Read the February 2025 MEED Business Review
5 February 2025
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Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency on 20 January 2025 is anticipated to have profound impacts on the Middle East. In the February issue of MEED Business Review, we provide an in-depth look at the major geopolitical challenges that the region presents, particularly in terms of US relations with Iran, and the interrelationship between the US, Israel and other regional actors.
What's more, we examine how the Trump 2.0 administration's focus on areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, data sovereignty and cryptocurrency – not to mention the ever-escalating US-China tech war – offers an opportunity for Middle East players to assert themselves in the global tech economy. Trump’s America First policies could slow the region’s AI ambitions, however, and to stay competitive, GCC states must step up investments in education, infrastructure and innovation.
Indeed, for the UAE, investing in and developing AI infrastructure and applications is now a priority. Abu Dhabi recently launched a $6bn project that combines 5,200MW of solar and 19 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage capacity to deliver 1,000MW of round-the-clock renewable power capacity, which will help to support the government's AI ambitions.
Our latest issue also includes a comprehensive report on the GCC's water and wastewater sector, where Riyadh-headquartered utility developer and investor Acwa Power has improved its lead as the pace of independent water project contract awards slows.
This month’s exclusive 15-page market report focuses on Qatar. Doha has played an instrumental role in negotiations between Israel and Hamas in recent months, placing it front and centre of regional mediation, while efforts to ensure post-World Cup economic progress led to a strong project awards performance for the country in 2024.
In this issue, the team also examines how the long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has brought relief to the fraught situation in Palestine; finds that the appointment of jurist Nawaf Salam as prime minister holds the prospect of political and economic rehabilitation for Lebanon; and looks at how the development of Wynn's integrated resort in Ras Al-Khaimah is supporting an ongoing boom in the emirate's real estate sector.
The February issue is packed with exclusive insight, too. Omran’s CEO Hashil Al-Mahrouqi explains how the agency's tourism development and hospitality projects will support Oman's Vision 2040; we round up the record signings that made 2024 the best year yet for contract awards in the region; and the latest edition of MEED's Economic Activity Index reveals that the UAE is maintaining its edge as 2025 gets under way.
We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the February 2025 issue of MEED Business Review.

Must-read sections in the February 2025 issue of MEED Business Review include:
> AGENDA:
> Trump 2.0 targets technology
> Trump’s new trial in the Middle East
> Unlocking AI’s carbon conundrum
> CURRENT AFFAIRS:
> Gaza ceasefire goes into effect
> New Lebanese PM raises political hopes
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INDUSTRY REPORT: |
> INTERVIEW: Omran’s tourism strategies help deliver Oman 2040
> PROJECTS RECORD: 2024 breaks all project records
> REAL ESTATE: Ras Al-Khaimah's robust real estate boom continues
> ACTIVITY INDEX: UAE maintains regional economic edge
> QATAR MARKET REPORT:
> COMMENT: Doha works to reclaim spotlight
> GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: Qatar economy rebounds alongside diplomatic activity
> BANKING: Qatar banks look to calmer waters in 2025
> UPSTREAM: QatarEnergy strives to raise gas and oil production capacity
> DOWNSTREAM: Qatar chemicals projects take a step forward
> POWER & WATER: Facility E award jumpstarts Qatar’s utility projects
> CONSTRUCTION: Qatar construction shows signs of recovery
> MEED COMMENTS:
> Damac founder Sajwani puts America first with Trump’s second presidency
> Dubai’s largest-ever contract award is vital for its future
> AI underpins 5GW Abu Dhabi solar project
> Saudi-Turkiye relationship could bolster projects market
> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market enters 2025 in state of growth
> DECEMBER 2024 CONTRACTS: Monthly haul cements record-breaking total for 2024
> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects
> OPINION: Between the extremes as spring approaches
> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts
Exclusive from Meed
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Algeria tenders upstream oil project contract25 June 2026
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Chinese firm wins $265m Saudi hospital contract24 June 2026
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Related Articles
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Firms prepare Hudayriat East PPP tunnels advisory bids25 June 2026

Abu Dhabi’s Modon Infrastructure, formerly Gridora, has tendered a contract for technical advisory services for the construction of two underwater tunnels connecting the eastern side of Hudayriat Island with mainland Abu Dhabi.
