meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Read the November 2022 MEED Business Review

31 October 2022

Download / Subscribe 

On 20 November, football’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar kicks off. The month-long tournament is the world’s most-watched single event. Football’s governing body expects 5 billion people to tune into this year’s tournament, up from 3.57 billion for the 2018 edition, which Russia hosted.

The event will confirm the Middle East region’s position as a global sporting hub. Over the past two decades, billions of dollars have been spent on infrastructure for sporting events including athletics, golf, motorsports, boxing and martial arts, swimming, football, cricket and an old regional favourite, horse racing. 

These events have boosted the economic visions of the region’s leaders by giving projects an international profile and, in the case of deadlines, a firm completion date. On the more societal level, they open up countries to tourism and allow nations to showcase their hospitality.   

More is coming. In 2020, Doha and Riyadh were picked to host upcoming editions of the Asian Games in 2030 and 2034. More recently, the Trojena mountain resort in the northwest of Saudi Arabia was selected to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. 

Even bigger events could join the list. Egypt has confirmed it will bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games, and there are reports of a joint bid for football’s 2036 World Cup by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece. 

MEED’s November 2022 edition of MEED Business Review discusses the important role that sport plays in the region’s social and economic development, and the spending required to build new venues and sporting facilities.

Climate, construction and the environment are all challenges that lie ahead for Saudi Arabia's 2029 Asian Winter Games, writes MEED editor Colin Foreman. Read more

November’s 19-page Market Focus on the UAE, meanwhile, finds the UAE working hard to maintain its economic winning streak and avoid the growing number of political and economic pitfalls in the world’s geopolitically fraught and recession-threatened business landscape.

This month, MEED also presents a special report on project finance and public-private partnerships (PPPs). 

After a year of sluggish project spending in 2021, the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has witnessed an uptick in activity in the past year, driving renewed demand for project financing.

This comes as a boon for arrangers, yet is not without challenges.

We hope you enjoy the November 2022 edition of MEED Business Review.

 

Must-read sections in the November 2022 edition of MEED Business Review include:

> AGENDA: Region pitches to be global sporting hub

> TROJENA: Saudi winter games challenges perceptions

> BIG INTERVIEW: Sultan Batterjee, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s IHCC

> OPINION: Gulf stands to benefit from global turmoil

> MEED COMMENTS: 

    > Global oil price to sustain project activity

    > Energy firms step up renewable investments

> MONTHLY BRIEFING: 20 key developments in the region

> EGYPT/TUNISIA: Cairo and Tunis battle external pressures

> IRAQ/TURKIYE: Baghdad-Ankara relations remain rocky 

> PROJECT FINANCE & PPP REPORT:

    > Project finance activity tests regional capacity

    > PPP market cools, but remains strong

> ABU DHABI REAL ESTATE: Taking Abu Dhabi’s success global

> INTERVIEW: Abdulrahman Abdulla al-Seiari, CEO of Adnoc Drilling

> AGRI-TECH: Riad Bsaibes, president and CEO of Amana Investments

> ENERGY TRANSITION: Energy transition faces litmus test

> INTERVIEW: Acwa Power to halve carbon intensity

> UAE MARKET FOCUS: UAE sidesteps the global economic crunch

> MARKET SNAPSHOT: Egypt projects

> MARKET TALK: Ansaldo Energia expands Middle East presence

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market returns to growth

> SEPTEMBER 2022 CONTRACTS: UAE records its biggest month of 2022

> 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/10119277/main.gif
Marianne Makdisi

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Contractor wins Dammam airport water infrastructure deal

    1 October 2026

    Saudi Arabia-based Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies has won an SR80m ($21.3m) contract to rehabilitate water and wastewater infrastructure at King Fahd International airport in Dammam in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

    The contract was awarded by Dammam Airports Company (DACO), and work is scheduled to be completed within 18 months, the firm said in a disclosure to the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) on 29 September.

    The scope covers the design, construction, supply, installation, replacement, rehabilitation and integration of water and wastewater infrastructure.

    It includes pumps, storage tanks and reservoirs, reverse osmosis facilities, piping and tie-ins, as well as electrical and instrumentation works.

    The award comes as DACO advances a wider programme of investment at King Fahd International airport.

    DACO signed more than SR1.2bn ($320m) in agreements in June covering airport infrastructure, including a new power station, a medium-voltage distribution network and upgrades to the existing electrical grid. 

    In September, it also appointed WSP Middle East, the regional arm of Canadian engineering firm WSP, to develop the airport’s expansion under its masterplan.

    The expansion is intended to increase annual passenger capacity to more than 19.3 million by 2030, with a longer-term target of 32 million passengers. 

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20169118/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Kuwait tenders LNG project

    1 October 2026

     

    State-owned Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (Kipic) has tendered a project to develop a reliquefaction unit at the Al-Zour liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.

    The project focuses on developing a boil-off gas (BOG) unit at the terminal, with bids due on 22 December.

    A meeting for contractors to discuss the project is scheduled for 18 October.

    The project scope includes engineering, procurement and construction works, along with pre-commissioning, commissioning and performance testing services.

    The list of prequalified companies is:

    • Fluor (US)
    • GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
    • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
    • Larsen & Toubro (India)
    • Hyundai Engineering (South Korea)
    • CTCI Corporation (Taiwan)
    • Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
    • Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
    • Saipem (Italy)
    • Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
    • Sinopec Engineering (China)
    • JGC Holdings (Japan)
    • KBR (US)
    • China National Petroleum Corporation (China)
    • Technip (France)

    A BOG unit at an LNG facility captures, compresses and processes natural gas vapours that evaporate from cryogenic storage tanks, enabling the gas to be recycled back into the system rather than flared.

    In April, MEED revealed that contractors expected the project to be worth about $200m.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20168625/main2005.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Riyadh approaches contractors for 2km tower

    1 October 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reached out to contractors as part of a market-sounding exercise for the construction of the proposed 2-kilometre megatall tower project.

    MEED understands that a PIF subsidiary, the Tower District Real Estate Development Company, is undertaking the process.

    It is understood that several experienced international contractors, as well as some prominent local contractors, have been approached.

    The latest development follows PIF receiving offers in June last year from firms seeking a contract to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for a new central business district (CBD) on the outskirts of Riyadh, which includes the proposed 2km tower.

    The PMC role covers both the tower and the surrounding district.

    Firms understood to have been invited to bid include US-based Aecom, Jacobs, Parsons and Turner, as well as the UK’s Mace.

    UK-based Foster & Partners is working as the architect for the tower after winning a design competition launched in late 2022.

    Record breaker

    The proposed tower would be more than double the height of the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which stands 828 metres tall. It is expected to be at least several hundred metres taller than the 1,000-metre-plus tower under construction in Jeddah.

    Contractors that have priced megatall towers in the region say a 2km-tall structure could cost about $5bn to construct, depending on the final design.

    The 2km tower and the surrounding CBD – known as Project Rise – sit within a larger masterplanned development to the north of Riyadh called the North Pole.

    MEED’s October 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Saudi projects hold steady
    > GOVERNMENT: Riyadh looks to reset its regional defence outlook
    > ECONOMY: Conflict bolsters case for Saudi economic diversification
    > BANKING: Saudi lenders readjust to lower lending and deposit climate
    > UPSTREAM: Aramco upstream spending gathers pace
    > DOWNSTREAM: Sabic steps up Saudi petchems investment
    > POWER: Saudi Arabia’s power award activity slows
    > WATER: Saudi water sector hits sharp slowdown
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction defies the headwinds
    > TRANSPORT: Saudi infrastructure pushes forward amid conflict
    > DATABANK: Saudi data indicates project spending shift

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20156496/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Singapore’s Temasek plans Middle East expansion

    1 October 2026

    Singapore’s Temasek plans to open offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi early next year as it targets investment and partnership opportunities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and the wider region.

    The state-owned investor had a net portfolio value of S$518bn ($401bn) as of 31 March 2026.

    It said the new offices will serve as regional hubs for Temasek and its portfolio companies, with some businesses expected to co-locate to work more closely with partners and pursue deals alongside the group. The openings are subject to regulatory approvals.

    Temasek said it will also step up engagement with institutions in Qatar, although it has not announced plans to establish an office there.

    The company said the expansion reflects its confidence in the region’s long-term fundamentals and the economic transformation being driven by national diversification programmes.

    It added that a presence in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi will also support investment activity beyond the region by improving access to opportunities across the wider Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.

    Several Temasek-owned or Temasek-backed companies are already active in the GCC, providing a platform for the group’s planned expansion.

    These include Singapore-headquartered engineering and consultancy firm Surbana Jurong, which has been involved in masterplanning and advisory work on major regional developments, alongside other portfolio companies with interests spanning infrastructure, logistics, financial services and technology.

    According to data from regional project tracker MEED Projects, Surbana Jurong is involved in several major projects in Saudi Arabia, including Red Sea Global’s Amaala masterplan, the Trojena dams scheme, Oxagon, King Salman International airport and Saudi Arabia Railway’s North-South Phosphate Railway 3.

    The firm has also worked on projects in the wider region, including the West Link project, Etihad Rail’s high-speed rail programme and Abu Dhabi airport’s Midfield Terminal.

    Surbana Jurong has also secured masterplanning contracts from Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities & Transport and Abu Dhabi Ports.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20157511/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Aldar and Arada to pursue Abu Dhabi projects

    1 October 2026

    UAE-based developers Aldar Properties and Arada have signed a partnership agreement targeting about AED15bn ($4bn) in development opportunities on Yas Island and in Abu Dhabi’s Seih Sdeirah.

    The deal includes a masterplan joint venture to develop a mixed-use community at Seih Sdeirah, on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai border, and Arada’s purchase of three residential plots on Yas Island from Aldar.

    The Seih Sdeirah project will cover up to 1.5 million square metres (sq m) and will include villas, townhouses, and retail and leisure facilities.

    Arada will lead development and construction management, while both firms will jointly brand and market the community.

    On Yas Island, Arada has bought two canal-facing plots totalling more than 27,500 sq m, with nearly 130,000 sq m of gross floor area, as well as a third residential plot.

    Aldar said the companies will explore further collaboration across sectors and locations in the UAE.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20156829/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal