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• 
  Local firm wins Jeddah stormwater contract

  5 March 2026

  Saudi Arabia’s Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (AWPT) has won a five-year contract from Jeddah Municipality for stormwater network services in the city.

  The contract covers the operation and cleaning of stormwater and surface water networks in the airport’s sub-municipality area of Jeddah, AWPT said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange.

  Valued at $25m, the contract forms part of ongoing efforts by Saudi municipalities to maintain and upgrade urban stormwater infrastructure as cities expand and face increasing pressure on drainage systems.

  According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, Jeddah Municipality awarded two major stormwater infrastructure contracts in 2025.

  The awards covered phases one and two of the King Abdullah Road-Falasteen Road (KAFA) tunnel project, each valued at about $175m.

  The contracts were awarded to Saudi contractor Thrustboring Construction Company for the construction of large-diameter stormwater drainage tunnels. US-based Aecom is the consultant for the project.

  As MEED previously reported, the contracts for the three-year scheme were initially tendered in 2024.

  In January, AWPT won another contract with state-owned utility National Water Company (NWC) to operate and maintain water assets in Tabuk City.

  The scope of work includes the operation and maintenance of water networks, pump stations, wells, tanks and related facilities over a 36-month period.

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

  Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

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

  > AGENDA: Saudi Arabia’s private sector picks up the baton > RAMADAN: Data disproves the Ramadan slowdown story > INDUSTRY REPORT: Chemicals producers look to cut spending > INDUSTRY REPORT: Global petrochemical project capex set to rise until 2030 > MARKET FOCUS: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival > LEADERSHIP: Delivering Saudi Arabia’s next phase of rail growth > POWER: Lessons learnt from a power plant decommissioning > INTERVIEW: Abu Dhabi’s Enersol charts acquisitions path > INTERVIEW: Lina Noureddin, CEO of Lamar Holding, on the evolving PPP landscape > INTERVIEW: Contract award marks Metito’s return to municipal projects

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

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  US-Israel attack on Iran incurs heavy regional price

  5 March 2026

  

   

  The joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, launched on 28 February under operations codenamed Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion, has pulled the GCC into the most destabilising regional confrontation in a generation.

  Six days into the crisis, the scale of collateral damage to Gulf capitals is becoming fully visible in damaged infrastructure, grounded aircraft, shuttered ports, halted energy production and a darkening investment climate.

  Every member of the GCC has absorbed Iranian missile or drone strikes, despite none having launched offensive operations against Tehran.

  In contrast to the restrained signalling from Iran during the 12-day war in June 2025 – when it choreographed its Gulf retaliation to a single base in Qatar – this campaign represents a deliberate effort to punish the US and states harbouring its assets.

  By 4 March, Iran had fired 186 ballistic missiles at the UAE alone, according to the UAE Ministry of Defence, with all but one intercepted, but with lethal debris falling across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Of 812 drones launched toward the UAE, 57 made impact.

  Across the Gulf, however, the overall damage tallied so far is stark, particularly at US military bases. Iranian volleys have been directed with special intensity at the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar, alongside every US airbase and associated radar and satellite communications system across the region.

  Strangled logistics

  The Strait of Hormuz – the 33-kilometre-wide channel between Iran and Oman – was also declared closed to traffic by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) the same day the US-Israeli attacks began.

  Closing the strait, through which approximately 20 million barrels of crude oil pass every day, has been a perennial Iranian threat, and now Tehran is making good on it.

  The strait is the sole maritime exit for much of the energy exported from the Gulf states, making up around a fifth of all seaborne oil traded globally in total.

  At least five vessels have been struck so far in enforcement of the blockade, but the real impediment to ships is now the withdrawal of war risk cover by insurance underwriters – leaving ships inside and outside of the strait stranded.

  Oil prices have responded accordingly, with Brent crude rising above $80 a barrel – up from closer to $60 – and with analysts placing $100 a barrel firmly back on the table if the disruption runs for more than a few weeks.

  LNG shutdown

  If the Hormuz closure has convulsed oil markets, the direct attack on Qatar’s energy infrastructure has delivered a separate and arguably more structurally significant blow.

  Iranian drones struck QatarEnergy’s facilities at both Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City, forcing a complete halt to all liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and associated output.

  Qatar, which operated 14 LNG trains with a combined annual capacity of 77 million tonnes – accounting for roughly 20% of global LNG trade – now operates none. Doha, incensed, has cut ties with Iran.

  European benchmark gas futures meanwhile jumped almost 50% within hours of the announcement. Asian LNG spot prices rose by more than a third. Country-level squeezes have been even harder, with gas prices spiking by 93% in the UK, for example.

  Qatari production had been filling the void left in Europe by its boycott of Russian gas, so its halting of production now places European energy stocks under significant stress. Asian buyers, including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, will also be feeling the strain.

  Regional trade risk

  The same war risk exclusions that have grounded the tanker fleet apply with equal force to container shipping, bulk carriers and general cargo vessels – extending the disruption beyond energy into every category of goods that moves through Gulf ports.

  And the ports themselves are also in jeopardy. Jebel Ali in Dubai – the region’s busiest port – was temporarily closed after fire broke out from debris falling from missile interceptions overhead. Other regional ports have also seen various suspensions.

  The world’s major container carriers have also drawn their own conclusions. MSC, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have all halted Hormuz crossings entirely.

  Importers across the Gulf – a region that is overwhelmingly dependent on seaborne trade for food, consumer goods, construction materials and industrial inputs – face costly re-routing.

  Vessels are discharging Gulf-bound containers at Salalah in Oman, Khor Fakkan, Sohar and Duqm, from where onward delivery might be arranged overland. Spot freight rates for Gulf-destined cargo are in turn rising sharply as feeder capacity is overwhelmed.

  Travel under assault

  The Gulf’s aviation hubs have also been brought to a relative standstill.

  A drone strike on Dubai International, the busiest airport on earth for international travel, was the most dramatic incident, but several airports have been hit and sweeping airspace closures have grounded all but a handful of flights over the Gulf.

  On the worst day so far, more than 1,500 flights to or from Middle Eastern destinations were cancelled. The broader long-haul linkage through the Gulf from Europe to Asia has also been severed, forcing international legs to reroute away from the Gulf corridor.

  Drone and shrapnel strikes on luxury hospitality projects in the region have meanwhile dealt a heavy blow to the GCC’s touristic safe-haven status. The region’s busy meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) calendar is in disarray.

  Gulf tourism entered 2026 in a strong position. Regional travel bookings had reached close to $101bn – 23% above pre-pandemic levels. Luxury hotel occupancy across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh had set successive records through the first two months of the year. That momentum has been destroyed inside of a week.

  Tourism Economics projects a fall in Middle East travel arrivals of around 11% year-on-year even in an optimistic scenario where the conflict resolves within weeks – meaning 23 million fewer visitors and a $34bn contraction in tourism spending.

  If the conflict runs for two months, the projected decline steepens to 27%, with up to 38 million lost arrivals and $56bn in foregone receipts.

  Long-term risks

  The IMF had projected GDP growth of about 4% across the six GCC economies in 2026, driven substantially by non-oil diversification and fuelled by sustained inflows of foreign capital, foreign talent and foreign visitors.

  Each of those flows is now disrupted, and some portion of the disruption will outlast the immediate security situation. Businesses could also restructure themselves to mitigate for elevated scenario of future regional risk.

  The GCC states find themselves in a position of extraordinary and largely undeserved exposure. They did not initiate this conflict, and several of them invested heavily in diplomatic outreach and mediation between concerned parties.

  The region is nevertheless absorbing the consequences.

  The preferred Gulf instruments of mediation, back-channel diplomacy and economic persuasion have been rendered irrelevant by the speed and scale of events.

  The region’s airlines, ports, refineries, LNG complexes, hotels, conference centres, stock exchanges and carefully constructed global image are all paying a price set by decisions made elsewhere. And the bill is still running.

  Investors will reassess, and the governments of the GCC now face the question of how to restore peace and order in a region being actively contested militarily by the US.

