Read the July 2024 MEED Business Review

28 June 2024

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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:
GCC real estate
> GCC strives to reach real estate potential

> OIL & GAS: Healthy financials drive Adnoc Drilling business growth

> INTERVIEW: Ambitious projects rebrand engineering

> LEADERSHIPDelivering 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

> OPINIONItaly at centre of new reduced Europe

BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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MEED Editorial
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    2 September 2026

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    Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has tendered two contracts covering the construction of public buildings across five districts at its Al-Mutlaa City residential project.

    The first tender covers construction in the N5 and N6 districts, while the second covers N1, N3 and N4.

    The tenders were issued on 30 August, with a bid submission deadline of 30 September.

    The project is a housing scheme located 38.3 kilometres northwest of the Kuwait metropolitan area.

    It covers approximately 104 square kilometres and is expected to house up to 400,000 people.

    The mixed-use development will include residential, social, commercial and light industrial areas.

    In March 2023, MEED reported that PAHW had appointed France-based Egis as a project management consultant for the Al-Mutlaa City development.

    Under the agreement, Egis is providing programme-level service management, construction logistics and interface management services.

    The scope of work also includes cost management, a digital programme management system and a project management information system for the scheme.

    Al-Mutlaa City is one of the largest housing infrastructure projects being developed by the government as part of Kuwait’s Vision 2035.

    UK analytics firm GlobalData expects Kuwait’s construction industry to grow at an average annual rate of 7.1% in 2025-28, supported by investment in renewable energy, transport and oil and gas projects, as well as spending under the New Kuwait 2035 National Development Plan.

    Under this strategy, the government plans to invest KD350m ($1.1bn) to develop several sports projects in the country.

    The residential construction sector is expected to register average annual growth of 3.8% in 2025-28, supported by the government’s plan to build 65,500 housing units by 2029 through five projects.


    MEED’s September 2026 report on Kuwait includes:

    > COMMENT: Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive under fire
    > GOVERNMENT: Kuwait shows tentative signs of economic development
    > BANKING: Necessity is the mother of invention for Kuwaiti lenders
    > OIL & GAS: Regional war to have lasting impact on Kuwaiti oil sector
    > POWER & WATER: Kuwait utilities investment shifts towards water
    > CONSTRUCTION: Kuwait construction holds up despite regional strife
    > MARKET TALK: Kuwait stands resilient amid regional tensions

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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  • Preferred bidders emerge for Zatca residential PPP

    2 September 2026

     

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    Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca), through the National Centre for Privatisation and PPP (NCP), has selected preferred bidders to develop residential buildings at various land ports across the kingdom.

    The project covers developments across nine land ports, separated into two packages.

    Local firm Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Company has been selected as the preferred bidder for the first package, which includes the Al-Batha, Salwa, Al-Raqi, Jadidat Arar, Al-Wadiah and Empty Quarter sites.

    Bahrain-headquartered Lamar Holding is the preferred bidder for the second package, which includes land ports at Al-Hadithah, Halat Ammar and Al-Durrah.

    The project will be implemented as a public-private partnership (PPP) on a design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer basis, with a contract duration of 23 years, including the construction period.

    The contract covers the construction and management of new residential buildings and associated facilities at the land ports, as well as the rehabilitation of existing facilities.

    The project is the latest scheme in the kingdom’s PPP pipeline. In January, Saudi Arabia launched a national privatisation strategy aimed at mobilising $64bn in private sector capital by 2030.

    Building on the privatisation programme first introduced in 2018, the strategy focuses on unlocking state-owned assets for private investment and privatising selected government services.

    In a statement, NCP said the strategy comprises 147 opportunities drawn from a broader pipeline of more than 500 projects across 18 sectors.

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  • NWC confirms $347m Saudi sewage treatment plant deal

    2 September 2026

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    Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) has signed a contract worth more than SR1.3bn ($347m) with a Saudi-Chinese consortium to rehabilitate, operate and maintain nine sewage treatment plants (STPs).

    The 15-year contract covers plants located across the Hail, Qassim, Al-Jouf and Northern Borders provinces. The plants have a combined treatment design capacity of more than 337,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

    MEED exclusively reported in January that the consortium comprising China’s Jiangsu United Water Technology and Saudi-based Armada Holding had won the contract for the project.

    The contract is for the Northern Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 10 (LTOM10) and includes an initial three-year period for rehabilitation and upgrade works, followed by long-term operation and maintenance.

    NWC said the contract was signed with a tariff of SR0.69 ($0.18) a cubic meter.

    As MEED understands, United Water will be responsible for design, financing, operation and part of the construction works. Saudi Arabia’s Armada Holding will handle construction, equipment import customs clearance and local business communications. UAE-registered Prosus Holding will act as the financial investor.

    LTOM packages

    The same consortium is also expected to sign a contract for Package 11 of the LTOM programme in the coming months.

    In April, MEED exclusively reported that the consortium won the contract for this project, which will have a combined capacity of about 440,000 cm/d.

    Bids for North Western B Cluster (LTOM12) remain under evaluation. The contract covers the construction and upgrade of seven STPs with a combined capacity of about 162,000 cm/d.

    NWC also tendered the Eastern A Cluster (LTOM14) package in April, covering the upgrade of six existing STPs with a capacity expansion of 30,000 cm/d at the Al-Jarodia STP.

    This will increase total treatment capacity from about 263,000 cm/d to approximately 293,000 cm/d, with an estimated cost of $180m.

    The bid submission deadline is 30 September.

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  • Egypt signs PPA for 1GW Ras Shokeir wind farm

    2 September 2026

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    A joint venture of the local Hassan Allam Utilities Energy and Infinity Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) for the development of the 1GW Ras Shokeir wind project in Egypt.

    The project is located in Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate, within the Gulf of Suez wind corridor. It will cover approximately 143 square kilometres.

    The PPA has a 25-year term. The project will supply electricity to Egypt’s national grid.

    Ras Shokeir is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 1.2 million Egyptian homes. It is also expected to avoid more than 1.36 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

    The PPA was signed by EETC chairperson Mona Rizk and Infinity Power co-founder and CEO Nayer Fouad, representing the Infinity Power-Hassan Allam consortium.

    The signing brings the project closer to development as Egypt seeks to expand its renewable energy capacity. Egypt has set a target for renewable energy to make up 42% of the electricity mix by 2030 and 65% by 2040.

    This includes the 500MW Amunet 2 wind project, which is being developed by UAE-headquartered Amea Power following the commissioning of the first Amunet wind project in June 2025.

    Hassan Allam Utilities Energy and Infinity Power are also developing Egypt’s $560m West Minya solar plant, which will combine 1,000MWac of solar photovoltaic capacity with a 600MWh battery energy storage system.

    In June, MEED reported that a joint venture of Hassan Allam Construction and India’s Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy had won the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project.

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  • Iraq looks to accelerate oil pipeline projects

    2 September 2026

    Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has held talks with a delegation from Qatari company UCC on accelerating the progress of two major pipeline projects, according to a statement from Iraq’s Office of Media and Government Communication.

    The first proposed pipeline route extends from Basra, in southern Iraq, to Haditha, located about 200 kilometres northwest of Baghdad, then on to Faysh Khabur, which lies on the border with Syria and near the border with Turkiye.

    The second pipeline extends from Haditha to Syria’s coastal city of Baniyas.

    Discussions covered the contract type, implementation timeline and “other technical matters”, according to the statement released by the Iraqi government.

    During the meeting, Iraq’s Minister of Oil, Basem Mohammed Khudair Al-Abadi, emphasised the need to expedite the tendering process for the project contracts.

    He said all obstacles to progress on the projects needed to be eliminated.

    He also said weekly meetings will be held between relevant parties to reach agreements on the economic models for the pipelines and their routes.

    The Ministry of Oil said UCC is leading a consortium of companies developing the projects.

    It added that the consortium includes US-based Chevron, the investment company TI Capital and France’s TotalEnergies.

    In July, Iraq’s cabinet approved Basra Oil Company signing a ​heads of agreement and a non-disclosure agreement with the consortium to explore possible future oil pipeline projects.

    Under the terms of the agreement, the consortium will prepare technical and financial feasibility studies for strategic export pipeline projects.

    Also in July, US-based KBR was awarded a consultancy contract for the section of pipeline due to extend from Basra to Haditha.

    In April, Iraq announced the allocation of $1.5bn for the Basra-Haditha route, while the larger scheme is estimated at around $5bn.

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