Read the July 2024 MEED Business Review
28 June 2024
| Download / Subscribe / Guest programme |
The GCC aims to position itself as a global frontrunner in the data-driven artificial intelligence (AI) era.
There are clear examples of AI becoming a key part of government policy and significant investments are being made as the GCC takes advantage of abundant, cheap energy and capital vigour.
Traditional businesses in the Gulf are seizing AI’s potential, too. In March 2024, for example, Saudi Aramco introduced Aramco Metabrain, a generative AI model trained on data accumulated over the past 90 years. The private sector, meanwhile, also recognises AI's benefits.
With AI promising to be a $1tn market by 2030, MEED takes an in-depth look at the GCC's proactive stance in our latest issue of MEED Business Review. Read why investment, combined with forward-thinking government policy, will allow the GCC to make a statement with AI here.
This month's exclusive 20-page market report highlights the Levant, where Jordan, Lebanon and Syria are contending with challenges amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
MEED's latest issue is packed with insight and analysis. The team examines how the Gaza conflict is testing diplomatic ties between the UAE and Israel; assesses the ways in which the GCC is striving to boost foreign investment in real estate; looks at how healthy financials are driving business growth for Adnoc Drilling; and discovers that good preparation and planning are key to successfully delivering Saudi Arabia's pipeline of mega-events.
This month's issue also features coverage of MEED's 2024 Saudi Giga Projects Summit, which showcased the schemes that are driving the kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy.
The July issue also includes an interview with Pierre Santoni, president of Europe, Middle East and Africa for Parsons Corporation, in which he discusses how ongoing infrastructure investment in the region continues to offer strong growth opportunities for the construction industry.
We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the July 2024 issue of MEED Business Review.

Must-read sections in the July 2024 issue of MEED Business Review include:
> AGENDA: Region plays high-stakes AI game; Data centres meet upbeat growth
> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Gaza conflict tests UAE–Israel ties
|
INDUSTRY REPORT: |
> OIL & GAS: Healthy financials drive Adnoc Drilling business growth
> INTERVIEW: Ambitious projects rebrand engineering
> LEADERSHIP: Delivering Saudi Arabia’s pipeline of mega-events
> LEVANT MARKET REPORT:
JORDAN
> COMMENT: Jordan manages to maintain its balance
> GOVERNMENT: Jordan policymakers walk tightrope
> OIL & GAS: Jordan refinery project delay is major setback
> POWER & WATER: Jordan's utility sector buckles up
> CONSTRUCTION: Modernisation drives Jordan construction
LEBANON
> COMMENT: Lebanon’s economic fate is in limbo
> GOVERNMENT: Lebanon marks two years without government
> ECONOMY: Lebanon economic recovery postponed
SYRIA
> COMMENT: Syria’s reconstruction agenda stalls
> GOVERNMENT: Gaza conflict reignites violence in Syria
> ECONOMY: Regional diplomacy fails Syrian economy
> MEED COMMENTS:
> Kuwait sends a signal with refinery ceremony
> SLB’s Libyan crisis clouds outlook for oil sector
> Silicon plant boosts UAE industrial and net zero plans
> No time to lose in getting AI right
> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market continues climb
> APRIL 2024 CONTRACTS: Contract awards value bounces back in May
> MARKET SNAPSHOT: Mena oil and gas industry trends
> OPINION: Italy at centre of new reduced Europe
> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts
Exclusive from Meed
-
Egypt tenders 500MW solar IPP19 February 2026
-
Local contractor wins $143m Jeddah sewage contracts19 February 2026
-
Saudi Arabia prequalifies firms for gas transmission grids19 February 2026
-
Consultants bid for Abu Dhabi airport delivery partner role19 February 2026
-
Qatari firm wins Damascus airport MEP works19 February 2026
All of this is only 1% of what MEED.com has to offer
Subscribe now and unlock all the 153,671 articles on MEED.com
- All the latest news, data, and market intelligence across MENA at your fingerprints
- First-hand updates and inside information on projects, clients and competitors that matter to you
- 20 years' archive of information, data, and news for you to access at your convenience
- Strategize to succeed and minimise risks with timely analysis of current and future market trends
Related Articles
-
Egypt tenders 500MW solar IPP19 February 2026
Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access
Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) has issued a request for qualifications for a 500MW solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power producer project in Egypt’s West of Nile area.
