Levant states wrestle regional pressures

1 July 2025

Commentary
John Bambridge
Analysis editor

The Levant countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria are all in various degrees of distress, and collectively represent the Israel-Palestine-adjacent geography most severely impacted by that conflict, including in the latest phase initiated by Israel’s attack on Iran. In all three cases, however, recent developments have provided tentative hope for the improvement of their political and economic situations in 2025.

In the case of Lebanon, still reeling from Israel’s invasion and occupation of the country’s southern territories in retaliation for Hezbollah’s missile attacks on northern Israeli cities, the hope has come in the form of the country’s first elected president since 2022, and a new prime minister. 

The task before both leaders is to stabilise a deeply fragile political and economic situation while avoiding further degradation to Lebanon’s weakened state capacity. If the country can ride through present circumstances to the upcoming parliamentary elections in May 2026, the possibility could also emerge for a more comprehensive shake-up of its stagnant politics.

In civil war-wracked Syria, the toppling of the Bashar Al-Assad government in December and the swift takeover by forces loyal to Ahmed Al-Sharaa have heralded a political transition – even if it is not the secular one that Syria’s population might have once hoped for. 

The new president has already made progress in reaching agreements for the rollback of EU and US sanctions and an influx of foreign investment that his predecessor could only have dreamt of securing. This opens the door to a future of economic recovery for the country.

The reopening and reconstruction of the Syrian economy also has the potential to benefit the entire region, by rebooting trade and providing growth opportunities.

For Jordan, the recent conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories has hit tourism hard, while also pitching the country’s anti-Israel street against its US-allied government. Washington’s threats to cut aid and to raise tariffs on Jordan have added to the political strain on the country, and this has only been staved off by in-person overtures by King Abdullah II to the US government. 

The outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran has only worsened the economic climate for Jordan, with both Israeli jets and Iranian munitions frequenting Jordanian airspace and providing a constant reminder of how close the country is to being dragged into regional unrest. Yet Jordan has avoided conflict to date, and the country’s GDP growth is expected to rise modestly in 2025 as an increase in exports and projects activity stimulates the economy, despite the wider regional headwinds.

The overall picture for this region is therefore one of tentative recovery from recent shocks, ripe with potential for a better path forward as the Levant rebuilds and works together to overcome the challenges that have so long afflicted the region.

 


MEED’s July 2025 report on the Levant includes:

> COMMENT: Levant states wrestle regional pressures

JORDAN
> ECONOMY: Jordan economy nears inflection point
> GAS: Jordan pushes ahead with gas plans 

> POWER & WATER: Record-breaking year for Jordan’s water sector
> CONSTRUCTION: PPP schemes to drive Jordan construction
> DATABANK: Jordan’s economy holds pace, for now

LEBANON
> ECONOMY: Lebanon’s outlook remains fraught

SYRIA
> RECONSTRUCTION: Who will fund Syria’s $1tn rebuild?

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14122966/main.gif
John Bambridge
Related Articles
  • Iraq awards Baghdad airport PPP deal

    29 October 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Iraq has awarded a contract to develop Baghdad International airport on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis to a consortium comprising Luxembourg-based Corporacion America Airports (CAAP) and local firm Amwaj International.

    According to local media reports, the estimated $764m contract covers the rehabilitation of airport infrastructure, construction of a new passenger terminal, and operations and maintenance under a 25-year concession.

    In a statement on its website, the Ministry of Transport said the airport’s initial capacity is expected to be around 9 million passengers, gradually increasing to 15 million.

    Iraq’s Ministry of Transport and General Company for Airports & Air Navigation Services received the bids earlier this month, MEED reported.

    The bidding consortium included:

    • Asyad Holding / Top International Engineering Corporation / Lamar Holding / YDA Insaat / Dublin Airport Authority (Saudi Arabia/Saudi Arabia/Saudi Arabia/Turkiye/Ireland) 
    • Corporacion America Airports / Amwaj International (Luxembourg/Iraq)
    • ERG International / Terminal Yapi / ERG Insaat (UK/Turkiye/Turkiye)

    The media report added that the winning consortium offered the government 43.05% of total airport revenues.

    The Asyad-led consortium offered 38.05%.

    The ERG International-led consortium was disqualified from the bidding process.

    The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the project’s lead transaction adviser.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14971278/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Saudi Electricity Company secures $3bn financing deal

    29 October 2025

    Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has signed a $3bn financing agreement with a consortium of international banks at the Future Investment Initiative Forum (FII9) in Riyadh.

    The financing comes as SEC continues to expand its project portfolio to meet rising electricity demand. In September, SEC outlined plans to invest SR220bn ($58.7bn) in power projects between 2025 and 2030.

    This includes SR135bn ($36bn) and SR85bn ($22.7bn) for transmission and distribution, respectively, and is part of long-term plans to meet growing electricity demand while improving grid efficiency and reliability.

    The financing partners include the UAE's Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Emirates NBD.

    Also included are Bank of East Asia (Hong Kong), Bank of China, Barclays (UK), China Construction Bank, HSBC (UK), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (China), ING (Netherlands) and Mega Bank (Taiwan)

    The state-controlled utility, majority-owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has dominated procurement activity in the power sector in 2025, awarding approximately $6bn-worth of contracts.

