Related Articles

• 
  Contractors submit Al-Maktoum airport superstructure bids

  1 April 2026

  

   

  Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) received proposals on 31 March from contractors for three packages covering superstructure works for the first phase of the expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport.

  MEED understands that the selected contractor will undertake superstructure works on three packages:

  • West Terminal and concourse one
  • Concourse two
  • Concourse three

  Construction on these packages began in November last year, when DAEP formally selected a contractor to deliver the substructure works.

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

  It will be the second of three terminals at Al-Maktoum International airport, linked to the airside by a 14-station automated people-mover (APM) system.

  In August last year, MEED exclusively reported that DAEP had received bids from firms to build the APM at the airport. 

  The system will run under the apron of the entire airfield and the airport’s terminals. It will consist of several tracks, taking passengers from the terminals to the concourses.

  Four underground stations will be built as part of the first phase. The overall plan includes 14 stations across the airport.

  The airport’s construction is planned to be undertaken in three phases. The airport will cover an area of 70 square kilometres (sq km) south of Dubai and will have five parallel runways, five terminal buildings and 400 aircraft gates.

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

  Construction progress

  Construction on the first phase has already begun. In May last year, MEED exclusively reported that DAEP had awarded a AED1bn ($272m) deal to UAE firm Binladin Contracting Group to construct the second runway at the airport.

  The enabling works on the terminal are also ongoing and are being undertaken by Abu Dhabi-based Tristar E&C.

  Construction on the project’s first phase is expected to be completed by 2032.

  The government approved the updated designs and timelines for its largest construction project in April 2024.

  In a statement, the authorities said the plan is for all operations from Dubai International airport to be transferred to Al-Maktoum International within 10 years.

  The statement added that the project will create housing demand for 1 million people around the airport.

  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 the lead masterplanning and design consultants on the expansion of Al-Maktoum airport.

  Project history

  The expansion of Al-Maktoum International, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), is a long-standing project. It was officially launched in 2014, with a different design from the one approved in April 2024. At that time, it involved building the biggest airport in the world by 2050, with the capacity to handle 255 million passengers a year.

  An initial phase, due to be completed in 2030, involved increasing the airport’s capacity to 130 million passengers a year. The development was to cover an area of 56 sq km.

  Progress on the project slipped as the region grappled with the impact of lower oil prices and Dubai focused on developing the Expo 2020 site. Tendering for work on the project then stalled with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16215664/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Drone strikes Kuwait International airport

  1 April 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Kuwait International airport was hit by further drone attacks on Wednesday, with strikes on fuel tanks sparking a major fire.

  Kuwait’s state news agency Kuna said the attack caused significant damage to fuel tanks belonging to Kuwait Aviation Fuelling Company. No casualties were reported.

  This was the second reported incident at the airport in recent days. Local media reported that the airport was attacked on 28 March by multiple drones, causing significant damage to its radar system.

  The airport is currently undergoing expansion works that are expected to be completed by 2027, as MEED reported previously.

  Project execution of the second terminal began in 2017, with the completion date pushed back from the original 2022 target.

  The second terminal project consists of three packages.

  These are:

  • Package 1: Main works – $4,329m
  • Package 2: Multistorey car park building, connection roads, bridges and landscaping works – $550m
  • Package 3: Aircraft parking, runways and service buildings – $950m

  Turkiye’s Limak Holding is executing the main works.

  The terminal building was designed by Foster+Partners and Gulf Consult.

  Spanish firm Ineco is providing the project management services for the new terminal building and the airfield.

  The scope of the main package includes the new terminal building, a building for cooling and electricity supply facilities, and a building for the water supply and the future Automatic People Mover (APM) connection to the satellite building.

  The terminal building will be three times the size of the original building and will have 36 boarding gates.

  The building will cover more than 700,000 square metres and have five floors, one of which will be underground.

  It will have the capacity, at maximum service level, for 25 million passengers a year once the first phase has been completed and up to 50 million passengers after further phases are completed.

  The second package of works includes a new car park with approximately 5,000 parking spaces, connected to the new passenger terminal.

  It also includes all new access roads to the airport and landscaping.

  The scope of the third package comprises the main platform, new taxiways and several tunnels, including one under the platform between the terminal building and the future cargo area of the airport.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16216797/main.png

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Saudi Arabia’s Sadara halts chemical production

  1 April 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara), the Saudi Aramco-Dow Chemical joint venture producing petrochemicals and specialty chemicals, has announced a temporary shutdown of production, citing ongoing supply chain disruptions.

  Sadara operates a sprawling chemical production complex in Jubail in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, with a total output capacity of more than 3 million metric tonnes a year. Aramco and Dow established the Sadara petrochemicals complex – estimated to have cost $13bn – in 2016.

  The suspension was announced in a filing on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) by Sadara Basic ​Services, which issues sukuk, or Islamic bonds, ​for its parent. “The shutdown was successfully completed in accordance with Sadara’s high safety standards and in a manner that safeguards operations and reduces risk,” the entity said in its filing on 31 March. 

  “Sadara cannot provide, at the present ‌time, ⁠an estimate for the return to production, as this is contingent on domestic and international factors,” it said, ​adding ​the shutdown ⁠is expected to impact this year’s financial results.

  The month-long war between Israel, the US and Iran has spread across the Middle East, disrupting energy supplies and threatening the global economy, as Tehran has responded to US and Israeli attacks by targeting regional energy and industrial infrastructure, as well as shipping.

  ALSO READ: Sultan Al-Jaber calls Strait of Hormuz blockade “economic terrorism”

  Separately, Sadara, in another Tadawul filing on 31 March, announced a net loss of SR5,793bn ($1.54bn) for the full year 2025, a further decline of about 40% compared to 2024. The company’s revenue in 2025 fell by about 15% year-on-year to $2.63bn.

  The chemicals producer attributed the deepening of its losses in 2025 to a reduction in sales volumes, “which resulted from unplanned operational events and extended maintenance activities that temporarily impacted production availability”.

  Sadara also pinned its augmented losses to “margin compression, and higher fixed costs associated with unplanned operational events and extended maintenance activities.

  “In addition, the company experienced lower average selling prices across certain portfolio lines, which further contributed to the overall decrease in revenue,” Sadara said in the disclosure.

  In addition, “the net loss for 2025 increased compared to 2024, mainly due to an accounting adjustment related to a debt modification that had a favourable impact on the prior year’s results,” the company added.

  ALSO READ: Sabic registers $6.87bn net loss in 2025

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16215635/main2446.jpg

  Indrajit Sen
• 
  AD Ports earmarks $667m for port infrastructure in 2026

  1 April 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group plans to invest AED2.45bn ($667m) in port infrastructure development in 2026, according to its 2025 annual report.

  It has also earmarked AED1.3bn ($345m) in capital expenditure for the development of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage terminals in 2026-28.

  The group said 2025 was a year of record revenue and profits. It posted revenue of AED20.77bn and net profit of AED2.07bn, up 20% and 16%, respectively, from 2024.

  Its ports, economic cities and free zones, and maritime and shipping clusters were the key drivers of growth.

  AD Ports Group also acquired long-term, profit-generating assets through stakes in container terminal operators in Egypt and Syria.

  The company launched an asset monetisation programme in Q3 2025 to deleverage and optimise its balance sheet over the medium term.

  The programme targets debt reduction and is intended to enable the recycling of AED4.6bn ($1.3bn) of capital in 2025 into higher-return projects aligned with its core business.

  Separately, AD Ports Group said operations across its clusters continue as normal amid current regional developments.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16215273/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  BP advances Egypt offshore gas plans

  1 April 2026

  London-headquartered BP is making progress on its campaign to drill five wells in Egypt’s portion of the Mediterranean, according to a statement from the North African country’s oil and gas ministry.

  The Fayoum 4 well is scheduled to start production in July, with an estimated output of around 100 million cubic feet of gas a day, according to the ministry.

  It said it expected the well to bolster domestic supply during the summer, helping meet demand from power stations and reducing Egypt’s import bill.

  BP is planning to invest about $1.5bn in exploration and field development in Egypt during the 2026/27 fiscal year.

  Karim Badawi, minister of petroleum and mineral resources, said that intensifying drilling for new wells is a top priority for the ministry, both to unlock fresh exploration opportunities and to increase output from existing fields.

  Egypt is currently a net importer of natural gas, and due to this, its economy is expected to be severely impacted by the recent spike in global gas prices as a result of the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

  ---

  MEED’s March 2026 report on Egypt includes:

  > COMMENT: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival
  > GOVERNMENT: Egypt adapts its foreign policy approach
  > ECONOMY & BANKING: Egypt nears return to economic stability
  > OIL & GAS: Egypt’s oil and gas sector shows bright spots
  > POWER & WATER: Egypt utility contracts hit $5bn decade peak
  > CONSTRUCTION: Coastal destinations are a boon to Egyptian construction

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

   

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16212519/main.jpg

  Wil Crisp