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Read the October 2025 MEED Business Review

1 October 2025

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As the region stands at the cusp of a golden age for public-private partnership (PPP) projects, early momentum must come with bankable projects, proper risk allocation, credible pipelines and scaled-up capacity.

If the region gets those fundamentals right, PPPs will move from a novel solution to a default option for delivering infrastructure, writes MEED editor Colin Foreman in this month's issue of MEED Business Review.

Our opening Agenda section takes a deep dive into the world of public-private collaboration, as governments across the region accelerate PPPs to fund and deliver strategic projects.  

This month’s market focus covers Saudi Arabia, and finds the kingdom looking to chart a more adaptable course as regional pressures mount.

MEED’s latest issue also includes our 2025 power developer ranking, in which we reveal that Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power has tightened its grip on the top position, extending its lead over international competitors as new projects and equity stakes lift both its net and gross capacity to record levels.

This issue is bursting with analysis. The team examines the acquisition of Aberdeen-based Wood Group by Dar Al-Handasah Consultants Shair & Partners Holdings (Sidara); looks at the opportunities presented by Dubai-based Alec Holdings' initial public offering (IPO) announcement; and interviews Abdellah Merad, SLB’s executive vice-president of core services and equipment, about the US oil field services major's efforts to boost its regional standing.

In current affairs, we discover that China's belt and road initiative has surged in the Middle East, and look at the growing challenges faced by Tunisia's president as the unions turn foe. 

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

 

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

> AGENDA: 
> A new dawn for PPPs
> GCC pushes PPPs to deliver $70bn pipeline

> CURRENT AFFAIRS:
> China’s Belt and Road initiative surges in Middle East
> Tunisia’s president faces growing challenge from unions

INDUSTRY REPORT:
MEED’s 2025 POWER DEVELOPER RANKING
> Acwa Power consolidates power sector dominance
> GCC enters pivotal year for IPPs

> ACQUISITION: Wood takeover could boost Sidara profits

> INTERVIEW: SLB strives to boost regional standing 

> ALEC: IPO is chance for Alec to showcase its capabilities

> SAUDI ARABIA MARKET REPORT: 
> COMMENT: Riyadh strives for sustainable growth
> GOVERNMENT: Riyadh confronts rising regional chaos
> ECONOMY: Riyadh looks to adjust investment approach
> BANKING: New funding sources solve Saudi liquidity challenge
> OIL & GAS: Aramco turns attention to strategic projects
> GAS: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait accelerate Dorra gas field development
> POWER: Saudi Arabia accelerates power transformation
> WATER: Transmission projects drive Saudi water sector growth
> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction pivots from gigaprojects to events
> TRANSPORT: Infrastructure takes centre stage in Saudi strategy

> MEED COMMENTS: 
> Dubai heads towards record year for road building
> Crucial quarter ahead for world’s two largest airport projects
> Aseer-Jizan highway is a test case for Gulf infrastructure PPPs
> Oman makes strides forward in global LNG race

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market builds on its growth streak

> JULY 2025 CONTRACTS: August activity falls back below average

> ECONOMIC DATA: September 2025: Data drives regional projects

> OPINION: Yet another annus horribilis

> 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 October 2025

     

    Dubai Municipality has extended the bid deadline for a stormwater drainage system in Jebel Ali and the surrounding areas.

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    The project covers approximately 27 kilometres of stormwater network and will serve major transport routes, including Sheikh Zayed Road and Al-Jamayel Road.

    The bid submission date for the tender, listed as TF-05-C1, was initially 2 October.

    Works include the installation of pipes ranging from 600 millimetres to 3,500 millimetres, construction of a high-capacity pump station with a capacity of 10 cubic metres a second, and development of open channels and catch basins. The system will be integrated with existing infrastructure.

    Dubai Municipality said the project is intended to manage runoff efficiently, improve road network reliability during storms, and support ongoing and future development in the Jebel Ali area.

    The scheme is being procured by the municipality’s Sewerage and Recycled Water Projects Department as part of the Tasreef programme.

    The latest tender follows a string of recent drainage and stormwater tenders by the municipality.

    Bidding is ongoing for a separate project to develop a stormwater pond, evacuation line and pumping station, including a drainage system along the Dubai-Al-Ain road.

    The bid submission date for this tender, listed under RFQ 229910, was moved to 9 October.

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    READ THE OCTOBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

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  • Riyadh accelerates towards Vision 2030

    2 October 2025

    In April 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman unveiled Vision 2030, a bold blueprint to transform Saudi Arabia’s economy and society. Nearly a decade later, the kingdom is not only on track but has exceeded several key milestones, reshaped its global reputation and unlocked unprecedented investment opportunities.

    At the heart of Vision 2030 are the flagship gigaprojects that have moved from concept to construction. In 2024 alone, gigaproject contracts exceeded $25bn, contributing to a record $154bn in total awards. In the first half of 2025, a total of $25.7bn was awarded – approximately $44.2bn less than the contracts awarded in the first half of 2024.

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  • PPP success should be carefully managed

    2 October 2025

    Commentary
    Colin Foreman
    Editor

    Read the October issue of MEED Business Review

    At first glance, it is the same old story for public-private partnerships (PPPs). National visions require billions of dollars of infrastructure spending, while at the same time government budgets are under pressure.

    Those twin pressures have not always produced successful PPPs outside the traditional power and water sectors in the region. Results have been mixed by sector and country.

    This time around, it is different. While national visions remain as ambitious as ever and state budgets are strained, there has been a shift in mindset as governments realise that PPPs offer more than just an opportunity to get infrastructure delivered for free. 

    The shift has come from the top as leaders seeks to modernise their economies with a thriving private sector. This reduces the state’s capital expenditure burden, while also giving the private sector an opportunity to operate an asset more efficiently for a profit. 

    With buy-in from the highest levels of government, there have been legislative changes and new entities formed to help make PPPs a success.

    These changes have enabled a series of pathfinder projects across the region in recent years that demonstrate that the model does work and even offers benefits that may not have been initially envisaged – such as increased school attendance at PPP schools in Saudi Arabia. 

    As the region now looks to build on that success, there is a risk that governments could overload what is still a nascent market. The capacity to deliver PPPs remains limited, and while it is growing, it is not expanding as quickly as the project pipeline. 

    Governments should ensure that projects are phased with market capacity in mind. If they do not, the danger is the market will collapse under its own weight, as projects may not be competitively tendered, could fail to proceed and may undermine the confidence built up in recent years.

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    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Contractors are forming joint ventures to bid for upcoming design-and-build work packages for the UAE’s high-speed railway (HSR) project.

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    READ THE OCTOBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

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    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

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  • Iraq aims to double oil flows through export pipeline

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    Iraq aims to more than double oil flows through the recently reopened Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline (ITP) before the end of the year, according to the Iraqi state oil marketing company Somo.

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    READ THE OCTOBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

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