    This has been led by two standalone projects in Dawadmi and Riyadh, each with a capacity of 500MW/2,000MWh and an estimated value of about $600m.

    The utility continues to advance other major developments including the PP13 and PP14 combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants in Riyadh. In October, it signed $3.4bn in offtake deals for the plants, which have a total capacity of 3,356MW.

    It also recently reached financial close for Saudi Arabia’s Qurayyah CCGT independent power project (IPP) expansion.

    SEC will develop, finance, build, own and operate the 3,010MW plant as part of a consortium with Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power and Hajj Abdullah Alireza & Company (Haaco).

    Alongside its financing agreement, SEC launched a new Supply Chain Financing Programme during FII9 in partnership with local fintech Manafa and US-headquartered SAP Taulia, supported by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund.

    The initiative aims to improve liquidity across the energy supply chain and enable suppliers to access fast financing at more competitive rates.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14971266/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Design work completed for $1bn Libyan pipeline

    29 October 2025

     

    Front-end engineering and design (feed) work has been completed for the major oil pipeline that will extend from oil fields in the south of Libya to the oil export terminal of Es Sider, according to industry sources.

    Libya’s Waha Oil Company, a subsidiary of state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC), is developing the pipeline.

    The 700-kilometre pipeline will have a diameter of 32 inches and the capacity to transport 1 million barrels a day (b/d) of oil.

    One source said: “It is crucial that the existing pipeline is replaced. The existing pipeline is suffering frequent leaks and cannot handle higher pressures.

    “In 1960, when the pipeline was installed, the pipe thickness was 36mm, but it is now so worn out that this has been reduced to around 8mm across much of the pipeline. In some spots, it is even less than 8mm.

    “Production cannot be increased at the oil field due to this ageing facility.”

    Waha is preparing to eventually tender an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project, which is estimated to have a value of between $1bn and $1.25bn.

    Although the pipeline’s actual usage is unlikely to exceed 300,000 b/d for some time after its completion, it is being designed to be ready for a significant increase in oil production from Libya’s southern oil fields.

    It is unclear when Waha plans to issue an invitation to bid for the project’s EPC contract.

    In 2012, Waha announced a project to replace key oil pipelines in Libya, but funding issues delayed the timeline and invitations to bid were never issued.

    In January 2024, MEED reported that Waha was considering plans to boost its production by 1 million b/d.

    At the time, the subsidiary was producing about 300,000 b/d.

    Earlier this month, NOC announced that the country’s crude oil production had reached 1,383,430 barrels a day (b/d).

    The company said that natural gas production was 2,519 million cubic feet a day (cf/d), while condensate production was 49,013 b/d.

    NOC said it aimed to further increase production capacity to approximately 1.6 million cf/d by 2026.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14970171/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Qatari firm tenders Oman gabbro mining works

    29 October 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC) has issued a tender for additional works at its gabbro mining development in the Khatmat Milaha area of Oman, close to a border crossing with the UAE.

    The broad scope of work involves the remaining works for two gabbro quarries and the construction of an export jetty at Khatmat Milaha, state-owned QPMC, also known as Al-Awalia, said in the tender notice.

    Firms have until 11 November to submit bids for the tender, QPMC said.

    QPMC owns a 3 million tonne‑a‑year (t/y) gabbro quarry at Khatmat Milaha in Oman, which is understood to have been commissioned in 2020. The quarry has an expandable capacity of 7 million t/y.

    The Omani quarry project had been planned for a number of years. In 2015, QPMC signed an agreement with Belgian firm Rent-A-Port to start work on the Khatmat Milaha quarry project.

    Rent-A-Port was the consultant for QPMC’s gabbro port in Qatar. A joint venture of Denmark’s FLSmidth and Sixco completed the estimated QR1.6bn ($430m) contract to build the aggregate berths in 2017. 

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14968152/main2817.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Kuwait forms project company for Al-Zour North expansion

    29 October 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Kuwait has formally established a new public shareholding company to manage the next stages of the Al-Zour North independent water and power plant (IWPP).

    The Gulf Alliance for Power & Water Company will be responsible for the construction, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of Al-Zour North IWPP phases two and three.

    The Al-Zour North phases two and three IWPP involves constructing a 2,700MW power plant and a 120-million-imperial-gallon-a-day desalination facility. The project’s total estimated value is approximately $4bn.

    In August, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and Kuwait-based financial institution Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) signed a contract to develop the project, which will be the country’s largest IWPP.

    The consortium of Acwa Power and GIC will hold 40% of the project company through Al-Zour Kuwaiti Second & Third Holding Company.

    The Public-Private Partnership Authority will hold 10% on behalf of government entities, while 50% will be offered to Kuwaiti citizens through a public subscription process.

    Al-Zour North IWPP phases two and three is owned by the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (Kapp) and the Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy.

    It will be developed under a build-operate-transfer model with a 25-year offtake agreement.

    Sepco3 is the EPC contractor for the project.

    The project company has been set up with an authorised and issued capital of KD197.032m ($639m).

    This capital is divided into 1.97 billion shares, each with a nominal value of 100 fils. The paid-up capital at the time of establishment is KD49.2m.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14963914/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall