The region kicked the new year off with $30.5bn of contract awards, which is the biggest value ever recorded in the first month of the year since MEED began tracking contract awards in January 2014. 

Six countries in the region recorded contract award values above $1bn, led by Saudi Arabia with $11bn. The oil sector saw the biggest value of deals signed at $8.1bn followed by the construction industry with $7.4bn.

Saudi Arabia

The biggest contract awarded in Saudi Arabia in January stems from the Neom gigaproject. Italian contractor WeBuild secured an estimated SR20bn ($5bn) contract to build dams that will create an artificial lake at the heart of the Trojena mountain resort, which is due to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029.

In December 2023, the value of work already awarded at Neom was only a fraction of the hundreds of billions of dollars-worth of expected contracts that have yet to be inked. About $21bn of contracts have been tendered, while the majority of projects have entered the design stage.

UAE

The UAE recorded the second-biggest value of deals let in January, with $7.9bn of awards. The largest deal signed was a $2.4bn contract awarded by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) to Egyptian contractor Engineering for Petroleum & Process Industries (Enppi) to build a west-to-east pipeline to transport crude oil produced in Abu Dhabi to the UAE’s northern emirate of Fujairah.

Qatar

Qatar saw the third-largest value of deals signed in January at $5.1bn, spurred by four awards worth a total of $6bn for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the Ruya project, which aims to increase oil production from the Al Shaheen offshore oil field by about 100,000 barrels a day (b/d).

The winner of the biggest package, valued at $2.1bn, was a consortium of the US’ McDermott and Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering Company.

Following the conclusion of the Fifa World Cup 2022, the expectation now is that Qatar will resume its development plans and start awarding major contracts.

There are currently several strategic projects in the country’s pipeline that are expected to provide renewed impetus to the construction and transportation market and present opportunities to contractors in the short term.

Egypt

Egypt saw $1.98bn of deals signed in January, with the largest comprising two chemicals contracts worth a total of $2bn. The contracts are for phase three of a nitrogen fertiliser and phosphate industrial complex project in Egypt’s Ain Sokhna region and were won by a team of Petrojet and Ballestra and a team of Petrojet and Wuhan Engineering.

Oman

Oman, meanwhile, recorded $1.96bn of awards in January, the biggest an $800m contract for the Marsa liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. French energy major TotalEnergies selected Technip Energies to build the LNG bunkering and export terminal in Oman’s northern city of Sohar. 

Kuwait

Kuwait saw $450m of contracts signed in January, most of which was due to a $442m deal let by the Electricity & Water Ministry for the rehabilitation of the Al Zour South power and water distillation station. 

Algeria

Algeria rounded out the list of countries that recorded more than $1bn in contract signings in January, with $1.2bn of deals signed. The country saw 1GW of solar photovoltaic contracts awarded during the month by state-owned Algerian Renewable Energies Company (Shaems). Algeria expects the solar projects to generate $3.2bn-$3.6bn in investment.

Iraq

Iraq recorded $605m of deals inked in January, with the biggest a $400m contract awarded by the Oil Ministry to Petrochina for the Nahr Bin Omar gas utilisation project.

Tunisia

Tunisia recorded a contract award value of $200m off the back of a single deal – a design-and-build contract for the construction of a 2.1-kilometre viaduct linking Tunis and Bizerte, let by the Equipment, Housing & Land Planning Ministry to China’s Sichuan Road & Bridge Group. The European Investment Bank and African Development Bank are co-financing the project.

Jordan

Jordan saw $137m of deals signed in January, the largest an $80m contract inked by the country’s water authority for package one of a project to construct sewer networks, pumping stations and force mains in areas of Karak. 

Kuwait

Kuwait recorded $127m of awards in the first month of the year, the largest a $42m contract awarded by the Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy Ministry to South Korea’s Taihan Electric Wire Company for the supply and installation of 400kV overhead lines running from Khairan to Wafra and Sulaibiya. 

Bahrain

Bahrain, meanwhile, saw a single $69m deal signed in January, let by the Electricity & Water Authority to TBEA Shandong Luneng Taishan Cable Company for the construction of a 400kV grid substation and 220kV subsystem in Jasra. 

Libya

Libya also recorded a single contract award for the month – a $64m deal signed by the Libyan Administration of Roads & Bridges with Egypt’s The Arab Contractors for the reconstruction of two bridges in the city of Derna.