The bid submission deadline is 11 May.
The project is being supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development and will be developed under a build-own-operate model.
Developers will be responsible for designing, financing, constructing, owning and operating the plant, with EETC acting as the offtaker for generated electricity.
US/India-based Synergy Consulting is acting as lead, financial and commercial advisor for this transaction.
The project forms part of Egypt’s strategy to strengthen long-term electricity supply and increase renewable generation capacity.
Egypt is targeting 42% renewable energy in its power mix by 2030. The country aims to raise this share to 65% by 2040.
EETC previously had plans to build a 200MW solar plant in a west Nile area but cancelled the tender for the project in 2020.
Egypt's power sector had its strongest year in over a decade last year, accounting for $4.2bn of total contract awards.
Despite dipping from the previous year, solar accounted for about $1bn of total awards.
In November, a consortium of local firms Hassan Allam Utilities and Infinity Power won contracts to develop two solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 1,200MW, supported by 720 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery storage.
The UAE’s Amea Power and Japan’s Kyuden International Corporation also recently reached financial close on a $700m project comprising a 1,000MW solar plant and 600MWh battery system in Aswan.
The scheme is backed by a $570m debt package led by the International Finance Corporation and is expected to become Africa’s largest single-asset solar and storage facility when it enters operation later this year.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15701778/main.jpg -
Local contractor wins $143m Jeddah sewage contracts19 February 2026
Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access
Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) has awarded two sewage network contracts worth a combined SR536.3m ($143m) to local contractor Civil Works Company.
The projects will be implemented over 32 months from site handover and will serve northern Jeddah districts.
The first contract, valued at SR278.5m ($74.3m), covers incomplete main lines and secondary sewage networks serving parts of the Al-Bashair, Al-Asala and Al-Falah neighbourhoods.
The scope includes pipelines ranging from 200mm to 800mm in diameter with a total length of about 54.8 kilometres (km).
The package also includes sewage tunnels with diameters ranging from 600mm to 1,800mm and a total length of approximately 6.5km. Works will also serve the Taybah, Abhar Al-Shamaliyah and Al-Hamdaniyah districts.
The second contract is valued at SR257.8m ($68.8m). It covers the implementation of main lines and sub-networks to serve part of the Al-Hamdaniya neighbourhood.
The works include pipelines ranging from 200mm to 1,500mm in diameter with a total length of about 78.5km. The scope also includes horizontal drilling works for sewage tunnels with diameters from 1,200mm to 1,400mm and a total length of approximately 205 metres.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15699620/main.jpg -
Saudi Arabia prequalifies firms for gas transmission grids19 February 2026
Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access
Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry has prequalified companies to develop natural gas distribution networks in five industrial cities in the kingdom on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis.
The industrial zones earmarked are Al-Kharj Industrial City; Sudair City for Industry and Business; and the First, Second and Third Industrial Cities in Jeddah, the Energy Ministry said in a statement.
The contractors prequalified to bid for the natural gas transmission grids BOO scheme include eight standalone firms and seven consortiums:
- East Gas (Egypt)
- Natural Gas Distribution Company (Saudi Arabia)
- Egyptian Kuwaiti Advanced Operation and Maintenance (Saudi Arabia)
- Modern Gas (Egypt)
- Saab Energy Solutions (Saudi Arabia)
- Sergas Contracting (Saudi Arabia)
- Bharat Petroleum Corporation (India)
- UniGas Arabia (Saudi Arabia)
- Best Gas Carrier / Khazeen / Mubadra (Saudi Arabia)
- Al Sharif Contracting (Saudi Arabia) / Anton Oilfield Services Group (China) China Oil and Gas Group
- Hulul (owned by Saudi Arabia’s National Gas and Industrialization Company) /Al-Fanar Gas Group (UAE)
- Indraprastha Gas (India) / Masah Contracting (Saudi Arabia)
- Expertise Contracting / PGL Pipelines (UK)
- National Gas Company (Egypt) / Egypt Gas (Egypt)
- Taqa Arabia (Egypt) / Taqa Group (UAE)
The Energy Ministry has set a deadline of 23 April for these prequalified contractors to submit technical bids.