Consultants have until 26 June to submit their proposals.
The project includes the construction of a 4.8-kilometre (km) highway, with four lanes in each direction, connecting Hudayriat Island to Mussafah 8th Street.
The project will be delivered on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis in coordination with the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.
The contract term is expected to be 25 years.
The latest infrastructure development in Abu Dhabi follows Modon Infrastructure’s invitation in May for firms to register for the next phase of Abu Dhabi’s Mid Island Parkway Project (MIPP), which will also be developed on a PPP basis.
Modon Infrastructure will act as the lead developer, holding the majority equity stake in the project company. It will award the engineering, procurement and construction contract, as well as the operations and maintenance services and advisory appointments.
The second phase of the MIPP involves the construction of about 11km of highways, including a mix of three-, four- and five-lane sections. The highways will connect the Um-Yifeenah, Al-Jubail, Al-Sammaliyyah and Sas Al-Nakhl islands to Khalifa City and the E10 road.
The scope also covers the construction of three interchanges: the E20, E10 and Dumbbell interchanges on Al-Sammaliyyah Island.
The project includes several major structures, such as the E20 interchange, which will feature cast-in-place box-girder and void-slab bridges, and the E10 interchange with cast-in-place box-girder bridges. It also includes I-girder bridges between Raha Beach West and Sas Al-Nakhl Island, as well as a causeway at Sas Al-Nakhl Island.
Further key elements include a cast-in-place balanced cantilever bridge between Sas Al-Nakhl Island and Al-Sammaliyyah Island; a tunnel between Al-Sammaliyyah Island and Bilrimaid Island; and a cut-and-cover (open) tunnel on Bilrimaid Island. The project will be completed with another tunnel connecting Bilrimaid Island to Um-Yifeenah Island.
> Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …
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Algeria tenders upstream oil project contract25 June 2026
Algeria’s state-owned national oil and gas company, Sonatrach, has tendered a contract for the development and rehabilitation of the central processing facility (CPF) at the Bir Berkine oil and gas field.
The scope of the contract includes the study, supply, construction and commissioning of a project to rehabilitate the CPF facilities at the field, which is located in the Hassi Mesaoud region.
Sonatrach says in the tender documents that the objective of the project is to ensure the continuity of production activities “under stable and secure operating conditions”.
It also says the project aims to improve production yields and quality.
The contract includes both initial and detailed studies as well as the supply of all equipment and materials.
It also includes the execution of works, the assembly of all equipment and materials, and the commissioning of all relevant facilities.
The tender has a two-stage submission process, with the first stage requiring technical bids to be submitted by 23 August.
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Red Sea Global tenders King Salman Bay construction work25 June 2026

Saudi gigaproject developer Red Sea Global (RSG) has tendered a contract inviting firms to undertake marine infrastructure works at King Salman Bay on the Red Sea coast, north of Jeddah.
The scope includes dredging and earthworks, as well as quay wall and edge protection works spanning about 11 kilometres.
The bid submission deadline is 31 July.
King Salman Bay is expected to be a waterfront development aimed at reshaping the city’s northern Red Sea frontage into a mixed-use destination, anchored by public-realm improvements and leisure-led development.
The update follows RSG’s award of an estimated SR100m ($27m) contract to construct a solid waste management centre at its Red Sea Project. The scope includes four buildings: a material recycling facility, a transfer station, an administration building and a vehicle maintenance building.
In October last year, MEED reported that RSG had secured a SR6.5bn ($1.7bn) credit facility to further develop Amaala, its luxury tourism destination on Saudi Arabia’s northwestern Red Sea coast.
According to an official statement, “The funding is led by Riyad Bank as the sole underwriter, along with Saudi Investment Bank and Bank Al-Bilad as mandated lead arrangers.
“The loan arrangement comprises a mix of conventional and Islamic financing and adheres to RSG’s Green Loan Framework, which was first established when it secured private funding from a consortium of four banks for the Red Sea destination in 2021,” the statement added.
The announcement followed RSG’s opening of its first properties for sale at Amaala, including branded residential communities and a five-bedroom villa on a private island.