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

  Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

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

  > AGENDA: Saudi Arabia’s private sector picks up the baton > RAMADAN: Data disproves the Ramadan slowdown story > INDUSTRY REPORT: Chemicals producers look to cut spending > INDUSTRY REPORT: Global petrochemical project capex set to rise until 2030 > MARKET FOCUS: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival > LEADERSHIP: Delivering Saudi Arabia’s next phase of rail growth > POWER: Lessons learnt from a power plant decommissioning > INTERVIEW: Abu Dhabi’s Enersol charts acquisitions path > INTERVIEW: Lina Noureddin, CEO of Lamar Holding, on the evolving PPP landscape > INTERVIEW: Contract award marks Metito’s return to municipal projects

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

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  John Bambridge
• 
  Iraq prepared a four-part plan for its emergency oil shutdown

  5 March 2026

  

   

  Iraq had prepared a sweeping four-part “emergency plan” for a large-scale oil field shutdown in order to deal with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to an internal document obtained by MEED.

  The document shows that on 3 March, Abdul Karim, the director general of state-owned Basra Oil Company (BOC), wrote to the Iraqi Oil Ministry’s deputy minister for extraction seeking approval to implement the plan.

  In the correspondence, Karim said that the plan was previously “discussed and presented to the leadership of the oil sector”.

  He added: “Due to the lack of tanker availability starting tomorrow, export operations from our oil storage facilities will stop.”

  The plan consists of four phases, starting with the complete shutdown of nine fields, which was due to be fully implemented on 3 March.

  The nine fields due to be closed were:

  • West Qurna-1
  • Ratawi
  • Gharraf
  • Majnoon
  • Rumaila South
  • Luhais
  • Tuba
  • Subba
  • Hadba

  The second phase of the plan involves reducing production at Iraq’s Halfaya field by 50%.

  The plan aims to temporarily maintain the operation of the natural gas liquids (NGL) plant at the field.

  This part of the plan was also scheduled to be fully implemented on 3 March.

  The third phase of the plan was focused on the “complete shutdown of field production” at the West Qurna-2 field.

  The plan notes that some oil will be retained at the field “to sustain electricity generation”. No date is given for the completion of the third phase of the plan.

  The fourth phase of the plan involves reducing production at the Faihaa field by 50%.

  The plan notes that sufficient production will be maintained to sustain the central processing facility (CPF) gas project at the site.

  The fourth phase of the plan was scheduled to be fully implemented on 4 March 2026.

  The correspondence also noted that “in the event that heavy crude exports completely stop, Maysan fields will be fully shut down”.

  Karim also said that, at the time, the current oil storage capacity was 6,350 thousand barrels, with a total available space of 3,700 thousand barrels.

  Of the 3,700 thousand nameplate capacity available, 1,300 thousand barrels of spare capacity in Tuba could not be utilised because it could collapse the receiving jetties inside the facility.

  He also pointed out that the production cuts did not include the North Rumaila field and the Zubair field in order to maintain gas processing rates.

  Iraq’s oil and gas sector is facing mounting challenges amid the US and Israel’s ongoing war with Iran.

  In the south of the country, oil exports have been paralysed by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and, in the country’s northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan, exports via the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline have fallen to zero.

  On 2 March, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Strait of Hormuz is closed and warned that any vessel attempting to pass through will be attacked.

  ---

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

  Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

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

  > AGENDA: Saudi Arabia’s private sector picks up the baton > RAMADAN: Data disproves the Ramadan slowdown story > INDUSTRY REPORT: Chemicals producers look to cut spending > INDUSTRY REPORT: Global petrochemical project capex set to rise until 2030 > MARKET FOCUS: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival > LEADERSHIP: Delivering Saudi Arabia’s next phase of rail growth > POWER: Lessons learnt from a power plant decommissioning > INTERVIEW: Abu Dhabi’s Enersol charts acquisitions path > INTERVIEW: Lina Noureddin, CEO of Lamar Holding, on the evolving PPP landscape > INTERVIEW: Contract award marks Metito’s return to municipal projects

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

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Egypt strengthens its economic position

  4 March 2026

  Download the PDF

  

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  MEED’s March 2026 report on Egypt includes:

  > COMMENT: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival
  > GOVERNMENT: Egypt adapts its foreign policy approach
  > ECONOMY & BANKING: Egypt nears return to economic stability
  > OIL & GAS: Egypt’s oil and gas sector shows bright spots
  > POWER & WATER: Egypt utility contracts hit $5bn decade peak
  > CONSTRUCTION: Coastal destinations are a boon to Egyptian construction

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

   

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  MEED Editorial
• 
  Power and water assets face strategic risk amid Iran attacks

  4 March 2026

  

   

  Recent attacks on energy infrastructure across the GCC have drawn renewed attention to the strategic importance of the region’s power and water sector.

  On 2 March, Qatar’s Ministry of Defence announced that the country had come under two drone attacks launched from Iran.

  One drone targeted a water tank owned by Mesaieed Power Plant, while another targeted a power facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City.

  Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Aramco shut down its Ras Tanura refinery following a drone strike, while US cloud provider Amazon Web Services reported service outages after incidents at two data centres in the UAE.

  Desalination reliance

  Across the GCC, desalination now provides the majority of drinking water. In Kuwait, about 90% of potable water comes from desalination plants, while the figure is about 70% in Saudi Arabia. In the UAE and Oman, the figures are 42% and 86%, respectively. While the geopolitical narrative tends to be dominated by oil, it is power and water infrastructure that is perhaps most critical to everyday life.

  For instance, the Ras Al-Khair desalination plant in Saudi Arabia is among the largest operational facilities of its kind. According to MEED Projects, the plant produces about 1.1 million cubic metres a day (cm/d) of desalinated water.

  Using a typical domestic water consumption benchmark of roughly 250 litres per person per day, that output is sufficient to supply potable water for around four million people.

  Other large projects operate on a similar scale. The Yanbu phase 3 desalination plant produces roughly 550,000 cm/d, while the Shuaibah 3 independent water project (IWP), commissioned near Jeddah last year, has a capacity of 600,000 cm/d. Facilities of this scale can supply drinking water to populations of between two million and four million people.

  The region’s reliance on large coastal desalination facilities also creates structural vulnerabilities, as most plants are located along the Gulf coastline to allow seawater intake.

  Many are also integrated with thermal power plants, producing electricity and desalinated water at the same site. This configuration offers operational efficiencies, but concentrates critical infrastructure in a limited number of locations.

  In February, Kuwait signed a 25-year energy conversion and water purchase agreement for the Al-Zour North independent water and power plant (IWPP) phases two and three. Once completed, the facility will add 2,700MW of power and 545,000 cm/d of desalinated water to Kuwait’s supply network

  Separately, Kuwait’s Council of Ministers recently approved plans for the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (Kapp) to tender the first phase of the Nuwaiseeb power and water desalination plant as an IWPP project. The first phase of the scheme will have an estimated power generation capacity of 3,600MW and a desalination capacity of 341,000 cm/d.

  While several GCC states maintain strategic water storage reserves, these typically cover only a limited number of days of consumption in major cities. This makes water infrastructure one of the most sensitive categories of critical assets in the region.

  Electricity infrastructure

  Standalone electricity infrastructure is equally central to the functioning of GCC economies. Power generation supports residential demand, large industrial complexes, transport networks and digital infrastructure.

  One example is the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, which has a total capacity of 5.6GW across four reactors. According to Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec), the plant’s four APR1400 reactors produce 40TWh annually, which is equivalent to around 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs.

  At the same time, Gulf electricity systems are becoming increasingly interconnected. The GCC Interconnection Authority grid links the national networks of member states and enables countries to exchange electricity during periods of peak demand or supply disruption.

  According to WorldBank studies, desalination plants typically operate continuously because water storage capacity is limited relative to demand. Similarly, power grids must balance supply and demand in real time.

  Amid ongoing missile and drone attacks on GCC states, Iran said on Monday that it was closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime route. GCC countries import roughly 85% of their food, much of it transported by sea, while the strait handles about a fifth of global oil supply. Disruptions to power and water infrastructure across the region could have even more immediate consequences.

  ---

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

  Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

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

  > AGENDA: Saudi Arabia’s private sector picks up the baton > RAMADAN: Data disproves the Ramadan slowdown story > INDUSTRY REPORT: Chemicals producers look to cut spending > INDUSTRY REPORT: Global petrochemical project capex set to rise until 2030 > MARKET FOCUS: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival > LEADERSHIP: Delivering Saudi Arabia’s next phase of rail growth > POWER: Lessons learnt from a power plant decommissioning > INTERVIEW: Abu Dhabi’s Enersol charts acquisitions path > INTERVIEW: Lina Noureddin, CEO of Lamar Holding, on the evolving PPP landscape > INTERVIEW: Contract award marks Metito’s return to municipal projects

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

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  Mark Dowdall