Related Articles

• 
  Public Investment Fund backs Neom

  16 April 2026

  Commentary
  Colin Foreman
  Editor

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  Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has backed Neom by including it as one of six strategic ecosystems in its newly approved 2026-30 strategy.

  The future of the $500bn gigaproject had been thrown into doubt following the postponement of the 2029 Asian Winter Games at the Trojena mountain resort, the cancellation of construction contracts – such as the $5bn deal with Italian contractor Webuild for dam works at Trojena – and the slowdown of development at The Line, where tunnelling contracts were cancelled and staff left the project.

  The backing comes as Neom’s operational focus appears to be evolving in response to shifting regional dynamics and global economic conditions. For example, on 15 April Neom posted on its official X account about a new Europe-Egypt-Neom-GCC corridor, describing it as a faster route for time-sensitive goods. It said the corridor combines trucking and ferry services to move goods quickly into the Gulf, adding that importers from several European markets are already using it to reach the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and beyond.

  Powered by Pan Marine, DFDS and regional RoPax services, the initiative is positioned as a way to add flexibility and resilience to regional supply chains. This emphasis on logistics and immediate trade utility suggests a shift away from the more speculative architectural announcements that characterised Neom’s early years, towards activity more directly tied to current market realities.

  PIF’s broader 2026-30 strategy places heavy emphasis on “delivering competitive domestic ecosystems to connect sectors, unlock the full potential of strategic assets, maximise long-term returns and continue to drive the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia”.

  The inclusion of Neom as a standalone ecosystem within the Vision Portfolio suggests that while the project remains part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals, it will be subject to the fund's focus on working with the private sector.

  That means the long-term success of Neom will increasingly depend on its ability to attract external investment and function as a viable economic hub rather than just a state-funded construction site.

  ---

  MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
  > GVT &: ECONOMY: Riyadh navigates a changed landscape
  > BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
  > UPSTREAM: Offshore oil and gas projects to dominate Aramco capex in 2026
  > DOWNSTREAM: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
  > POWER: Wind power gathers pace in Saudi Arabia
  > WATER: Sharakat plan signals next phase of Saudi water expansion
  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction enters a period of strategic readjustment
  > TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure push

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16417262/main.jpeg

  Colin Foreman
• 
  Kuwait gas project worth $3.3bn put on hold

  16 April 2026

  

   

  State-owned Kuwait Gulf Oil Company’s (KGOC’s) planned tender for the development of an onshore gas plant next to the Al-Zour refinery has been put on hold due to uncertainty created by the US and Israel’s war with Iran, according to industry sources.

  The project budget is estimated to be $3.3bn, and the last meeting with contractors to discuss the project took place in Kuwait on 10 February.

  Previously, it was expected to be tendered in late March, but the tendering process was delayed due to the regional conflict and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

  One source said: “This tender is now effectively on hold while KGOC waits for increased stability in the region before it invites companies to bid for the contract.”

  Under current plans, the plant will have the capacity to process up to 632 million cubic feet a day of gas and 88.9 million barrels a day of condensates from the Dorra offshore field, located in Gulf waters in the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone.

  Ownership of the field is disputed by Iran, which refers to the field as Arash.

  Iran claims the field partially extends into Iranian territory and asserts that Tehran should be a stakeholder in its development.

  It is believed that the Dorra field’s close proximity to Iran will make development difficult due to the current security environment.

  The offshore elements of the project are expected to be especially difficult to protect from attacks from Iran.

  In July last year, MEED reported that KGOC had initiated the project by launching an early engagement process with contractors for the main engineering, procurement and construction tender.

  France-based Technip Energies completed the contract for the front-end engineering and design.

  ---

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

  Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf economies under fire > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift > MARKET FOCUS: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift > LEGAL: Redefining the region’s arbitration landscape > QATAR LNG: Qatar’s new $8bn investment heats up global LNG race > INTERVIEW: Leyla Abdimomunova, National Development Division, PIF > LEADERSHIP: Shaping the future of passenger rail in the Middle East

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16413221/main.png

  Wil Crisp
• 
  Iraq pushes to revive oil pipeline through Saudi Arabia

  16 April 2026

  Iraq is pushing to revive an oil pipeline that passes through Saudi Arabia, allowing it to diversify export routes.

  Saheb Bazoun, a spokesman for Iraq’s Oil Ministry, said the pipeline would help to insulate Iraq from any future blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since 28 February.

  The original pipeline through Saudi Arabia has not been used for more than 30 years and would need work to be done in order to bring it online.

  It is 1,568km long, extending from the city of Zubair in Iraq to the Saudi port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

  The pipeline was built in two phases during the 1980s. The first phase stretches between Zubair and Khurais, while the second extends to Yanbu. The pipeline’s operating capacity reached over 1.6 million barrels a day (b/d).

  Following the Gulf War, the pipeline was shut down in August 1990. It has remained out of operation for decades, despite Iraq’s several attempts to restart it.

  The original pipeline project cost over $2.6bn, including storage tanks and loading terminals.

  In the wake of the US and Israel attacking Iran on 28 February, global markets have lost 11 million barrels a day (b/d) of oil supply due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

  ---

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

  Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf economies under fire > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift > MARKET FOCUS: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift > LEGAL: Redefining the region’s arbitration landscape > QATAR LNG: Qatar’s new $8bn investment heats up global LNG race > INTERVIEW: Leyla Abdimomunova, National Development Division, PIF > LEADERSHIP: Shaping the future of passenger rail in the Middle East

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16413290/main.jpg

  Wil Crisp
• 
  Saudi Landbridge finds its moment in Gulf turmoil

  15 April 2026

  Commentary
  Yasir Iqbal
  Construction writer

  The strategic case for the Saudi Landbridge has never been more urgent. SAR’s appointment of Spain’s Typsa as lead design consultant, reported by MEED this week, is more than a procurement milestone. After two decades of delays, it reflects how the long-deferred project has become a strategic necessity.

  The conflict reshaping the Middle East has made that necessity more immediate. Red Sea transits are costly and unpredictable. The Strait of Hormuz carries risk no insurer can fully price. Saudi Arabia’s most valuable exports, including crude oil, refined products, petrochemicals and industrial goods, move almost entirely by sea through routes that are no longer reliably secure.

  The kingdom sits between two coastlines with no rail link connecting them. That gap is now an economic exposure.

  The $27bn project addresses it directly. More than 1,500 kilometres of track, anchored by a 900km railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, will provide direct freight access from King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea, with upgrades to the Riyadh-Dammam line and a new connection to Yanbu.

  Together, they create what Saudi Arabia has never had: a continuous land corridor linking Gulf industrial ports to Red Sea export terminals, entirely within its own borders.

  The commercial implications are substantial. Aramco’s downstream output, Sabic’s chemicals, and the manufacturing clusters of Jubail and Yanbu gain flexible access to both coasts.

  Exporters targeting Europe and the Americas load at Jeddah; those serving Asia pivot east to Dammam by rail, on demand, without Hormuz risk or Red Sea freight surcharges.

  No neighbouring economy has that optionality. The network also underpins a broader economic ambition. Connecting Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Jubail, Yanbu, King Abdullah port and King Khalid airport by rail positions the kingdom as a genuine logistics corridor between East and West. 

  With design now under way and construction tenders expected imminently, the Landbridge is closer to reality than at any point in its troubled history. Regional disruption did not create this project. But it has made the argument for it unanswerable.

  ---

  MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
  > GVT &: ECONOMY: Riyadh navigates a changed landscape
  > BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
  > UPSTREAM: Offshore oil and gas projects to dominate Aramco capex in 2026
  > DOWNSTREAM: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
  > POWER: Wind power gathers pace in Saudi Arabia
  > WATER: Sharakat plan signals next phase of Saudi water expansion
  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction enters a period of strategic readjustment
  > TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure push

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16401567/main.png

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Indian firm selected for Saudi sewage treatment project

  15 April 2026

  

   

  Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company is understood to have recently selected Indian contractor VA Tech Wabag as its preferred bidder for a contract to expand a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Al-Majmaah in Riyadh Province.

  The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) package for the Al-Majmaah STP has an estimated value of $65m.

  The scope includes the construction of sewage treatment plant units, a pumping station and an effluent surplus line. It also covers the installation of a Scada system, supervisory control systems and associated facilities.

  As MEED understands, six bids were submitted last year, including from local firms Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies, Al-Rafia Contracting, Civil Works Company, Saudi Sdn Water & Energy and Washnah Trading & Contracting.

  The project forms part of Saudi Arabia’s broader push to expand treatment and reuse infrastructure under Vision 2030, particularly across the Riyadh region.

  MEED recently revealed that NWC had awarded an EPC contract for the latest phase of its long-term operations and maintenance sewage treatment programme.

  The contract to build and upgrade sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of about 440,000 cubic metres a day was awarded to a consortium led by China’s Jiangsu United Water Technology.

  Elsewhere, a joint venture of Kuwait-based Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding and Wabag is awaiting the formal contract award for phase two of Kuwait’s Doha seawater desalination plant project.

  The firms submitted the lowest bid of $373.2m for the project last year.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16401155/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall