meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Power sector awards momentum accelerates

26 December 2024

 

The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region’s power sector awarded over $60bn of contracts between January and early November 2024, up 47.5% compared to the value of awarded contracts in the previous full year.

This figure is more than double the average value of annual contract awards recorded between 2014 and 2023, based on data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

It also exceeds by 21% the total combined value of contracts awarded between 2018 and 2020, when some regional governments and utilities began pivoting to renewable energy and freezing the expansion of thermal plant capacities, in line with goals aimed at decarbonising their electricity systems.

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic slowed down project activity and temporarily delayed the awarding of some contracts.

The market staged a short-lived comeback in 2021, when Saudi Arabia awarded a string of contracts for solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power projects (IPPs), including a contract to develop the 600MW Shoaiba solar PV scheme, which holds the world record for the lowest unsubsidised solar PV production at $cents1.04 a kilowatt-hour.

A slight contraction occurred the following year due to a spike in raw materials and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) costs.

Last year saw a stunning recovery, however, helped by the award of new renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Oman, as well as by a resumption of contract awards for new gas-fired power plants, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Iraq.

Yet 2024 is set to outshine 2023 in terms of awarded contracts for thermal, renewable energy and nuclear power generation plants, as well as for power transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure such as substations and overhead transmission lines.

Major 2024 awards

In 2023, power generation projects accounted for an estimated 79% of total contract awards, with T&D projects accounting for the rest.

A different picture is emerging in 2024, with data in the first nine months of the year suggesting that generation contract awards are retreating to about 64% of the total. This is due to increased T&D capital spending that has so far driven a 150% increase in award value compared to full-year 2023.

This is a clear indicator of T&D capacity buildout catching up with the generation capacity expansion, especially as larger economies such as Saudi Arabia strive to set up stronger and more efficient electricity links domestically, and as the energy-rich GCC states seek to establish stronger electricity links with one another and with their neighbours, including Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.

Saudi Arabia has dominated the overall Mena power contracts landscape. Its share of 29% in 2022 soared to 61% in 2023 and 67% in the first 10-11 months of 2024.

In May, principal buyer Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) signed two power-purchase agreements with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation for contracts to develop two wind IPPs under the fourth round of the National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP). The Al-Ghat and Waad Al-Shamal wind IPPs have a total combined capacity of 1,100MW. 

The contract for a third wind IPP, tendered as part of round four of the NREP, is also expected to be awarded soon.

In June, Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF) let the fourth batch of solar PV schemes, which it is implementing bilaterally through the Price Discovery Scheme.

A team comprising Acwa Power, PIF-backed Water & Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and Saudi Aramco Power Company (Sapco), a subsidiary of the state majority-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco, will develop the three solar projects, which will have a total combined capacity of 5,500MW and will require an investment of about $3.3bn.

The Haden solar PV and Muwayh solar power plants, which will each have a capacity of 2,000MW, will be located in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca region. The third project, the 1,500MW Al-Khushaybi solar PV plant, will be located in the Qassim region. The three new solar PV facilities are expected to become operational in the first half of 2027.

In early November, SPPC also announced the winning bidders for the contracts to develop four combined-cycle gas turbine plants comprising the second batch of thermal capacity that it has tendered since 2023. The four plants, located in Riyadh and the Eastern Province, will each have a capacity of 1,800MW and will require an investment of about $2bn each.  

A developer consortium comprising the UAE-based Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), Japan’s Jera Company and the local Albawani Company successfully bid for the contracts to develop and operate the Rumah 2 and Nairiyah 2 IPPs. Meanwhile, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Riyadh-based utility developer Acwa Power and South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) won the contracts to develop and operate the similarly configured Rumah 1 and Nairiyah 1 IPPs.

State utility SEC is also understood to have issued the limited notices to proceed for six greenfield thermal power plants with a total combined capacity of over 16,000MW.

Power generation projects for which final contracts are expected to be awarded before the end of 2024 include:

  • Hajr: 3,600MW
  • Marjan: 1,800MW
  • Riyadh PP12: 1,800MW
  • Qurayyah: 3,600MW
  • Ghazlan 1: 2,400MW
  • Ghazlan 2: 2,900MW

The $5.3bn high-voltage direct current network project connecting the central, western and southern regions of Saudi Arabia was the single largest power contract awarded in Saudi Arabia in 2024.

