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  $70bn infrastructure schemes underpin UAE economic expansion Yasir Iqbal

  8 October 2025

  

   

  The UAE has embarked on a phase of concentrated infrastructure expansion, driven by the urgent need to support economic growth. Fuelled by national ambitions to broaden connectivity and a boom in real estate and tourism, the country will offer significant opportunities for infrastructure-led construction firms in the years ahead.

  According to data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the UAE has invested heavily in public infrastructure over the past two years. A standout trend in last year’s projects market was investment in the transport sector, with contract awards nearly doubling to $12.3bn from $6.6bn in 2023.

  Dubai and Abu Dhabi boast robust transport project pipelines exceeding $70bn in total. Of that, roughly $24bn-worth are in bidding stages – offering substantial short- to medium-term opportunities for contractors.

  The most significant transport projects include the expansion of Al Maktoum International airport, the high-speed rail link connecting Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and Dubai Metro’s new Gold Line.

  Abu Dhabi

  Arguably the most strategically important initiative is the UAE high‑speed rail project linking Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Recent developments in which contractors have formed joint ventures to bid on design-and-build work packages mark a major shift from planning towards procurement and delivery. As tendering proceeds, major international rail firms and finance providers will be mobilised.

  This project will demand complex systems integration, signalling, track works and station architecture – presenting a long run of opportunities for both global engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms and capable local contractors experienced in rail civil works and system installation.

  Abu Dhabi has also signalled a recalibration aimed at accelerating infrastructure delivery in the capital. In April, investment entities ADQ, International Holding Company and Modon Holding formed Gridora to support private and public-private partnerships in delivering infrastructure across the emirate.

  Gridora is intended to catalyse private sector participation in infrastructure. This aligns with broader government goals to diversify funding and leverage private sector expertise on large-scale projects.

  In May, Abu Dhabi Projects & Infrastructure Centre (Adpic) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gridora to co-deliver transport infrastructure projects in the UAE capital. The MoU establishes a working committee to explore opportunities and identify pilot schemes that Gridora might undertake. These include Adpic’s plans to deliver infrastructure projects in Abu Dhabi valued at over AED 35bn ($9.5bn). 

  Other major upcoming transport projects in Abu Dhabi include Tram Line 4 and the second phase of the Mid Island Parkway Project (MIPP). Tram Line 4 will run through Yas Island and residential areas of Al-Raha, connecting them to Zayed International airport. The project was unveiled by Abu Dhabi Transport Company during GlobalRail 2025 in October.

  The main construction tender for MIPP phase 2 is expected to be issued by the end of this year. This phase involves building approximately 11 kilometres of highways, including three- to five-lane roads connecting Um Yifeenah, Al-Jubail, Al-Sammaliyyah and Sas Al‑Nakhl islands to Khalifa City and the E10 highway.

  Dubai

  Last year, Dubai awarded about $7bn in contracts to improve transport infrastructure, including the AED 20.5bn ($5.5bn) main contract for the Dubai Metro Blue Line, signed in December.

  The emirate has now turned its focus to enabling infrastructure that supports its long-term strategy to sustain tourism, trade and real estate expansion. The start of construction at Al-Maktoum International airport exemplifies this strategy.

  Earlier this year, Dubai awarded multimillion-dollar contracts to the local Binladin Contracting Group and Tristar E&C for the new runway and enabling works on the main terminal, respectively.

  Several billion dollars’ worth of contracts are expected imminently, as authorities evaluate bids for the concourse substructures and the automated people mover system at the airport.

  On the urban transit front, the Dubai Metro Gold Line is expected to unlock new growth corridors and bolster the emirate’s real estate momentum. In June, the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) received proposals from firms, with US-based Aecom emerging as the lowest bidder for the five stages of consultancy work on the project.

  The Gold Line will start at Al-Ghubaiba in Bur Dubai. It will run parallel to – and alleviate pressure on – the existing Red Line, before heading inland to Business Bay, Meydan, Global Village and residential developments in Dubailand.

  This year, Dubai has also invested heavily in its road network. Contract awards year-to-date have already reached $1.216 bn, surpassing the full-year total for 2024 ($774m) and nearly matching the entire 2023 figure.

  If current trends hold, 2025 could exceed previous peaks of $1.621bn in 2017 and $1.644bn in 2008.