The ministry added in its statement that it has identified a total of 36 industrial cities in Saudi Arabia for gas infrastructure development.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15699582/main0334.png -
Consultants bid for Abu Dhabi airport delivery partner role19 February 2026

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (Adac) received bids from major international firms on 19 January for a contract covering the delivery partner role for the upcoming packages at Zayed International airport (AUH).
The project is part of the AUH satellite terminal programme, estimated at AED10bn ($2.7bn).
MEED understands that the following firms have submitted bids:
- Aecom (US)
- AtkinsRealis/Egis/Mace (Canada/France/UK)
- Bechtel (US)
- Hill International (US)
- Jacobs / Surbana Jurong (US/Singapore)
- Parsons Corporation / Arup (US/UK)
The plan includes a new satellite concourse east of Terminal A, linked by an underground tunnel housing both an automated people mover and a baggage handling system.
It also includes apron stands, taxi lanes and taxiways, East Midfield landside access and utilities, additional bus gates and the reconfiguration of the North and South aprons and Apron 6.
The latest tendering activity follows the start of construction works on the East Midfield cargo terminal located at AUH, as MEED reported in December 2024.
Local firm Raq Contracting is undertaking the construction works on this project.
The terminal will cover an area of 90,000 square metres and will have the capacity to handle about 1.5 million tonnes of cargo annually.
The project is part of a broader plan to enhance the new airport's profile.
Abu Dhabi opened a new passenger terminal in November 2023 as part of the airport’s plan to increase its passenger traffic in line with the UAE’s wider growth plans, along with projects such as the rail network being built by Etihad Rail.
In May 2024, MEED reported that AUH's new Terminal A could connect to the Etihad Rail network in the future, as part of its growth and interconnectivity plans.
Plans are in progress to link the new terminal at AUH to the UAE’s growing rail network, according to the CEO of Adac.
Speaking to UK analytic firm GlobalData's Airport Technology during a tour of the new Terminal A at AUH, CEO Elena Sorlini said that Abu Dhabi Aviation is planning to improve the transport links to the site.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15698728/main.png -
Qatari firm wins Damascus airport MEP works19 February 2026
Qatari firm Elegancia MEP, which is owned by local investment firm Estithmar Holding, has won a contract to undertake the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) and extra-low-voltage (ELV) systems works for the Damascus International airport Terminal 2 project.
In a statement, Elegancia MEP said that its scope covers the execution of MEP and ELV systems works to support terminal operations, passenger facilities, safety systems and overall operational efficiency.
The MEP works for the airport project include electrical installations; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; safety and security systems; firefighting systems; surveillance and monitoring systems; control systems; and plumbing works.
The contract award follows the signing of the final concession contracts in November last year by Qatar’s UCC-led consortium to redevelop Damascus airport, formalising the prior memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked in August 2025 with Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation.
The contract will see the consortium redevelop and expand the airport in several phases under a build-operate-transfer framework, with a view to raising total capacity to 31 million passengers annually upon the completion of all phases.
The agreement is valued at an estimated $4bn and includes plans for the overhaul of all existing terminals, the construction of other passenger facilities and 500 kilometres of access roads, as well as the development of a commercial complex centred around a five-star hotel.
The signing of the final concession contracts followed UCC Holding’s provisional signing in October last year of five consultancy and design agreements for planned work on the project.
The earlier MoU designated UCC Holding as the primary developer through its investment arm UCC Concessions Investment, alongside three Turkish partners – Cengiz, Kalyon and TAV – and the US-based Assets Investments USA.
US-based firm Synergy Consulting is the financial adviser for the consortium.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15698666/main.png