The UAE, meanwhile, has awarded three key power contracts this year, including for the Al-Ajban solar IPP, which was won by a team of France’s EDF and South Korea’s Korea Western Power Company (Kowepo), and for the Dhafra waste-to-energy project, which a team of Japan’s Marubeni Corporation, Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation and Zurich-headquartered Hitachi Zosen Inova is developing.

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) is also understood to have awarded the contract to complete the Jebel Ali K-Station to Egypt-based Power Generation Engineering & Services Company.

2025 outlook

The Mena power projects pipeline remains robust, with over $45bn-worth of contracts under bid evaluation and another $50bn in the prequalification stage as of late 2024, according to MEED Projects.

Saudi Arabia is likely to remain dominant, particularly if SPPC and the PIF activate a plan by the Energy Ministry to procure 20,000MW of renewable energy capacity annually until it reaches its target for renewables to account for half of its energy production mix by 2030.

Morocco has the second-largest power projects pipeline thanks to several planned schemes to export clean energy and green hydrogen to Europe. Notably, the tender is under way for the country’s first two solar PV plus battery energy storage system (bess) projects, Noor Midelt 2 and 3.

Abu Dhabi also maintains a substantial renewables and gas-fired generation project pipeline. It has several upcoming IPPs with a total combined capacity of over 7,000MW, of which more than 6,000MW is in the tendering stage.

While the procurement process for Saudi Arabia’s first nuclear power plant in Duwaiheen has been delayed, the UAE has plans to procure the next phase of its nuclear power plant project in Barakah.

Green industrial development in steel and aluminium, as is being undertaken in the UAE, is a driver for ongoing clean energy capacity buildout, notes Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy.

Egypt, Iran, Kuwait and Iraq have the next largest power projects pipelines. The key drivers in each state vary, with populous countries Egypt and Iran seeking to develop integrated green hydrogen hubs and nuclear power capacity, respectively, while Kuwait remains a promising market with extended plans to procure both conventional and renewable energy capacity to address peak demand.

There are indications that Iraq’s first utility-scale solar PV scheme – a 1GW project being developed by France’s TotalEnergies – will head into the construction stage in the coming months, along with other similar projects for which preliminary agreements were signed by Iraqi authorities in 2021-22.

Oman is actively pursuing renewable energy capacity, with the state offtaker having tendered the contracts for two wind IPPs in September 2024.

In Oman and Qatar, the main downstream companies, Petroleum Development Oman and QatarEnergy, are developing renewable energy capacity as a means of mitigating their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to support their respective government’s net-zero targets.

In November, Bahrain started the procurement process for its fourth independent water and power project (IWPP) in Sitra, which replaced the previously planned Al-Dur IWPP 3 scheme.

Other trends

SEC affiliate National Grid Saudi Arabia has awarded EPC contracts for several bess packages to local firm Algihaz this year. In August, it tendered a contract for the construction of a further 2,500MW of energy storage capacity. 

In parallel, the procurement process is under way for the first independent bess packages in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, with other utilities expected to follow suit in procuring bess using an IPP model. Bess will boost grid flexibility and spinning reserves in the face of increased renewable energy capacity and demand.

In addition to bess and several gigawatts of solar and wind capacity, Saudi Arabia gigaproject developer Neom, which plans to be powered 100% by renewable energy by the end of the decade, is also considering a network of large-scale pumped hydropower storage plants.   

However, despite the ongoing capacity buildout across the Mena states, some end-users – particularly in fossil fuel-
scarce jurisdictions such as Morocco – continue to struggle with supply.

“I’ve been part of a research project in Morocco looking at the renewable power landscape and green economy more broadly. In that case, we do see massive buildout, but it is tailored for offtake to state-related industrials,” says Columbia University’s Young.

She adds that a telephone survey of 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Morocco about their perception of the accessibility and affordability of renewable energy yielded surprising results.