  This acceleration stems not only from maintenance and refurbishment needs but also from ambitious new arterial projects, junction upgrades and mobility enhancements across the city – designed to ease congestion and connect new master-planned communities.

  ---

  MEED's November 2025 special report on the UAE also includes:

  > GOVERNMENT: Public spending ties the UAE closer together
  > ECONOMY: UAE growth expansion beats expectations
  > CONSTRUCTION: UAE construction faces delivery pressures
  > DOWNSTREAM: Taziz fulfils Abu Dhabi’s chemical ambitions at pace

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Taziz fulfils Abu Dhabi’s chemical ambitions at pace Indrajit Sen

  8 October 2025

  

   

  Taziz was created to extract more commercial value from Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon production by directing a portion of it to local third-party investors to use as feedstock to produce high-value chemicals – some of which had never been manufactured in the UAE before.

  Four years since its establishment, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group) subsidiary has performed commendably in fulfilling its core mandate: attracting specialty chemical players to the country.

  Taziz – a 60:40 joint venture of Adnoc Group and Abu Dhabi’s industrial holding company ADQ – is in the execution phase of six out of the seven projects it announced under the first phase of its sprawling chemical derivatives complex in Ruwais Industrial City.

  The latest of the Taziz Industrial Chemicals Zone projects to make progress is Project Salt – a cluster of three plants that will produce ethylene dichloride (EDC), chlor-alkali and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

  The planned EDC plant will use chlorine from the associated chlor-alkali plant as its main feedstock and will have a production capacity of up to 1.2 million tonnes a year (t/y).

  Part of the EDC output will, in turn, be used as feedstock by the PVC plant, which is planned to have a production capacity of 350,000 t/y. Surplus quantities of EDC and caustic soda from the chlor-alkali plant are intended to be exported.

  A consortium of Chinese contractors – China National Chemical Engineering Company, China Chengda Engineering Company and China Tianchen Engineering Corporation – is the frontrunner to win the main contract for Project Salt, according to sources.

  South Korean contractor Samsung E&A is understood to have been the only other bidder for Project Salt.

  Taziz first announced the EDC, chlor-alkali and PVC plants in December 2021. India’s Reliance Industries was named as the main investor in the chemical plants at the time. Reliance is understood to have withdrawn from Project Salt and has been replaced by France-based Kem One.

  Taziz Industrial Chemicals Zone

  In addition to the three chemical plants planned under Project Salt, Taziz awarded Samsung E&A the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract in February to build the UAE’s first methanol plant in the Taziz Industrial Chemicals Zone.

  The value of the EPC contract is $1.7bn, with a construction duration of 44 months.

  The nameplate production capacity of the planned methanol complex is 5,000 metric tonnes a day, or 1.8 million metric t/y. Switzerland-based energy and chemicals company Proman is a joint investor in the project.

  Separately, a joint venture of UAE-based Fertiglobe, South Korea’s GS Energy Corporation and Japanese investment firm Mitsui & Company has invested in a “world-scale” blue ammonia production facility in the Ruwais petrochemicals derivatives complex.

  The Fertiglobe/GS Energy/Mitsui joint venture awarded Italian contractor Tecnimont the EPC contract for the project in May 2024. Construction on the facility started in June last year.

  Fertiglobe has also planned an expansion phase of the blue hydrogen and blue ammonia production complex, to be developed under the second phase of the Taziz Industrial Chemicals Zone. Known as Project Rabdan, the new complex will use natural gas supplied by Adnoc – Fertiglobe’s parent company and majority shareholder – to produce up to 1 million t/y of low-carbon liquid ammonia, also known as blue ammonia.

  The Rabdan facility will also have the capacity to produce 192,000 t/y of blue hydrogen and 892,000 t/y of nitrogen for supply to a local offtaker. In addition to the main blue ammonia production plant, the planned complex will feature units for hydrogen production and synthesis gas purification, as well as pipelines for the transport of feedstock gas, hydrogen and nitrogen. 

  The Rabdan facility will have its own storage, export, utilities and offsite units, and will also tap into those from the wider Taziz ecosystem. A carbon capture and storage (CCS) system within the Rabdan complex will capture, compress and transport carbon dioxide emissions from its operations to a larger Adnoc CCS hub in Ruwais.

  Adnoc/Fertiglobe had initiated a feed-to-EPC competition to deliver the Rabdan project in the first quarter of the year, with contractors submitting proposals for the contest in March. The project operators had even shortlisted India’s Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon, Germany-based Linde and French contractor Technip Energies to participate in the feed-to-EPC competition for the project.

  However, the prices submitted by the bidders for feed work were above Adnoc/Fertiglobe’s budget, leading to a stalemate. A final investment decision on Project Rabdan is now expected in 2026.

  Adnoc Group downstream projects

  Other downstream subsidiaries of Adnoc Group, particularly Adnoc Gas, continue to make progress with vital projects. Adnoc Gas recently received technical bids from contractors for EPC works on a major project to add a new gas processing train at its Habshan complex in Abu Dhabi.

  Adnoc Gas, the natural gas processing business of Adnoc Group, processes about 10 billion standard cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas across several sites, including its Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa and Habshan facilities, as well as a natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation plant at Ruwais.

  The Habshan complex is one of the biggest gas processing facilities in the UAE, and in the Middle East and North Africa region. Its output capacity is 6.1 billion cf/d. The complex comprises five trains and 14 processing units that receive gas feedstock from onshore and offshore fields in Abu Dhabi.

  With Adnoc Group pressing ahead with its P5 programme to raise oil production potential to 5 million barrels a day by 2027, high volumes of associated gas are set to enter the grid.

  The new train at the Habshan complex, which Adnoc Gas expects to commission in 2029, will play a key role in handling these additional gas volumes.

  Meanwhile, contractors have submitted technical proposals to Adnoc Gas for feed work as part of a design-update competition for a project to install a fifth natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation train at its Ruwais gas processing facility.

  The fifth NGL fractionation train will have an output capacity of 22,000 tonnes a day (t/d), or about 8 million t/y. It will also include NGL fractionation facilities, downstream treatment units, sulphur recovery units, product storage, loading facilities and associated utilities. The scope also covers flares, interconnection pipelines with existing facilities, two propane liquefied petroleum gas storage tanks and one paraffinic naphtha storage tank.

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  UAE power sector hits record $8.9bn in contracts Mark Dowdall

  8 October 2025

  

   

  The UAE’s power market has recorded its highest annual total for contract awards on record, with $8.9bn confirmed across 26 projects so far in 2025.

  The total surpasses all previous years, including the pre-pandemic peaks of 2017 and 2018, when contract awards were valued at $7.4bn and $7.3bn, respectively. 

  It is the first time since then that investment in power generation and transmission has returned to record levels, though the makeup of projects presents a more complex picture.

  Landmark project

  The largest contract award, and the only independent power producer (IPP) project contract this year, is the $6bn solar plant and 19GWh battery energy storage system (bess) in Abu Dhabi. 

  A consortium of India’s Larsen & Toubro and Power China won the main contract for the project, which will be the world’s largest round-the-clock combined solar and storage facility when completed.

  Developed by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) in partnership with Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec), this single IPP accounts for 67% of total contract value in 2025, reflecting how the UAE’s investment cycle has shifted from conventional engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects to large, capital-intensive public-private partnerships at the utility scale.

  In 2017, the only IPP made up about 15% of total power awards. A year later, the Hamriyah combined-cycle plant accounted for 21%. Across both years, 92 EPC contracts were issued for power projects.

  By contrast, in 2025, just 21 EPC contracts have been awarded, reflecting a narrower but higher-value market. While total spending has reached new highs, the number and diversity of projects have declined, signalling consolidation around large developer-led schemes.

  One other investment in the power sector exceeded $1bn this year. The Al-Dhafra open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) plant is being financed by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa). Taqa will operate the 1,000MW facility under a 24-year power-purchase agreement with Ewec, signed in April. A joint venture of South Korea’s Samsung C&T and local firm Trojan General Contracting secured the EPC contract.

  Pipeline projects

  At present, projects under bid evaluation total around $8.4bn, representing those expected to be awarded in the near term. Of this, $2.6bn is linked to solar photovoltaic (PV) schemes, $4.5bn to new gas-fired plants, and $1.1bn to substations and control centres. Five IPPs account for over 90% of the total value under evaluation.

  The largest is a 2,500MW gas-fired IPP planned within Abu Dhabi’s Al-Taweelah complex, for which three consortiums have submitted bids. The project is expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the successful developer to hold a 40% equity stake.

