Read the April 2024 MEED Business Review
2 April 2024
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The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is facing a massive infrastructure gap that will require an estimated $2tn-$2.5tn in investment by 2050.
In the latest issue of MEED Business Review, we discover how investment, technology and governance must all come together if governments are to successfully address this shortfall.
We also look at the important role that sustainable construction practices will play as the region strives to tackle the infrastructure deficit, potentially cutting emissions from planned projects in the Gulf by as much as 60%.
Meanwhile, this month's exclusive 18-page market report highlights Saudi Arabia, which is maintaining a laser focus on its Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy as it gears up for the delivery of its gigaprojects. Regional tensions such as the war in Gaza and the escalating conflict in the Red Sea are not distracting Riyadh from its upstream and downstream oil and gas projects, power and water sector spending and transport infrastructure development.
MEED's latest issue is also packed with insight and analysis. The team examines Egypt's plans for the $54bn of
financial assistance that Cairo has recently secured; considers the impact that Iran's $20bn project to boost production from the offshore South Pars gas field will have on the country’s energy security; and reveals the details of the new Vision 2030 strategy announced for the UAE's northern emirate of Ajman, which will guide the development of its projects for the rest of
this decade.
In this month's industry report on tourism, we see that tourist arrivals are on the rise in the GCC, with Dubai attracting 17.15 million international overnight visitors in 2023. A strong post-Covid recovery is under way in the travel sector across the region, and Saudi Arabia's efforts to boost its appeal as a tourism destination are reaping rewards: the kingdom welcomed more than 100 million visitors last year, achieving its 2030 goal seven years early. To support and build on this success, there is a pipeline of $54bn-worth of new hotel and resort projects planned for the Mena region and due for delivery by 2030.
The April issue also includes an interview with Ibrahim Waili of the Oman National Spatial Strategy, in which he discusses the sultanate's plans to build a year-round global mountain destination on Jebel Al Akhdar in the Hajar Mountains. We also talk to John van der Velden of Linde Engineering about the regional oil and gas sector’s increasing reliance on new technologies.
We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the April 2024 issue of MEED Business Review.

Must-read sections in the April 2024 issue of MEED Business Review include:
> AGENDA: Bridging the infrastructure capacity gap; Cutting Gulf construction emissions
> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Cairo secures a cumulative $54bn in financing; The stakes are high for Iran’s planned gas projects
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INDUSTRY REPORT: |
> INTERVIEWS: Oman plans year-round global mountain destination; Process technology adoption is poised for growth
> AJMAN 2030: Ajman launches 2030 vision
> INSIGHT: Pressure builds for region's green hydrogen projects; Red Sea crisis raises Saudi construction costs
> LEADERSHIP: Region must rethink talent acquisition
> SAUDI ARABIA MARKET REPORT:

> Riyadh maintains Vision 2030 focus
> Saudi Arabia seeks diversification amid regional tensions
> Saudi lenders gear up for corporate growth
> Aramco spending drawdown to jolt oil projects
> Master Gas System spending stimulates Saudi downstream sector
> Riyadh to sustain power spending
> Growth inevitable for the Saudi water sector
> Saudi gigaprojects propel construction sector
> Saudi Arabia’s transport sector offers prospects
> MEED COMMENTS:
> Dubai reshuffles real estate when market is buoyant
> Red Sea crisis makes case for Saudi Landbridge
> Oman gives renewables a serious shot
> Saudi Arabia pivots to ESG-friendly tech
> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: UAE and Qatar drive projects growth
> FEBRUARY 2024 CONTRACTS: Region sees drop in project awards in February
> MARKET SNAPSHOT: Top airport projects
> OPINION: New shock treatment for Egypt’s economy
> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts
Exclusive from Meed
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Saudi housing entity awards infrastructure contract24 November 2025
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Saudi utility firm awards water transmission contract24 November 2025
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Larsen & Toubro climbs EPC contractor ranking24 November 2025
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Chinese firm signs deal for Algerian steel project24 November 2025
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Contractors submit Riyadh Expo infrastructure bids24 November 2025
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Related Articles
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Saudi housing entity awards infrastructure contract24 November 2025

Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Company (NHC) has awarded Riyadh-based Alomaier Trading & Contracting Company a contract to carry out infrastructure works at its Khuzam residential development in Riyadh.
The scope of work covers all infrastructure works across an area of 4,000,000 square metres (sq m) in stage three, phase three of the Khuzam residential project.
Construction works have started, and the project is expected to be completed in 2028.
NHC’s Khuzam project is located to the north of Riyadh, near King Khalid International airport and the Expo 2030 site.
The development will offer more than 50,000 residential units and will include parks, commercial areas and other associated amenities.
It will also feature a grand park spanning an area of more than 4.5 million sq m.
MEED reported in 2020 that Riyadh planned to oversee the development of more than 1 million homes by 2025 to meet growing demand in the kingdom.
By 2030, the Saudi capital aims to more than double its population, from 7-8 million to 15-20 million, and become one of the 10 wealthiest cities in the world.
Alomaier Trading & Contracting is undertaking some major infrastructural development projects across the kingdom.
In 2023, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company had awarded a contract worth SR371m ($99m) to Alomaier Trading & Contracting. It covers the construction of a sewage network in Dammam’s King Fahd suburb and adjacent areas.
The contract also involves the construction of regression lines with diameters of up to 700 millimetres (mm) and a total length of 300 kilometres (km), as well as five ejection lines with diameters of up to 500mm and a total length of 15km, according to data obtained from the regional projects tracker MEED Projects.
The firm specialises in the construction of roads, railways and other infrastructural development works.
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Saudi utility firm awards water transmission contract24 November 2025
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned utility National Water Company (NWC) has awarded a contract for the operation and maintenance of water distribution networks to local firm International Water Distribution Company (Tawzea).
The project comprises the operation and maintenance of water transmission pipelines in Medina province, Sisco Holding announced.
Sisco Holding, also known as Saudi Industrial Services Company, holds a 50% stake in Tawzea. The other 50% stake is owned by Amiantit Water, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company.
The contract is valued at SR133.4m ($35.6m) and has a duration of 36 months.
It covers main and secondary pipelines, reservoirs, pumping stations, valves and all related components of the water distribution system.
NWC has also been advancing major sewer network expansion plans in Hafar Al-Batin and Al-Qaisomah.
The utility recently awarded local firm Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (AWPT) a contract to deliver the next phase of this project.
The phase four (part two) package involves constructing about 184 kilometres of sanitary sewer pipeline.
As of September, NWC had awarded $337m-worth of contracts. This includes a separate contract awarded to AWPT in August for a sewage network scheme in Al-Kharj governorate.
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Larsen & Toubro climbs EPC contractor ranking24 November 2025

The oil, gas and petrochemical engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) sector in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) has enjoyed another strong year in historical terms.This remains true even though the total value of awards in 2025 – $62.5bn as of the first week of November – looks set to fall short of the record highs of $86bn in 2023 and $95bn in 2024. The level of market activity nevertheless remains well above the long-term average of $46bn and the 10-year average of $50bn.
Looking beyond the top line, the most notable trend of the year is the outsized success of India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in securing many of the largest recent schemes in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Chinese contractors have also made steady progress in increasing their market share. Some industry stalwarts, by contrast, have seen considerably less success.
While some of this can be attributed to the cyclical nature of tendering and more selective bidding by established players with already large order books, MEED’s ranking of total execution values bears out the broader trends.

L&T’s dramatic surge
The most dramatic shift in the EPC landscape over the past 12 months (Q4 2024-Q3 2025) has been a $12.7bn surge in awards secured by L&T. This rapid expansion of its value of work under execution to $25.4bn has brought the company to within one place of the top of MEED’s EPC contractor rankings – falling just shy of the $26.9bn currently being executed by Italy’s Saipem.
L&T’s recent successes include the March win of the $4bn combined package 4A and 4B (Comp4) of QatarEnergy LNG’s North Field Production Sustainability programme – the largest project awarded during the period. L&T also won the $2.5bn fifth natural gas liquids train (NGL-5) project from QatarEnergy, and four separate contracts worth more than $1bn each with Saudi Aramco.
These wins built on an already burgeoning order book – one that also includes the $3.6bn phase 2: package 1 of the Jafurah gas treatment facility, awarded by Aramco in September 2023.
L&T’s rise has also been helped by relative inactivity among other top firms. Both Saipem and Italy’s Maire Tecnimont achieved prominent ranking positions a year earlier after securing, respectively, the $8.2bn offshore and $8.7bn onshore packages of Adnoc’s Hail and Ghasha programme in October 2023. Those awards, together with other contracts, saw the two Italian firms secure roughly $12bn in awards each in a single 12‑month stretch, catapulting them up the ranking.
However, neither company has added significantly to their pools of work over the past 12 months, in sharp contrast with L&T, which has seized momentum in the regional contracting landscape. So far, L&T has displaced Maire Tecnimont to reach second place regionally; another year of even marginally comparable momentum should put it at the top.
Also notable is the gap between L&T’s total awards over the past 12 months and those of its nearest competitors. L&T’s $12.7bn in wins rivals the combined value of the next three largest EPC contractors. As a share of an estimated $70bn in total awards across the sector over the same period, L&T secured about 18% of the work.The previous year, Saipem and Maire Tecnimont each secured closer to 12% of awards. This underlines L&T’s considerable momentum both in terms of its order book and market share growth.
Chinese push
Two other significant winners over the past 12 months are China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) and China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC), which secured $5bn and $4.3bn-worth of awards, respectively.
These contracts wins have moved the two Chinese firms up into the top 20 EPC contractors. CPECC’s success is largely attributable to the niche it has developed in Iraq and Algeria, where about $4.4bn of its awards were won – led by a $1.6bn contract to deliver the central gas complex for Basra Oil Company’s Artawi development.
COOEC’s recent wins have been concentrated in the GCC, specifically on phases one and two of QatarEnergy’s Bul Hanine offshore oil field expansion, which are worth a combined $4bn.
The US’ McDermott and Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas – two long-term regional players – recorded the next strongest order-book additions, securing about $3.8bn and $3.4bn, respectively. McDermott’s new work includes the $2bn phase two of Adnoc Offshore’s Umm Shaif long‑term development plan and a $1.8bn contract to lay offshore pipelines and subsea power cables for QatarEnergy LNG’s North Field South programme.
The next five biggest bookers over the period were South Korea’s Samsung C&T and Samsung E&A, the UAE’s Lamprell and Target Engineering, and Qatar’s Doha Petroleum Construction Company (DOPET) – each securing more than $2bn.
Samsung C&T’s top award was for QatarEnergy’s $2.5bn carbon sequestration complex; Samsung E&A’s was for Taziz Chemicals’ $1.7bn methanol plant in phase one of its industrial chemicals zone.
Lamprell secured five separate contracts from Saudi Aramco, the largest a $1.5bn award for offshore infrastructure on the Zuluf development.
Target secured three UAE contracts, led by a $1.5bn award from Adnoc Offshore for phase five of its Das Island terminal facilities (part of the Lower Zakum long‑term development).
DOPET secured two contracts from QatarEnergy, led by a $2bn award for phase three of the Bul Hanine offshore oil field expansion.
Across the activity, it remains conspicuous how rapidly values fall away from the top winners and how concentrated the recent awards are with L&T. While the contraction in total award value may partly explain this dynamic, the broader trend is clear: the concentration of work with L&T makes it the company to watch in regional bidding rounds in the year ahead.
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Chinese firm signs deal for Algerian steel project24 November 2025
China’s Sinomach Heavy Equipment has signed a contract to develop a steel rolling facility in Algeria.
The project will be executed by its subsidiary, China National Heavy Machinery Corporation (CNHMC).
The turnkey contract includes planning, design, equipment supply, construction, installation and commissioning.
The scope of the project includes:
- A rolling mill production line
- Auxiliary facilities
- Steel structure workshops
In a statement, CNHMC said: “The signing of this contract marks a new stage in the company's market expansion in the African metallurgical sector.
“CNHMC will fully leverage its technological and management advantages in the metallurgical field, strictly control the project's quality and schedule, and strive to complete and deliver the project on schedule with high quality and high standards, making it a benchmark project in the Algerian market.”
The company said it will use its regional headquarters in Turkiye to ramp up its activities in the Algerian market and other neighbouring countries.
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Contractors submit Riyadh Expo infrastructure bids24 November 2025

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Saudi Arabia’s Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC), which is tasked with delivering the Expo 2030 Riyadh venue, received commercial bids from contractors on 23 November for the tender to undertake the initial infrastructure works at the site.
The tender for the project’s initial infrastructure works was issued in September, MEED previously reported.
In October, MEED revealed that 16 firms had been invited to bid for the contract to undertake the initial infrastructure works at the Expo 2030 Riyadh site.
The firms invited to bid include:
- Shibh Al-Jazira Contracting (local)
- Hassan Allam Construction (Egypt)
- El-Seif Engineering Contracting (local)
- Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting (local)
- Kolin Construction (Turkiye)
- Al-Yamama Trading & Contracting Company (local)
- Saudi Pan Kingdom (local)
- Unimac (local)
- Mapa Insaat (Turkiye)
- Yuksel Insaat (Turkiye)
- IC Ictas / Al-Rashid Trading & Contracting (Turkiye/local)
- Mota-Engil / Albawani (Portugal/local)
- Almabani / FCC Construction (local/Spain)
The overall infrastructure works – covering the construction of the main utilities and civil works at Expo 2030 Riyadh – will be split into three packages:
- Lot 1 covers the main utilities corridor
- Lot 2 includes the northern cluster of the nature corridor
- Lot 3 comprises the southern cluster of the nature corridor
In July, US-based engineering firm Bechtel Corporation announced it had won the project management consultancy deal for the delivery of the Expo 2030 Riyadh masterplan construction works.
The masterplan encompasses an area of 6 square kilometres, making it one of the largest sites designated for a World Expo event. Situated to the north of the Saudi capital, the site will be located near the future King Salman International airport, providing direct access to various landmarks within Riyadh.
Countries participating in Expo 2030 Riyadh will have the option to construct permanent pavilions. This initiative is expected to create opportunities for business and investment growth in the region.
The expo is forecast to attract more than 40 million visitors.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth vehicle, launched ERC in June as a wholly owned subsidiary to build and operate facilities for Expo 2030.
In a statement, the PIF said: “During its construction phases, Expo 2030 Riyadh and its legacy are projected to contribute around $64bn to Saudi GDP and generate approximately 171,000 direct and indirect jobs. Once operational, it is expected to contribute approximately $5.6bn to GDP.”
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