“They strongly suggested a lack of support, given that smaller enterprises continue to see power outages and this has in many cases caused damage to their equipment and abilities to stay open and service customers.

“The disconnect between power buildout and industrial advances in a green supply chain and how small and medium firms see power accessibility and reliability is very stark. In a Mena-wide sense, we might start to question how the delivery and transmission of power in an equitable way affects economic growth opportunities overall.”

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13145640/main.gif
Jennifer Aguinaldo

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Municipality seeks consultants for Dubailand drainage project

    10 December 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Dubai Municipality has invited consultants to prequalify for a contract to provide supervision services on a major drainage infrastructure project serving developed communities in Dubailand.

    The sewerage and stormwater drainage project, listed under the code DS-204-S1, is being procured through the government’s Sewerage and Recycled Water Projects Department (SRPD).

    The bid submission deadline is 8 January.

    The consultancy contract follows the issuance in November of the related construction package, DS-204-C1, for which the municipality invited contractors to prequalify.

    The scope includes sewage gravity pipelines with diameters of up to 2,200mm, a sewage lift station with a capacity of three cubic metres a second, and a 1,400mm-diameter sewage rising main that will take pumped sewage from the lift station to the main sewer network.

    The bid submission deadline for the construction package is also 8 January 2026.

    The tenders form part of Dubai’s wider investment in sewerage expansion, including the $8bn Tasreef programme, for which several projects have moved into the execution phase in recent months.

    Once completed, the Tasreef system is expected to increase Dubai’s overall drainage capacity by about 700% and provide daily stormwater treatment capacity exceeding 20 million cubic metres.

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

    Prospects widen as Middle East rail projects are delivered; India’s L&T storms up MEED’s EPC contractor ranking; Manama balances growth with fiscal challenges

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

    > BAHRAIN MARKET FOCUS: Manama pursues reform amid strain
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15218750/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Riyadh prepares Qiddiya National Athletics Stadium tender

    9 December 2025

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) is expected to float a tender soon for the construction of the estimated SR7bn ($1.8bn) National Athletics Stadium at its Qiddiya entertainment city development.

    MEED understands that the prequalification process has reached an advanced stage and the tender for the main contract is likely to be issued within a few weeks.

    The multipurpose stadium will cover an area of approximately 182,000 square metres and its design is inspired by the London Olympic Stadium.

    In September, MEED exclusively reported that QIC had begun the procurement process for the kingdom’s next major sporting destination, having received expressions of interest from contractors for the project.

    UK-based HOK is the project’s lead design consultant. It is supported by Canadian engineering firm WSP and Germany’s Schlaich Bergermann Partner.

    UK-headquartered WT Partnership is serving as the project’s cost consultant.

    The stadium will be located within the Qiddiya Sports Park cluster and is expected to be completed by 2030.

    In December 2020, Saudi Arabia was selected to host the 2034 Asian Games. The 22nd edition of the event will be held in Riyadh from 29 November to 14 December 2034.

    Saudi Arabia is also set to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. In October 2022, the Trojena development at Neom, in the northwest of the country, was selected to host the ninth edition of the event.

    The National Athletics Stadium is one of several major projects within the wider Qiddiya development. Others include an e-games arena, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a performing arts centre, a motorsports track, Dragon Ball and Six Flags theme parks and Aquarabia waterpark.

    The project is a key part of Riyadh’s strategy to boost leisure tourism in the kingdom. According to UK analytics firm GlobalData, leisure tourism in Saudi Arabia has experienced significant growth in recent years.

    Domestic leisure tourism trips increased to 33.76 million in 2023, up from 16.74 million in 2018. International tourist arrivals for recreational purposes increased by 600% from 2018 to 2023.

    Image: Buro Happold

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15217660/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Contractors submit prices to Adnoc Gas for Ruwais NGL project

    9 December 2025

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Contractors have submitted commercial proposals to Adnoc Gas for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work as part of a design‑update competition for a project to install a fifth natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation train at its Ruwais gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi.

    The fifth NGL fractionation train will have an output capacity of 22,000 tonnes a day (t/d), or about 8 million tonnes a year.

    Adnoc Gas, the natural gas processing business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), has adopted the design-update competition model to deliver the Ruwais NGL Train 5 project, MEED previously reported.

    The design-update competition model involves the project operator selecting contractors to execute front-end engineering design (feed) work on the project. The operator selects the contractor with the most competitive feed proposal to execute EPC works on the project, while also compensating the other contestants for their work.

    According to sources, contractors participating in the design-update competition for the Ruwais NGL Train 5 project submitted commercial bids for EPC works by the deadline of 8 December.

    The previous deadline for price submissions was 30 November, sources said.

    Adnoc Gas previously asked contractors to submit their feed technical proposals for the project in September.

    In January, MEED reported that Adnoc Gas had selected the following contractors to participate in the design-update competition for the Ruwais NGL Train 5 project:

    • JGC Corporation (Japan)
    • Technip Energies (France)
    • Tecnimont (Italy)

    MEED previously reported that participants had submitted technical proposals for feed work on 6 October.

    The scope of work on the Ruwais NGL Train 5 project covers the EPC of the following units:

    • NGL fractionation plant with a capacity of 22,000 t/d, including NGL fractionation facilities, downstream treatment units, sulphur recovery units, products storage, loading facilities and associated utilities, flares and interconnection pipelines with existing facilities
    • Two propane liquefied petroleum gas storage tanks and one paraffinic naphtha storage tank
    • Buildings – a central control building, outstations, substations and plant amenities
    • Electrical power connections. Power is to be sourced from the nearby Transco substation via a direct underground cable to the plot location.

    Adnoc Gas requires the feed on the project to be updated based on the design of Ruwais NGL Train 4, which has an output capacity of 27,000 t/d and was commissioned in 2014.

    In December 2021, MEED reported that Adnoc Gas, then operating as Adnoc Gas Processing, had awarded Indian contractor Larsen & Toubro Hydrocarbon Engineering the main contract for a project to enhance the capacity of its NGL trains 1-4 at the Ruwais complex.

    ALSO READ: Adnoc Gas capex budget to rise to $28bn by 2029

    Adnoc Gas business

    Adnoc Group announced the creation of Adnoc Gas through the merger of its subsidiaries Adnoc Gas Processing and Adnoc LNG in November 2022. Adnoc Gas began operating as a commercial entity on 1 January 2023.

    The consolidation of Adnoc’s gas processing and liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations into Adnoc Gas has created one of the world’s largest gas-processing entities, with a processing capacity of about 10 billion standard cubic feet of gas a day across eight onshore and offshore sites, which include its Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa, Habshan and Ruwais plants.

    The company also owns a 3,250-kilometre (km) gas pipeline network to supply feedstock to its customers in the UAE. This sales gas pipeline network is being expanded to over 3,500km through the estimated $3bn Estidama project.

    The company will also acquire its parent Adnoc Group’s 60% share in the Ruwais LNG terminal project at cost in the second half of 2028. UK energy producer BP, Japan’s Mitsui & Co, UK-based Shell and French energy producer TotalEnergies are the other shareholders in the project, holding 10% stakes each.

    Adnoc Gas share sale

    In February 2025, Adnoc Group completed a marketed offering of approximately 3.1 billion shares in Adnoc Gas, raising $2.8bn from the exercise.

    The offering consisted of 3,070,056,880 shares, representing 4% of the issued and outstanding share capital of Adnoc Gas.

    Following the marketed offering of shares, Adnoc Group continues to hold the majority 86% of shares in Adnoc Gas.

    The parent entity listed 5% of Adnoc Gas’ shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in March 2023, in an initial public offering from which it raised about $2.5bn.

    Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) owns the remaining 5% shares in Adnoc Gas.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15217598/main2533.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Saudi Arabia and Qatar sign high-speed rail link agreement

    9 December 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia and Qatar have signed an agreement to build a proposed high-speed rail line connecting Riyadh and Doha.

    The agreement was signed by Saudi Arabia's Transport & Logistics Services Minister, Saleh Al-Jasser, and Qatar's Transport Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulla Bin Mohammed Al-Thani.

    The high-speed railway line will cover 785 kilometres (km) and will pass through Hofuf and Dammam, while also linking King Salman International airport and Hamad International airport.

    The train's speed will exceed 300 kilometres an hour, reducing travel time between the two capitals to about two hours.

    The project is slated for completion in six years. The project is expected to serve over 10 million passengers annually and create more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.

    Riyadh and Doha relaunched a proposed rail link connecting the two countries in 2022, after agreeing to set a date to begin studying the connection. 

    In July of that year, France’s Systra was selected to conduct a feasibility study on the proposed scheme, as MEED reported.

    A rail link connecting Saudi Arabia and Qatar was planned before the diplomatic dispute that froze relations between Riyadh and Doha from 2017 until the Al-Ula Declaration was signed in January 2021.

    In 2016, Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) was planning to tender the design-and-build contract for the construction of regional railways in Qatar, including the link connecting to the Saudi border.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15217463/main.gif
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Oman green hydrogen projects cancelled

    8 December 2025

    Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom), France’s Engie and South Korea’s Pohang Iron & Steel Company (Posco) have cancelled plans to move forward with the $6.7bn HyDuqm green hydrogen project.

    In a joint statement, the firms said they had reached a decision to end the scheme by mutual consent following an “in-depth assessment” of global renewable hydrogen offtake dynamics and investment frameworks.

    The HyDuqm scheme was one of the largest green hydrogen projects awarded under Oman’s first auction round in 2023.

    The proposed development included around 5GW of combined solar and wind capacity, supported by battery energy storage, to power an electrolysis plant producing hydrogen for conversion into green ammonia.

    The facility was expected to deliver up to 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia a year by 2030, with Posco as the main offtaker to support the decarbonisation of its steel operations.

    The consortium, led by Posco (28%) and Engie (25%), had secured a 47-year concession with the state-owned Hydrom to develop a 320-square-kilometre site near the Port of Duqm.

    Samsung Engineering, Korea Southern Power and Korea East-West Power had a 12% stake, with Thailand’s PTTEP holding the remaining 11%.

    As recently as May, the partners were still targeting a final investment decision in 2027, subject to detailed economic and technical feasibility assessments.

    Separately, a second Hydrogen project in the same area, owned by the UK’s BP, has also been cancelled. BP withdrew its plans for the Duqm green hydrogen project, which had secured land rights for the 1.5GW facility.

    Hydrom managing director, Abdulaziz Al-Shidhani, told the 2025 Green Hydrogen Summit in Oman last week that only seven of the nine original projects that won land tenders were progressing.

    Wider slowdown

    The cancellations come amid a broader slowdown in green hydrogen development globally. Several major schemes have been postponed, scaled back or withdrawn as project economics have tightened.

    In Europe, more than one-fifth of planned hydrogen projects had been stalled or cancelled by the end of 2024, according to research and consultancy firm Westwood Global Energy, largely due to high costs, uncertain demand and slow progress securing long-term offtake.

    A similar trend has emerged in the GCC, where Saudi Arabia’s flagship Neom green hydrogen project has also faced offtake and market pressures despite reaching an $8.4bn financial close in 2023.

    The 4GW scheme, designed to produce about 1.2 million tonnes a year of green ammonia, has reportedly struggled to secure multiple international buyers, with only limited offtake confirmed to date.

    Hydrogen production costs

    Global green hydrogen production costs also remain significantly higher than conventional alternatives, typically in the range of $3-$8 a kilogram compared with roughly $0.5-$2/kg for hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, leaving large export-oriented projects exposed to pricing and demand uncertainty.

    The combination of elevated capital costs, slow offtake development and evolving policy frameworks has created headwinds for investment decisions across the sector.

    In the joint statement, however, Hydrom said it is committed to “developing a competitive hydrogen-centric economy” aligned with Oman’s Vision 2040.

    It added that projects awarded in the first two auction rounds are progressing on schedule towards the country’s target of producing more than one million tonnes a year of green hydrogen by 2030.

    The company also highlighted continued international interest in the sector, noting that the third auction round is under way with strong foreign participation.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15214080/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall