meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Read the March 2025 MEED Business Review

6 March 2025

Download / Subscribe / 14-day trial access

A record-breaking performance last year underscores the growing influence of Chinese firms in the region’s projects market.

Chinese construction companies secured over $90bn in contracts in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) in 2024. Their market share was 26% of the $347bn total for the region, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

Within China, it is hard to imagine the scale of growth experienced by the country’s construction sector over the past two decades. Since 2004, it has expanded by over 800%, reaching an estimated value of $4.5tn.

This growth has created contractors that are now the largest construction companies on the planet. According to GlobalData, seven Chinese companies are among the top 10 largest construction companies in the world, with China State Construction Engineering Corporation at the top of the list with revenues of $320bn.

MEED's March edition of MEED Business Review looks at why the Middle East presents such an attractive option for these huge Chinese contractors, and discusses their maturing domestic market. 

Our latest issue also includes a comprehensive report on the region's upstream oil and gas sector, where offshore investment in 2025 is expected to match – if not surpass – last year's level, and Saudi Arabia is striving to retain its dominance by investing in projects that aim to boost its producton capacity.

This month’s exclusive 13-page market report focuses on Egypt. Despite its challenges – not to mention the controversial suggestion by US President Donald Trump that Gaza’s population should be relocated to Egypt and other Arab countries – Cairo has managed to attract foreign investment and the country’s economy is showing signs of improvement.

Although concerns remain regarding the government’s need to implement structural economic reforms and remedy the growing infrastructure gaps, the total value of awarded contracts in the power sector doubled in 2024 and the construction industry is being bolstered by the $24bn Ras El-Hekma project.

This issue is also packed with exclusive interviews. Mark Thomas, group CEO of state energy conglomerate Bapco Energies, explains how Bahrain will benefit from its $7bn project by the end of 2025; Abdulaziz Alobaidli, chief operating officer of the UAE’s Masdar, outlines how the company aims to meet the “moonshot” renewables challenge; and Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company, talks about the firm’s strong performance in 2024.

In the March issue, the team also examines how uncertainty and instability are damaging optimism in Libya's oil sector; discovers that power projects in Saudi Arabia have hit a record high, with a total capacity of 53GW now awarded and under construction; and also looks at how the kingdom is gearing up to lead the Gulf’s electric vehicle sector.

We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the March 2025 issue of MEED Business Review. 

 

Must-read sections in the March 2025 issue of MEED Business Review include:

> AGENDA: 
> Chinese firms dominate the market
> China construction at pivotal juncture

> CURRENT AFFAIRS:
> Uncertainty and instability damage Libyan oil sector optimism

INDUSTRY REPORT:
Upstream oil and gas
> Offshore oil and gas sees steady capex
> Saudi Arabia to retain upstream dominance

> INTERVIEWS:
> Bahrain to benefit from $7bn project by year’s end
> Masdar meets renewable’s moonshot challenge
> Diriyah CEO sets the record straight

> SAUDI POWER: Saudi power projects hit record high

> AUTOMOTIVE: Saudi Arabia gears up to lead Gulf’s automotive sector

> EGYPT MARKET REPORT: 
> COMMENT: Egypt battles structural issues
> GOVERNMENT: Egypt is in the eye of Trump’s Gaza storm
> ECONOMY: Egypt’s economy gets its mojo back
> OIL & GAS: Gas project activity collapses amid energy crisis
> POWER & WATER: Egypt’s utility projects keep pace
> CONSTRUCTION: Coastal city scheme is a boon to Egypt construction

> MEED COMMENTS: 
> Firms ramp up Saudi tech investments
> UAE data centre policy highlights AI-energy nexus
> Bankability remains hydrogen’s unbreakable challenge
> Dubai construction heads underground

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf hits six-month growth streak

> JANUARY 2025 CONTRACTS: High-value deals signed in power and industrial sectors

> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects

> OPINION: Trump’s foreign policy shakes global relations

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

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13455567/main.gif
MEED Editorial

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Abu Dhabi announces $15bn infrastructure PPP projects

    12 May 2026

    The Abu Dhabi Investment Office and the Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre have launched a AED55bn ($15bn) public-private partnership (PPP) pipeline of 24 projects to be tendered in 2026 and 2027.

    The projects will be tendered across the transport, infrastructure and social sectors.

    According to a statement published by the Abu Dhabi Media Office, the transport sector accounts for 11 road projects, with AED35bn ($9.5bn) of construction capex, covering more than 300 kilometres of new and upgraded roads, tunnels, intersections and related network works.

    The infrastructure pipeline includes five projects budgeted at AED11bn ($3bn), covering dams, water storage, flood control, stormwater upgrades and urban landscaping.

    Social infrastructure includes eight projects budgeted at AED9bn ($2.5bn), covering sports facilities, specialist healthcare assets, schools and university campuses.

    The statement added that the pipeline forms part of Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure delivery plan and will be executed through PPP structures.

    It is also intended to support company establishment in the emirate, local content objectives, and supply-chain and industrial capacity.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16793904/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Saudi Arabia tenders GCC rail link from Kuwait to UAE border

    12 May 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia has begun the procurement process to deliver its portion of the GCC railway, which will connect all six member states.

    Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) issued a tender for design consultancy services for the project on 7 May.

    The kingdom’s section of the railway will start at Al-Khafji in the Eastern Province, near the border with Kuwait, and end at Al-Batha, at Saudi Arabia’s border with the UAE. The route length in Saudi Arabia will be about 672 kilometres (km).

    The railway will interface with the Kuwait National Rail Road (KNRR) project on the Kuwaiti side. Last year, MEED exclusively reported that the KNRR design contract was awarded to Türkiye’s Proyapi Muhendislik ve Musavirlik Anonim Sirketi.

    The KNRR forms part of the wider GCC rail network. GCC railway projects have been progressing with renewed impetus since the six member states signed the Al-Ula Declaration in January 2021.

    In October last year, the Qatari cabinet approved a draft agreement paving the way for a railway link between Qatar and Saudi Arabia as part of the GCC railway network.

    GCC railway line

    Under the overall plan, the railway will span 2,186 kilometres, beginning in Kuwait, passing through Dammam in Saudi Arabia, reaching Bahrain via a planned causeway, and continuing from Dammam to Qatar, the UAE and, ultimately, Muscat via Sohar in Oman.

    The network’s route length within each member state is as follows: 684km in the UAE, 672km in Saudi Arabia, 306km in Oman, 283km in Qatar, 145km in Kuwait and 36km in Bahrain.

    The railway is designed for passenger trains travelling at 220 kilometres an hour (km/h) and freight trains operating at 80-120km/h.

    With high levels of project activity, governments in spending mode and renewed cooperation under the Al-Ula Declaration, the latest efforts to restart the GCC railway project may make more progress than previous attempts. If completed, the railway could prove transformational for a region that is globally connected but divided between its constituent parts.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16793841/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Kuwait tenders upstream oil project

    12 May 2026

    State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has tendered a contract to develop power infrastructure to provide electricity to the country’s Bahra oil field.

    The project focuses on constructing an 11kV, 72MW main intake in the Bahra-A area.

    It also includes the development of 11kV, 20MW substations in the Bahra-A2 area, and the conversion of a substation in the Bahra-A1 area in northern Kuwait.

    An initial meeting for the project is scheduled for 7 June, and bids are due by 9 August.

    Kuwait’s oil and gas sector has been severely impacted by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which all of its crude exports are normally shipped.

    The country recorded zero crude oil exports in April for the first time since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, according to shipping monitor TankerTrackers.com.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16792080/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • Chinese company signs deal to develop Syria cement plant

    12 May 2026

    China’s Jiangsu Pengfei Group has signed a deal with Damascus-based Al-Hasan Holding Group (HHG) to develop a cement plant in Syria’s Raqa governorate.

    The “strategic agreement” was signed on 29 April, according to a statement from HHG.

    The clinker production line will have a capacity of 5,000 tonnes a day (t/d).

    Syria is seeking to expand cement production capacity to meet demand from the domestic construction sector.

    HHG is an integrated investment conglomerate headquartered in Damascus with a portfolio of companies across sectors including industry, trade, energy, construction, tourism and services.

    It was founded by the Syrian businessman Hassan Kamel Al-Hasan.

    Jiangsu Pengfei Group is a manufacturer of rotary kiln and grinding equipment.

    The company is involved in the design, manufacture and service of equipment in the fields of building materials, metallurgy and the chemical industry.

    It is also an engineering, procurement and construction service provider that has completed more than 100 cement production line projects.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16792079/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Libya’s national oil company takes control of key refinery

    12 May 2026

    Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) has signed an agreement to take full control of the country’s Ras Lanuf refinery.

    The agreement marks the end of a decade-long dispute with UAE-based Trasta Energy.

    NOC has signed a final agreement with Trasta to end their partnership in the Libyan Emirates Oil Refining Company (Lerco), giving the NOC full ownership of the Ras Lanuf refinery and petrochemical complex, according to a statement.

    In its statement, NOC said the deal was one of the most important developments in Libya’s oil sector since the 2011 uprising and closed one of the industry’s most complex disputes.

    NOC also said that the deal has paved the way for a new phase of rehabilitation, operation and development.

    Some analysts have linked tensions in the partnership to political divisions in Libya and the UAE’s support for eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar.

    Lerco was established as a joint venture to operate and develop the Ras Lanuf complex, but operations were disrupted after Libya’s civil war, which started in 2011 and overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.

    The Ras Lanuf complex is located about 600 kilometres east of Tripoli on Libya’s northeastern coast and has the capacity to refine about 220,000 barrels of oil a day (b/d), which would make it the country’s largest if it comes online.

    It includes a refinery, storage facilities, export terminals and petrochemical units.

    Under the agreement, all of Trasta’s shares will be transferred to the NOC, allowing the complex to operate under full Libyan management.

    Political instability and security problems have led to repeated problems in Libya’s downstream sector over the past decade.

    On 10 May, it was announced that the Zawiya refinery, which is the country’s largest functioning oil refinery, and the nearby oil port were resuming operations after military clashes forced the refinery to shut down for two days.

    Azzawiya Oil Refining Company, which operates the facility, said it had decided to lift the state of emergency, allowing work to resume at the site.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16792076/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp