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  Read the May 2026 MEED Business Review

  30 April 2026

  Download / Subscribe / 14-day trial access

  The regional war – and resulting disruption to oil and gas shipping – has triggered a major global energy security shock that is likely to recalibrate long-term decisions on how energy is produced and consumed.

  The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is exposing the vulnerability of Middle East supply chains and pushing import-dependent countries to strengthen energy security by expanding domestic fossil fuels, speeding up nuclear projects, and investing in renewables and storage.

  At the same time, higher prices are encouraging producers unencumbered by reliance on the Strait to boost output.

  Like the oil shocks of the 1970s, the conflict is likely to have lasting effects, reshaping energy policies and partnerships and accelerating diversification away from existing arrangements. Read more here. 

  The conflict is also undermining the business case for Middle East liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, as prices rise, demand drops and confidence in the reliability of the region’s suppliers is eroded. 

  May’s market focus is on the UAE, where disruption from the Iran war has challenged every assumption behind the country’s non-oil model.

  This edition also includes our industry report on Gulf capital markets, as well as analysis on the region’s initial public offering market.

  In the latest issue, we explore why regional banks are feeling the strain despite strong buffers; consider why force majeure offers no shield against construction breaches; examine the Public Investment Fund’s 2026-30 strategy and talk to Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of water infrastructure operator Veolia.   

  We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the May 2026 issue of MEED Business Review. 

  

   

  Must-read sections in the May 2026 issue of MEED Business Review include:

  > AGENDA: War in the Middle East recalibrates global energy markets

  > REGIONAL LNG: War undermines business case for Middle East LNG

  INDUSTRY REPORT: Gulf capital markets > Damage avoidance frames debt issuance > Regional IPO market dries up amid war

  > INTERVIEW: Desalination holds steady amid tensions, says Veolia CEO

  > LEGAL: Force majeure will not cure pre-existing construction industry breaches  

  > BANKS: GCC banks to feel the strain despite strong buffers

  > PIF STRATEGY: Public Investment Fund approves 2026-30 strategy

  > UAE MARKET FOCUS: 
  > COMMENT: Conflict tests UAE diversification
  > GVT &: ECONOMY: UAE economy absorbs multi-sector shock
  > BANKING: UAE banks ready to weather the storm
  > ATTACKS: UAE counts energy infrastructure costs
  > UPSTREAM: Adnoc builds long-term oil and gas production potential
  > DOWNSTREAM: Adnoc Gas to rally UAE downstream project spending
  > POWER: Large-scale IPPs drive UAE power market
  > WATER: UAE water investment broadens beyond desalination
  > CONSTRUCTION: War casts shadow over UAE construction boom
  > TRANSPORT: UAE rail momentum grows as trade routes face strain
  > DATABANK: UAE GDP projection corrects on conflict

  > MEED COMMENTS: 
  > War takes a rising toll on Kuwait’s oil sector
  > Libya budget approval could lead to surge in oil and gas projects
  > Masdar’s move abroad will not be the last
  > Saudi Landbridge finds its moment in Gulf turmoil

  > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf index plateaus despite ceasefire

  > MARCH 2026 CONTRACTS: Middle East contract awards

  > ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects

  > OPINION: The road to hell is paved with gold

  > 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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  Riyadh tenders PMC deal for major sports arena

  30 April 2026

  

   

  Saudi Arabia’s Sports Boulevard Foundation has tendered a contract inviting firms to bid for project management consultancy (PMC) services for the Global Sports Tower in the Athletics District of the Sports Boulevard development in Riyadh.

  The tender was issued on 8 April, with a bid submission deadline of 10 May.

  The 130-metre-tall Global Sports Tower will cover an area of 84,000 square metres and will include more than 30 sports facilities. The tower will feature the world’s tallest indoor climbing wall at 98 metres and a 250-metre running track.

  Earlier this week, MEED reported that the Sports Boulevard Foundation is preparing to award the main construction contract for the Global Sports Tower. MEED understands that bid evaluation has reached an advanced stage and the contract is likely to be awarded by the end of May.

  MEED reported in May last year that design work on the tower had been completed. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud approved the designs in 2024.

  The Sports Boulevard development runs across Riyadh from east to west and, once complete, is set to be the world’s longest park spanning more than 135 kilometres.

  The development will be spread across several districts, including Wadi Hanifah, Arts, Urban Wadi, Entertainment, Athletics and Eco, as well as Sands Sports Park.

  The large-scale project aims to transform central Riyadh – currently dominated by major highways – into a recreational corridor.

  Sports Boulevard, which will feature 4.4 million sq m of public realm and landmark buildings, will also be home to the Centre for Cinematic Arts and a 2,000-seat amphitheatre.

  The development will provide more than 2.3 million sq m of mixed-use commercial, residential, and retail assets, along with sports facilities around the park, known as Linear Park.

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  Yasir Iqbal
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  Contractors submit Saudi Arabia phosphate rail track bids

  30 April 2026

  

   

  Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) received bids from contractors on 27 April for a multibillion-riyal tender to double the tracks on the existing phosphate transport railway network connecting the Waad Al-Shamal mines to Ras Al-Khair in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

  The tender – covering the second section of the track-doubling works and spanning more than 150 kilometres (km) – was issued on 9 February.

  This follows SAR receiving bids on 1 February for the project’s first phase, which spans about 100km from the AZ1/Nariyah Yard to Ras Al-Khair.

  The scope includes track doubling, alignment modifications, new utility bridges, culvert widening and hydrological structures, as well as the conversion of the AZ1 siding into a mainline track. It also includes support for signalling and telecommunications systems.

  The tender notice was issued in late November.

  Switzerland-based engineering firm ARX is the project consultant.

  MEED understands that these two packages are the first of four that SAR is expected to tender for the phosphate railway line. Other packages anticipated to be tendered shortly include the depot and systems packages.

  In 2023, MEED reported that SAR was planning two projects to increase its freight capacity, including an estimated SR4.2bn ($1.1bn) project to install a second track along the North Train Freight Line and construct three new freight yards.

  Formerly known as the North-South Railway, the North Train is a 1,550km-long freight line running from the phosphate and bauxite mines in the far north of the kingdom to the Al-Baithah junction. There, it diverges into a line southward to Riyadh and a second line running east to downstream fertiliser production and alumina refining facilities at Ras Al-Khair on the Gulf coast.

  Adding a second track and the freight yards will significantly increase the network’s cargo-carrying capacity and facilitate increased industrial production. Project implementation is expected to take four years.

  State-owned SAR is also considering increasing the localisation of railway materials and equipment, including the construction of a cement sleeper manufacturing facility.

  

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  Yasir Iqbal
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  Iraq sets up commission for $5bn pipeline project

  30 April 2026

  Iraq is setting up a high-level commission to oversee the development of the planned $5bn Basra-Haditha crude oil pipeline project.

  The decision was made at a meeting held on 26 April, attended by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and the Minister of Petroleum Hayyan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad, as well as other officials and consultants.

  The commission will be chaired by the undersecretary of the Oil Ministry and include advisers to the prime minister, along with director-generals from the Oil Ministry and the Industry & Minerals Ministry.

  Al-Sudani said the pipeline project will increase flexibility in transporting crude oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, as well as the Syrian port of Baniyas and Jordan’s port of Aqaba.

  The pipeline is also expected to strengthen supply to refineries in central and northern Iraq and support higher domestic refining output.

  The meeting also approved allocating $1.5bn to the project this year, with funding provided through the Iraq-China oil-for-infrastructure mechanism, according to a statement issued by the Petroleum Ministry.

  Earlier this month, Iraq’s Council of Ministers approved amendments allowing the Oil Ministry to directly invite specialised companies to bid for the 685-kilometre pipeline.

  The pipeline is expected to have a capacity of up to 2.25 million barrels a day.

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  Wil Crisp
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  Construction begins on Dubai Healthcare City projects

  30 April 2026

  Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA) has begun construction on Pixel DHCC and Ibn Sina+, two flagship developments in Dubai Healthcare City.

  Local contractor International Foundation Group has been appointed to carry out the enabling works.

  The two projects form part of Phase 1 of DHCA’s AED1.3bn ($354m) development programme and are scheduled for completion in November 2027.

  Pixel DHCC, designed by Hong Kong-based P&T Architects and Engineers, is planned as Dubai Healthcare City’s first LEED Platinum-certified office building. The nine-storey commercial development will cover 13,000 sq m.

  Ibn Sina+, designed by Dubai’s Design and Architecture Bureau, will be a five-storey medical complex spanning 5,800 sq m.

  — Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) April 27, 2026

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  Yasir Iqbal