  Further upstream, about $14.3bn-worth of power projects are currently out to tender. Oil- and gas-based plants comprise the largest share at $7.8bn, followed by $4.9bn in solar and $1.2bn in transmission works. The figures highlight how conventional power remains essential, even as renewables dominate long-term policy goals.

  Grid investments

  Beyond generation, Taqa Transmission has awarded $760m across nine grid projects, complemented by $550m in network and efficiency contracts through Taqa Energy Services. Emerge, the Masdar-EDF joint venture, added $226m in distributed solar projects, while Etihad Water & Electricity (Etihad WE) and Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (Sewa) implemented smaller regional connection schemes valued below $50m each.

  These ownership patterns confirm the continuing concentration of activity around Abu Dhabi-linked entities, with Ewec, Masdar and Taqa driving most large-scale procurement. Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) remains active through grid and solar expansion, while smaller northern utilities focus on targeted distribution upgrades aligned with regional demand.

  Transmission and distribution upgrades have become central to maintaining grid stability and integrating intermittent renewables. Ewec and Taqa are expanding 400kV and 132kV networks across Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates, while Dewa continues to reinforce its cable and substation systems in Dubai. These works are vital precursors to the next phase of large-scale solar and battery storage integration.

  Solar growth

  Renewables remain a key pillar, even as the pace of new awards moderates. Upcoming solar IPPs, including Ewec’s Al-Zarraf and Al-Khazna projects, will expand its capacity in clean energy to more than 6GW once operational. Contracts for both are expected to be awarded by the end of the year. 

  In Dubai, Dewa is focused on completing new phases of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park and piloting grid-scale storage initiatives. The utility is preparing to tender the main contract to develop the seventh phase to prequalified firms. This phase will include a 1,600MW solar PV plant and a 1,000MW bess, providing up to six hours of storage. 

  In terms of sector composition, solar power leads the way in 2025, representing $6.6bn of total contract awards, propelled by the $6bn Abu Dhabi solar and storage IPP.

  Oil- and gas-fired plants contributed $1.1bn, while transmission and cable works added $449m. The remaining share came from substation and control-centre developments. Waste-to-energy and wind remain limited, with less than $200m in combined tender activity this year.

  Market concentration

  Compared with previous cycles, ownership structures have stayed broadly consistent but become more concentrated. In 2022 and 2023, Dewa accounted for a higher number of smaller-scale projects, averaging about 15% of total annual contract value. In 2025, that share fell to about 10%, though with larger average contract sizes, reflecting a more strategic investment focus. Ewec’s total investment value, meanwhile, has more than doubled since 2024.

  Taken together, the figures present a mixed picture for 2025. The UAE’s power sector is attracting record levels of investment, but that capital is flowing into a handful of large IPPs rather than a broad portfolio of EPC schemes. The shift illustrates both the success of the public-private partnership model and the consolidation of opportunities into fewer, more complex projects, a sign of maturity, but also of growing selectivity in the market.

  ---

  MEED's November 2025 special report on the UAE also includes:

  > GOVERNMENT: Public spending ties the UAE closer together
  > ECONOMY: UAE growth expansion beats expectations
  > CONSTRUCTION: UAE construction faces delivery pressures
  > TRANSPORT: $70bn infrastructure schemes underpin UAE economic expansion

   

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Finnish firm wins Jeddah Tower project subcontract Yasir Iqbal

  8 October 2025

  Finland-headquartered firm Kone has won a subcontract to install elevators and escalators for the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia.

  In an official statement, Kone said: “The contract also includes a two-year maintenance for 67 elevators and escalators, including 29 Kone MiniSpace elevators with a speed of up to 10m/s, seven Kone MiniSpace DoubleDeck elevators and two Kone JumpLift construction time elevators.

  “Additionally, the order includes 21 Kone MonoSpace elevators, eight Kone TravelMaster 110 Escalators, as well as Kone Destination Control System, Kone 24/7 Connect and Kone E-Link remote monitoring,” the statement added.

  The firm did not disclose the contract value.

  In January, the concrete pouring works for Jeddah Tower began, marking the official commencement of construction on what will be the world’s tallest tower upon completion.

  The local Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) is undertaking the construction work. In October, it was awarded an estimated SR8bn ($2.1bn) contract to complete the remaining works.

  When finished, Jeddah Tower will be more than 172 metres taller than the 828-metre-high Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building since 2009.

