meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Mall of Saudi plans put on hold

1 May 2023

 

Register for MEED's guest programme 

Dubai-based developer Majid al-Futtaim (MAF) has put plans for its estimated SR6bn ($1.6bn) Mall of Saudi project in Riyadh on hold.

The project had been moving towards construction. MAF selected a joint venture (JV) of the local El-Seif Engineering Contracting Company and Dubai-based Alec for pre-construction work on the project in mid-2022.

The plan was to then appoint the JV as the main contractor for the project.

The decision to put the Mall of Saudi project on hold comes at a time of change for MAF following the death of its founder Majid al-Futtaim in December 2021. Further change came in January this year when Ahmed Galal Ismail replaced CEO Alain Bejjani.

The Mall of Saudi project was expected to be one of the largest in the region, with over 600 stores with a gross leasable area of 300,000 square metres. The mall was originally planned to include the largest ski slope and snow park in the Middle East, but these plans were later changed as MAF considered alternative entertainment offerings.

The planned retail centre is the key component of the estimated $4.3bn Riyadh North masterplanned development, which includes nine hotels and branded residences with 2,000 keys.

The decision to remove the snow park from the mall last year indicated that MAF was aware of competing retail centres under construction in the Saudi capital.

In November 2022, Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven) awarded Lebanon’s Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) an estimated $650m contract to build the Exit 15 entertainment complex, which includes entertainment, retail, an indoor water park, a snow park and a ski slope.

A year earlier, in November 2021, Shomoul Holding Company appointed Nesma & Partners to deliver The Avenues – Riyadh. That $1.7bn project includes 1,300 retail units and five towers with hotel, residential and office space.

MAF declined to comment on the Mall of Saudi being put on hold.

COMMENT: Stalled mall highlights Saudi market weakness

MEED's latest special report on Saudi Arabia includes:

> GIGAPROJECTS: Saudi Arabia under project pressure
> ECONOMY: Riyadh steps up the Vision 2030 tempo
> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction project ramp-up accelerates
> UPSTREAM: Aramco slated to escalate upstream spending
> DOWNSTREAM: Petchems ambitions define Saudi downstream
> POWER: Saudi Arabia reinvigorates power sector
> WATER: Saudi water begins next growth phase
> BANKING: Saudi banks bid to keep ahead of the pack

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10802977/main.jpg
Colin Foreman

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Aldar launches Yas Island community park project

    30 June 2026

    Abu Dhabi-based real estate developer Aldar, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development (DCD), has announced the launch of Yas Community Park on Yas Island.

    A key feature of the park is Nabdh Yas, a community hub developed in collaboration with DCD.

    Once open, Nabdh Yas will serve as a central gathering space and host a range of community-led programmes.

    In a statement, Aldar said: “Nabdh Yas will be delivered on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, marking the first time private sector investment has been directed towards this type of community infrastructure.

    “With DCD overseeing the hub’s development and long-term management, the initiative reflects Abu Dhabi’s focus on innovative approaches that generate lasting social value and enhance community wellbeing,” the statement added.

    A memorandum of understanding was signed between Aldar and DCD.

    The agreement establishes a framework to expand the Nabdh Community Hub model across Aldar developments in Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain and Al-Dhafra.

    Last month, Aldar announced its Q1 financial results, reporting a 20% year-on-year increase in net profit after tax to AED2.3bn ($626m).

    Aldar Development recorded a 14% year-on-year rise in revenue to $1.7bn, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) increased 23% to $599m.

    UAE revenue backlog rose to $17bn at the end of March from $16.6bn at the end of December, with an average duration of 29 months.

    The group attributed its performance to revenue from its development backlog and steady income from its investment properties.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17489270/main.jpeg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Dubai sets August deadline for Airport Express metro bids

    30 June 2026

     

    Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has given consultants until 10 August to submit proposals for a contract to study and design the Airport Express Line, which will extend from Dubai International airport (DXB) in the Al-Garhoud area to Al-Maktoum International Airport (DWC) in the Jebel Ali area.

    The previous deadline was 8 July.

    The proposed line will stretch about 55 kilometres and include five stations, providing passengers with facilities such as remote airline check-in, baggage drop-off and security screening.

    The RTA issued the tender in April, with an initial deadline of June, as MEED reported.

    The new line will run from the Red Line metro station at DXB through Al Jaddaf, along Al-Khail Road to a new station at Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), before continuing to DWC.

    There will be two spur lines. The first will run from the new JVC station to Al-Fardan Exchange metro station at Emirates Golf Club, while the second will branch towards Business Bay, where another station will be built.

    The new line appears to follow a similar route to the Etihad Rail high-speed railway project, which is under construction and due to be completed by 2030.

    The Airport Express Line scheme is the latest metro project to be tendered by the RTA this year. Earlier this month, MEED exclusively reported that the RTA had issued the request for qualification notice for a contract to build the new Gold Line, as part of its expansion of the Dubai Metro network.

    Tendering activity is also ongoing for the Route 2020 extension, which will start from the Expo 2020 metro station and connect to DWC’s West Terminal.

    MEED exclusively reported in April that consultants had submitted bids for the project.

    The extension to the line will run for about 3km and will feature two stations.

    The existing Route 2020 metro link is a 15km-long line that branches off the Red Line at Jebel Ali metro station. The line comprises 11.8km of elevated tracks and 3.2km of tunnels, and has five elevated stations and two underground stations.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17489266/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Eni increases gas production in Libya

    30 June 2026

    The Italian oil and gas company Eni has announced the startup of offshore gas production enabled by the Sabratha compression project in Libya.

    The client on the project was Mellitah Oil & Gas (MOG), a joint venture of Eni and Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC).

    The Sabratha compression project was designed to increase gas output from the Bahr Essalam gas field, located approximately 100 kilometres off Libya’s coast.

    The scope of the project included the installation of a new 1,600-tonne compression module on the Sabratha platform, equipped with new compression trains, providing an overall compression capacity of about 440 million cubic feet a day.

    In a statement, Eni said: “The new module enables production under low-pressure conditions, offsetting the natural decline of the Bahr Essalam field and maximising gas recovery, ensuring increased volumes of gas of about 800 million cubic metres per year and associated condensate.

    “This additional production will play a critical role in sustaining national power generation, reinforcing Libya’s energy security, and supporting export to Italy via the Greenstream pipeline.”

    The company also said that the project strengthened the resilience of Libya’s gas infrastructure and represented “a tangible contribution to the stability and growth of the country’s energy sector”.

    MOG also has two other projects in Libya that are currently under execution.

    The first is the Bouri gas utilisation project, whose tie-in and commissioning activities are under way following the recent installation of the Bouri gas recovery module.

    The other project, known as ‘Structures A&E’, will develop two offshore gas fields.

    Eni has been present in Libya since 1959 and last year had average equity production in the country of approximately 162,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17489032/main3444.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Jordan faces fresh round of challenges

    29 June 2026

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17479483/main.gif
    MEED Editorial
  • Levant recovers in three speeds

    29 June 2026

    Commentary
    Colin Foreman
    Editor

    The Levant enters the second half of 2026 in a state of uneven recovery. Jordan, Lebanon and Syria are each navigating distinct pressures, but share a common condition: the pace of improvement is being set less by domestic policy than by the willingness of external actors to commit capital and the capacity of local systems to absorb it.

    Syria presents the most dramatic transformation. The fall of the Assad government in December 2024 unlocked a wave of Gulf and international engagement that would have been unimaginable a year earlier. The World Bank estimates the cost of reconstruction at $216bn, and commitments are accumulating. Qatar’s UCC Holding anchors two of the largest, a $7bn power programme and a $4bn rebuild of Damascus International airport. Dubai’s DP World is operational at Tartous under a 30-year concession. Abu Dhabi’s Eagle Hills has presented plans for urban developments in Damascus and Latakia with a reported budget of $50bn.

    Yet the gap between commitment and delivery is wide, and the binding constraint is financial infrastructure rather than investor appetite. Syria’s central bank sent its first Swift message in 14 years in November 2025. Visa and Mastercard processing resumed only in May. Correspondent banks remain cautious on compliance grounds. The IMF has declined to extend a lending programme, citing the need for banking reform and central-bank independence. Until the financial plumbing works at scale, the pledged billions will remain signed announcements rather than funded projects.

    Jordan’s position is more stable but equally constrained. Prime Minister Jafar Hassan has held the fiscal line since his appointment in September 2024, narrowing the deficit from 7.3% of GDP to a projected 5.4% in 2026 under the IMF programme. The $2.3bn Aqaba Port Railway, backed by the UAE, and the $5.8bn National Water Carrier project together represent the largest foreign investment in the kingdom’s history, according to Hassan. 

    But growth is projected at just 2.7% through 2026, well short of what the Economic Modernisation Vision requires, and structural reforms to the labour market have stalled.

    Lebanon, meanwhile, continues to mark time. Political leadership is in place and Block 8 offshore has attracted TotalEnergies, Eni and QatarEnergy, but the country produces virtually no hydrocarbons and its broader economic recovery remains fragile as the threat of conflict persists.

     

    MEED’s July 2026 report on the Levant includes:

    > GOVERNMENT: Jordan consolidates as deeper reforms lag
    > BANKING: Caution governs Jordanian bank lending
    > POWER & WATER: Record investment drives Jordan’s utilities market
    > ECONOMY: Gulf liquidity outpaces Syria’s financial revival
    > PROJECTS:     Momentum builds for Syrian projects
    > OIL & GAS: Activity ramps up in Syria’s oil and gas sector
    > CONSTRUCTION: Prospects improve for Levant construction
    > OIL & GAS: Lebanon taps foreign players to assess resources

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17479313/main.gif
    Colin Foreman