is estimated to be worth $13bn-$25bn.

  It will span more than 4,000 kilometres from Nigeria to Algeria and is jointly sponsored by Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Algeria’s Sonatrach and Niger’s Sonidep.

  Designed to link gas fields in Nigeria through Niger to Algeria, the pipeline will connect to existing Mediterranean pipelines that are linked to European gas networks.

  The start of work on the Algerian section of the pipeline was hailed as a “historic event” by Algeria’s oil and gas ministry.

  It said that a ceremony to launch the project was attended by Algeria’s oil and gas minister Mohamed Arkab, his Nigerian counterpart Ekperikpe Ekpo and Niger’s Hamadou Tini.

  The heads of the state-owned companies Sonatrach, NNPC and Sonidep also attended the ceremony.

  The pipeline is designed to transport between 20 billion and 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.

  In its statement, Algeria’s oil and gas ministry said that officials had adopted the final feasibility study prepared by UK-based Penspen.

  The contract was awarded to Penspen in March last year, with a six-month completion period.

  In March last year, Penspen said that the pipeline was “a landmark infrastructure project with the potential to transform African energy dynamics, enhance economic integration and bolster global energy security”.

  It also said: “This ambitious initiative is poised to unlock new economic opportunities for transit countries, foster regional cooperation and support Africa’s growing energy demand.”

  The TSGP project was initiated in 2002 by the collaborative efforts of Nigeria and Algeria, with Niger admitted as a co-sponsor in 2008.

  Penspen delivered the original feasibility study for the project in 2006, finding the pipeline to be technically and economically feasible and reliable.

  Last year, Penspen was engaged to revalidate and update the feasibility study, considering earlier route options.

  The study included an analysis of the regional gas market. It also included environmental and social evaluations, economic and financial analysis, cost estimation, legislation and consultation reviews, risk analysis, and the development of the scope of work for the front-end engineering and design work.

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

  GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade > EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity > CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends > MARKET FOCUS: Iraq’s reform window narrows  > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly > OIL & GAS: Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities > LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible > LEGAL:  Saudi Arabia’s foreign property ownership milestone > TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks conclude

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Wil Crisp