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• 
  Mena’s data centre gold rush

  9 June 2025

  Commentary
  Colin Foreman
  Editor

  Read the June issue of MEED Business Review

  On 22 May, OpenAI announced its first international deployment of its frontier-scale AI infrastructure platform with the launch of Stargate UAE. 

  Positioned as the foundation for the company’s long-term vision for artificial general intelligence (AGI), Stargate is also the inaugural project under its OpenAI for Countries, which is a framework designed to assist governments in building sovereign AI capabilities. 

  The deal, which was announced after US President Donald Trump’s visit to the UAE, was developed in close coordination with the US government and backed by a consortium including G42, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank.

  The UAE’s selection as the first Stargate destination is the latest sign of the GCC’s increasingly important role in developing future technologies. The region offers a potentially winning mix of cost-effective energy, robust infrastructure and assertive policy support, positioning it as an emergent global AI and data hub.

  Once a niche segment, data centres are now essential infrastructure

  To capitalise on these advantages, the region must rapidly expand its data centre capacity. Consultancy firm PwC projects that the Middle East’s capacity could triple from 1GW in 2025 to 3.3GW within five years. 

  The forecast underpins a major construction opportunity: as of May, more than $78bn in data centre projects were at the planning stage, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects. A further $680m were at the bid stage, and another $6.5bn were under construction. Once a niche segment, data centres are now essential infrastructure driving national competitiveness in the AI economy.

  The region needs more than just infrastructure to be successful. Realising the region’s AI ambitions – particularly in economic diversification and youth employment – requires parallel progress in capital formation, strategic partnerships and human capital development. 

  Long-term success hinges on the ability to transition from infrastructure investment to a thriving tech ecosystem. The speed at which a skilled workforce can be developed will determine whether they become leading players in the AI age or remain dependent on imported expertise.

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

  Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

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

  > AGENDA 1: Data centres churn investments > AGENDA 2: Gulf seizes AI opportunities > SYRIA: US announces lifting of Syria sanctions > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks defy lower oil prices > TOURISM: Abu Dhabi hopes bigger is better with Disney theme park > TRADE: Emerging Gulf-Asia corridor grows despite headwinds  > SAUDI ARABIA: Riyadh confirms capital expenditure cuts > INTERVIEW: Mena crucial to Veolia’s growth plan > IRAQ REPORT:  Iraq maintains its pace, for now > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3% > CONTRACT AWARDS: Region sees third month of weak awards activity > ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects > OPINION: Dealmaking trumps the Truman Doctrine

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

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Developers break ground on W Residences Dubai

  9 June 2025

  Dubai free zone operator Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and local real estate developer Signature Developers have officially broken ground on W Residences Dubai – Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT).

  The project, which is being developed in collaboration with Marriott International, involves the construction of a 38-storey tower that will have 33 residential floors, three basements, two podiums, a ground floor and an amenities level.

  Altogether, it will have 185 residences, including one-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as four-bedroom penthouses.

  DMCC and Signature Developers announced the project in 2024. According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the project is at the main contract bid stage. The contractor for the foundation works is TMF Euro Foundations. The development manager is South Africa’s Mirage Leisure & Development. The architect is MAD Architects.

  Uptown project

  DMCC is also developing other tower projects in Dubai. In May this year, MEED reported that it had appointed local construction firm Ali & Sons as the main contractor to build the estimated AED1bn ($272m) next phase of its Uptown Dubai development.

  The second phase includes constructing two 28- and 21-storey mid-rise towers featuring approximately 67,500 square metres (sq m) of commercial space and 5,000 sq m for retail and food and beverage outlets.

  The construction work began last year when local enabling contractor Swissboring started the foundation works on the project.

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  China State wins Abu Dhabi photovoltaic project

  9 June 2025

  Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant at Tawazun Industrial Park in Abu Dhabi.

  The scope of work includes the design, procurement, installation, commissioning and trial operation of a PV power plant, along with a 24-month warranty period for operation and maintenance.

  Once operational, the PV power station is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 14,064 tonnes annually. This reduction is equivalent to alleviating the carbon footprint of over 25% of Tawazun Industrial Park.

  The project client is Emerge, which is a joint venture of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and France’s EDF Group.

  In January, MEED reported that Emerge had awarded CSCEC a contract to build six solar power plants in Abu Dhabi.

  The EPC contract includes the design, procurement, installation, commissioning, trial operation and 24-month warranty period for operation and maintenance of six independent solar PV power stations.

  Emerge focuses on developing captive or private-to-private renewable energy projects across the GCC region.

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Saudi Arabia evaluates 2km tower bids

  9 June 2025

  

   

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has received offers from firms for a contract to provide project management consultancy (PMC) for a new central business district (CBD) on the outskirts of Riyadh, which includes the proposed 2-kilometre megatall tower project.

  The PMC role covers both the tower and the surrounding district. The request for proposals is understood to have been issued by a PIF subsidiary known as the Tower District Real Estate Development Company.

  The firms invited to bid were understood to include Aecom, Jacobs, Parsons and Turner, all US-based, and the UK’s Mace.

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

  Record breaker

  The proposed tower will be more than double the height of the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which is 828 metres tall. It is expected to be at least several hundred metres taller than the 1,000-metre-plus tall tower that is being built 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, which are known as Project Rise, sit within a larger masterplanned development to the north of Riyadh called the North Pole.

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  MEED’s latest report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > GOVERNMENT: Riyadh takes the diplomatic initiative
  > ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy forges onward
  > BANKING: Saudi banks work to keep pace with credit expansion
  > UPSTREAM: Saudi oil and gas spending to surpass 2024 level
  > DOWNSTREAM: Aramco’s recalibrated chemical goals reflect realism
  > POWER: Saudi power sector enters busiest year
  > WATER: Saudi water contracts set another annual record
  > CONSTRUCTION: Reprioritisation underpins Saudi construction
  > TRANSPORT: Riyadh pushes ahead with infrastructure development
  > DATABANK: Saudi Arabia’s growth trend heads up

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Jordan pushes ahead with gas plans

  9 June 2025

  

   

  Jordan has pushed ahead with plans to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and domestic gas production in recent months to meet growing domestic energy demand.

  The country is developing a new LNG terminal and has signed significant deals to boost imports. It is also inviting companies to participate in a project to boost domestic production.

  Jordan relies heavily on natural gas for its power and industrial needs. In 2022, natural gas was the country’s largest source of electricity generation, generating 73% of all electricity consumed in the country.

  Aqaba terminal

  In August 2024, Jordan’s Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) awarded the main contract for a project to develop the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah LNG onshore regasification facility in Jordan’s port of Aqaba.

  The contract was won by a consortium of Singapore-based AG&P and South Korea’s Gas Entec, along with their local partner, Jordan’s Issa Haddadin.

  AG&P has majority ownership of Gas Entec, and ADC is owned by the Government of Jordan and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.

  The facility will have the capacity to process 720 million standard cubic feet a day (cf/d) of natural gas.

  The exact value of the contract was not disclosed by ADC or the consortium awarded the project, but the facility has been estimated to be worth about $1bn by regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

  The $1bn price tag makes it the biggest active project that has progressed beyond the study stage across Jordan’s oil, gas and chemical sectors, according to MEED Projects data.

  The project was originally scheduled to be completed, commissioned and delivered within 22 months, with the project due to be commissioned by the second quarter of 2026.

  The new permanent LNG import terminal is expected to replace an existing floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) located in Aqaba port that began operations in 2025.

  Egyptian deal

  While Jordan waits for the permanent Aqaba terminal to come online, authorities in the country have had to make interim deals to meet domestic energy demand.

  In December, Jordan and Egypt signed an agreement that enables Jordan to use Egypt’s FSRUs for a period of two years.

  The agreement was signed in Cairo by the director-general of Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco), Sofyan Batayneh, and the chairman of Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas), Yassin Mohamed.

  Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh called the agreement “a milestone” in Jordanian-Egyptian energy cooperation.

  He also said it could potentially increase resource efficiency and cut costs for Jordan.

  Under the agreement, Jordan will have priority access to Egypt’s FSRUs, with 350 million cf/d of natural gas allocated to meet Jordan’s needs.

  The cost of Jordan’s LNG shipments is expected to be around $3m each, with an additional $5m for transport via the Egyptian gas network.

  Total annual costs are capped at $10m, a far lower cost than the $70m spent on imports via the Aqaba floating LNG terminal, according to a statement released in December.

  Under the current plans, Jordan will rely on Egypt’s FSRUs until 2026, when the land-based regasification facility under construction in Aqaba is expected to become operational.

  Boosting domestic production

  At the same time as investing in infrastructure that will make it possible to import large volumes of natural gas, the country is also trying to boost domestic gas production to reduce its reliance on natural gas.

  A key focus for Jordan when it comes to increasing domestic production is the Risha gas field, which is located in northeast Jordan, 370 kilometres east of Amman, near the Iraqi border.

  The field has been producing since 1989, but over recent months, there has been increased optimism about its potential to meet a much higher proportion of domestic energy needs.

  Speaking at a ceremony in May, Kharabsheh said that the government was working to fully meet the kingdom’s natural gas needs from the Risha gas field within the next five years through the efforts of National Petroleum Company (NPC).

  His comments came after the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources released the results of gas exploration in the area in November last year.

  According to the results published by the ministry, the medium estimate for gas reserves in the area suggests that the field holds 11.99 trillion cubic feet of in-place reserves, with 39% or 4.675 trillion cubic feet potentially recoverable.

  The lower-end estimates indicated reserves of 9.39 trillion cubic feet, with 30% recoverable, amounting to around 2.835 trillion cubic feet.

  The highest estimate placed reserves at 14.6 trillion cubic feet, with a potential 43% recovery rate, amounting to 6.35 trillion cubic feet.

  Since 2022, the Jordanian government has directed significant resources to oil and gas exploration, with NPC leading studies in cooperation with international experts.

  The final phase of the most recent exploration assessments included reserve certification by Beicip-Franlab, a leading French energy consultancy.

  Development plans

  As part of the initiative to further develop the Risha field, there are plans for more drilling and a gas pipeline.

  In April, NPC issued an invitation to companies to submit prequalification documents to participate in a tender for a contract to drill 80 wells at the field.

  The drilling campaign is part of a broader push to try to boost gas production to 200 million cf/d by the end of the decade.

  Plans are also under way to build a 320km gas pipeline connecting the Risha field to Al-Khanasri.

  The first phase of the pipeline is expected to transport 150 million standard cf/d, with the second phase expanding its capacity to 500 million cf/d.

  While Jordan pushes ahead with plans for more drilling and more infrastructure at the Risha field, there are no guarantees that this will lead to a large increase in domestic production.

  The simultaneous expansion of the country’s LNG import capabilities means that natural gas is set to remain a major part of the country’s energy mix for some time to come.

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  Wil Crisp