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MECC submits lowest bid on three Kuwaiti oil and gas contracts25 June 2026

Kuwait-based Mechanical Engineering & Contracting Company (MECC) has submitted the lowest bid across three separate contracts tendered by the state-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).
The total value of the low bids is $427m, and all of the contracts are focused on developing substations to power industrial lift pumps and remote header manifolds
Five companies submitted bids for a contract to develop several substations to power industrial lift pumps and remote header manifolds in areas 6, 10 and 12 in southern and eastern Kuwait.
The bidders were:
- MECC: KD65,760,000 ($212m)
- Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company: KD70,630,000 ($228m)
- Amco Engineering & Construction: KD73,446,100 ($237m)
- Combined Group Contracting Company: KD76,186,000 ($246m)
- Nasser Mohammed Al-Badah & Partner General Trading & Contracting: KD79,332,417 ($256m)
Six companies submitted bids for a contract to develop several substations to power industrial lift pumps and remote header manifolds in areas 8 and 13 in southern and eastern Kuwait.
The bidders were:
- MECC: KD30,760,000 ($99m)
- Badr Al-Mulla & Brothers: KD32,662,040 ($106m)
- Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company: KD34,139,000 ($110m)
- Industrial Company for Electrical Projects: KD36,375,520 ($118m)
- Nasser Mohammed Al-Badah & Partner General Trading & Contracting: KD37,278,526 ($120m)
- Combined Group Contracting Company: KD37,790,000 ($122m)
Eight companies submitted bids for a contract focused on developing several substations to power industrial lift pumps and remote header manifolds in areas 7, 9, and 11 in southern and eastern Kuwait.
The bidders were:
- MECC: KD35,760,000 ($116m)
- Badr Al-Mulla & Brothers: KD39,447,165 ($127m)
- Amco Engineering & Construction: KD39,736,800 ($128m)
- Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company: KD40,105,000 ($130m)
- Industrial Company for Electrical Projects: KD43,238,265 ($140m)
- Engineering Company for Petroleum & Chemical Industries (Enppi): KD43,514,805 ($141m)
- Combined Group Contracting Company: KD43,650,000 ($141m)
- Nasser Mohammed Al-Badah & Partner General Trading & Contracting: KD43,706,826 ($141m)
Kuwait’s oil and gas sector has been in crisis in recent months due to disruption from the regional conflict that started after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February 2026.
A preliminary peace agreement between the US and Iran, which was announced on 14 June, has increased optimism that disruption to the sector will decrease in the coming weeks.
Under the terms of the agreement, both sides have stated that the free flow of vessels will be permitted through the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly all of Kuwait’s crude oil is normally exported.
READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFGCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade> EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity> CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends> MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly> LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible> TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks concludeTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17423009/main.jpg -
Chinese firm wins $265m Saudi hospital contract24 June 2026
Zhejiang Construction International, the local subsidiary of Chinese contractor Zhejiang Construction Investment Group, has won a $265m contract to build the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University Speciality Hospital in Al-Khobar.
Construction is expected to take three years from the start date.
Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University awarded the contract.
Located in Al-Raja district, Al-Khobar, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the hospital project will cover about 60,000 square metres.
The contract covers the construction of a 10-storey hospital building, two five-storey auxiliary buildings connected by corridors and a basement.
Work will include civil works, mechanical and electrical installation, curtain walling, landscaping, detailed design and the procurement of medical equipment.
The award is the latest in a series of contracts secured by Chinese contractors from Saudi entities in recent months.
Last week, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipalities & Housing awarded contracts worth more than SR1.9bn ($506m) to Chinese contractors for two residential developments in the kingdom.
China Architectural Construction Corporation won the first contract, valued at SR875m ($233m), to build 2,010 housing units at the Al-Ruba residential project in Riyadh.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation secured the other contract, valued at more than SR1bn ($266m), for the Al-Rasha Al-Faisaliah residential project in Dammam, comprising 2,426 housing units.
GlobalData expects Saudi Arabia’s construction industry to record average annual growth of 5.2% in 2025-28, supported by investments in transport, electricity, housing and tourism infrastructure, as well as the $850bn-plus gigaprojects programme.
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