  The Jeddah Tower’s superstructure is about one-third complete, with 63 of the 157 floors completed. In the early and mid-2010s, SBG was the main contractor on the project. Germany’s Bauer completed the tower’s piling work.

  The architect is US-based Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill, and the engineering consultant is Lebanon’s Dar Al-Handasah (Shair & Partners).

  Jeddah Tower is the centrepiece of the Jeddah Economic City development. The project’s first phase, which includes the main tower, covers an area of 1.5 million square metres.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  UAE construction faces delivery pressures Colin Foreman

  8 October 2025

  

   

  Traffic backs up most mornings on the road into Abu Dhabi’s Mussafah Industrial Area, as trucks return after making early-morning deliveries to construction sites in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

  The traffic reflects the record levels of construction activity currently underway in the UAE. It also points to the pressures involved when delivering projects in a market that is starting to overheat.

  Record awards 

  According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, $53bn-worth of construction contracts were awarded across the UAE in 2024 – up 27% from the $45bn awarded in 2023, which itself broke the long-standing $32bn record set in 2008.

  The majority of the awarded work consists of building projects across subsectors such as residential, retail, commercial, hospitality, healthcare and education. Other recorded contracts include earthmoving, dredging and reclamation works.

  In terms of regional distribution, Dubai led with $35bn in contract awards in 2024.

  Abu Dhabi was the second most active market with $9bn, followed by Ajman with $3.2bn, Sharjah with $2.7bn and Ras Al-Khaimah with $2.2bn. The other emirates, Fujairah and Umm Al-Quwain, did not cross the $1bn mark. 

  As of 7 October 2025, total awards stood at $24bn, suggesting that the record highs of 2024 are unlikely to be repeated this year.

  Once again, Dubai remains the most active market with $18bn in awards, followed by Sharjah with $2.5bn, Abu Dhabi with $1.8bn and Ras Al-Khaimah with $1.7bn. The remaining three emirates, Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al-Quwain, had not awarded more than $1bn in construction contracts.

  Activity surge

  The anticipated decline in contract awards in 2025 places the UAE in an interesting position.

  Although fewer new contracts are being awarded, construction activity across the federation continues to ramp up as contracts from 2023 and 2024 approach peak execution. It is this surge in activity that contributes to the traffic congestion in Mussafah and other industrial areas each morning.

  The heightened level of construction activity is having other effects. Developers are now increasingly concerned that there are not enough contractors to deliver their projects. This problem is particularly acute in the tier-one space, where leading international contractors – as well as some prominent local players – have exited the market.

  At the same time, developer ambition has grown. In the early stages of the post-Covid recovery, the market was focused almost exclusively on villa projects. Now, buoyed by sustained growth in property prices, heightened competition and a desire to stand out, developers are launching increasingly complex projects. These include tall towers and buildings with non-standard architectural forms that demand high levels of technical expertise to deliver.

  Even longstanding developers are feeling the strain. Emaar chairman Mohammed Alabbar was the first to raise the issue publicly, stating in late 2023: “We have problems in Dubai now with execution because the market is going 30% up every year in volume, which we have to handle.”

  Delivery solutions

  Various solutions are being explored to address this delivery challenge. Some developers are forming framework agreements with a pool of trusted contractors, while others are turning to direct negotiations or issuing limited tenders to only two or three firms.

  Some developers have taken matters into their own hands by delivering projects in-house, using their own contracting arms and suppliers. As market pressures intensify, more developers are following suit, setting up their own construction divisions to secure project delivery.

  Future outlook

  Based on the total value of contract awards so far this year, the market may soon get some respite. Further relief is expected in 2026 as projects awarded in 2023 near completion, followed by the wrap-up of 2024 awards.

  If the market cools, some of the delivery challenges experienced over the past two years should ease. While this would bring relief to many, there is lingering concern in the construction sector that Dubai’s market has shown a tendency over the past two decades to swing dramatically from boom to bust. If that pattern repeats, the consequences for the industry could be profound.

  Alternatively, 2025 may simply be a pause before activity returns to record levels in 2026. Although some reports have warned of a possible correction in the property market, rising prices continue to support project launches and contract awards.

  Should that trend continue, the delivery challenges of 2025 may well become the new normal.

  ---

  MEED's November 2025 special report on the UAE also includes:

  > GOVERNMENT: Public spending ties the UAE closer together
  > ECONOMY: UAE growth expansion beats expectations

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  Colin Foreman