meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Neom sets Shusha Island tendering schedule

27 March 2024

Register for MEED's guest programme 

Saudi Arabia’s Neom has outlined the tendering schedule for contracts to build assets on Shusha Island. They include the world’s largest coral garden, a marina, hotels, villas, a beach club, a museum and a research centre.

The Shusha Island construction work is divided into three packages known as GC1, GC2 and GC3.

GC1 consists of three assets. They are the Hipe Tower, Grotto entrance and Sunset pools.

Hipe Tower is a 220-metre-tall structure with a built-up area of about 50,000 square metres.

Grotto entrance is a 65-metre-high, fully excavated cave inside the island’s cliffs that opens through the sea and reaches the top of Hipe Tower.

The Sunset pools are large pools to be built on the edge of the development overlooking the Red Sea.

The client is expected to issue the request for proposal in the fourth quarter of this year.

GC2 includes the Village Cluster, Museum and Research Centre, Marina Dive Boutique Resort and a utility hub. 

The Village is a residential cluster consisting of residential units, retail facilities, support facilities for King Abdullah University of Science Technology (Kaust) and a canopy. 

The Marina Dive Boutique Resort will have 55 rooms, and retail and F&B facilities.

The request for proposal for GC2 is expected to be issued in the second quarter of this year.

GC3 includes the Canyon, Mindfulness Hotel, Beach Club, Bowl, landscaping, villas and utilities.

The Canyon will be a recreational hub for kayaking, rafting, climbing, ziplining, vertical drops and paddling.

The Mindfulness Hotel, also known as the Mindfulness Boutique Resort, will have about 65 hotel rooms and retail and F&B facilities.

The request for proposal for GC2 is expected to be issued in the third quarter of this year.

“There will be a separate design and build tender floated in the third quarter of this year for the floating marina, which will include an interactive experience centre for marine biology in the Red Sea,” sources close to the project told MEED.

Spanish consultant Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura is the design consultant, and US-based Aecom is the project management consultant.

The development of Shusha Island is part of a framework for constructing infrastructure for 12 new islands at Neom.

MEED exclusively reported in August that Neom had briefed contractors on its development plan for Shusha Island. Several local and international contractors attended the meeting.

In October, Neom appointed Greek contractor Archirodon to carry out the early infrastructure works and local contractor Source Machinery for the enabling works on Shusha island.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11636377/main.png
Yasir Iqbal

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • February deadline for Qiddiya racecourse bids

    11 February 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has allowed bidders until 15 February to submit bids for a tender covering the construction of a racecourse at the entertainment city of Qiddiya, on the outskirts of Riyadh.

    MEED understands that the tender was issued in December. The previous deadline was 26 January.

    The racecourse venue will cover 1.3 million square metres (sq m) and accommodate 70,000 spectators.

    QIC formally announced the project on 10 February.

    According to a statement published on its website, “The venue will include the region’s first straight-mile turf course, alongside a 2.2 kilometre (km) main turf track and a 2.4km inner dirt track.

    “A 21,000-seat grandstand will anchor the venue, with the ability to expand capacity to up to 70,000 guests through event overlays during major race days,” the statement added.

    A centrepiece of the venue will be a 110-metre central parade ring, located in the middle of the racecourse.

    The project also includes an Equine Hospital that will provide advanced veterinary services, including diagnostics, surgery, rehabilitation and emergency care for horses.

    The Qiddiya City horse racing venue is one of several major projects within the greater Qiddiya development. Other projects include an e-games arena, the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a motorsports track, a performing arts centre, the Dragon Ball and Six Flags theme parks, and Aquarabia.

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

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15626248/main.jpg
  • King Salman airport signs mixed-use project agreements

    11 February 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    King Salman International Airport Development Company (KSIADC) has signed multiple memorandums of understanding with local firms to develop several mixed-use projects within King Salman International airport (KSIA) in Riyadh.

    The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the Private Sector Forum 2026 in Riyadh.

    The agreements involved major investment and development firms, including Sumou Holding, Mohammed Al-Habib Investment, Kinan, Ajdan, Retal, Urjuan and Osus.

    The developments will comprise residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, entertainment and other related projects.

    These developments will be located within the airport’s master development area, 12 square kilometres (sq km) of which are allocated for real estate development.

    According to a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency, “KSIADC’s development scope also includes integrated economic and logistics zones covering approximately 3 million square metres, aligning real-estate development with economic activity and supporting services."

    Project scale

    The project covers an area of about 57 sq km, allowing for six parallel runways, and will include the existing terminals at King Khalid International airport. 

    The airport aims to accommodate up to 100 million passengers by 2030. The cargo processing goal is to reach 2 million tonnes a year by 2030.

    Saudi Arabia plans to invest significantly in its aviation sector. Riyadh’s Saudi Aviation Strategy, announced by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, aims to triple Saudi Arabia’s annual passenger traffic to 330 million travellers by 2030.

    It also aims to increase air cargo traffic to 4.5 million tonnes and raise the country’s total air connections to more than 250 destinations.

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

    Spending on oil and gas production surges; Doha’s efforts support extraordinary growth in 2026; Water sector regains momentum in 2025.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the February 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15626197/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Saudi Arabia signs $5.3bn Syria reconstruction deal

    11 February 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia has signed a package of strategic agreements with Syria valued at $5.3bn (SR20bn) to progress Damascus’s reconstruction efforts.

    The agreements span aviation, telecommunications, energy, water, industry, real estate and development finance, and involve both public and private Saudi entities.

    The most significant deal will see Saudi Arabia and Syria jointly support the creation of a new low-cost carrier based in Syria – Flynas Syria – in a 51-49 joint venture between the Syrian General Authority of Civil Aviation and Saudi low-cost carrier Flynas.

    The carrier is scheduled to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2026, with routes planned across the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

    Other aviation infrastructure also features prominently, with Saudi Arabia also announcing the launch of the ‘Elaf Fund’ and committing $2bn (SR7.5bn) to the phased development and modernisation of two international airports in Aleppo.

    The programme will include runway upgrades, terminal expansion and logistics facilities, transforming the northern city into a regional transport and cargo hub.

    Some of the deals confirmed previously announced commitments, including a $1bn telecommunications infrastructure investment agreement signed by Saudi Telecom Company (STC) under the ‘SilkLink’ project.

    This initiative will see STC construct a 4,500-kilometre fibre-optic network across Syria, develop data centres and establish international submarine cable landing stations.

    Saudi Arabia previously committed to investing $1bn into Syria’s telecommunications infrastructure in July 2025, as part of $6.4bn in commitments across 47 agreements announced at the Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum in Damascus.

    The kingdom’s Water Transmission Company and Acwa also signed an agreement to develop a large-scale seawater desalination project with a capacity of 1.2 million cubic metres a day.

    Riyadh Cables Group will meanwhile help modernise the production capabilities of the Syrian Modern Cables Company, and three separate agreements were signed for large residential and commercial real estate developments.

    With the lifting of US sanctions in late 2025, the pathway for Gulf countries to proceed with such commitments and for Syria to re-enter regional markets has opened.

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

    Spending on oil and gas production surges; Doha’s efforts support extraordinary growth in 2026; Water sector regains momentum in 2025.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the February 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15625394/main.gif
    MEED Editorial
  • Indian firm wins contract for UAE battery project

    11 February 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    India’s KPI Green Energy has won a contract to deliver a solar and battery energy storage system (bess) in the UAE.

    The scope includes the supply, installation and commissioning of a 33kWp solar power system integrated with a 573kWh battery energy storage system to power a containerised data centre.

    The award was confirmed through a purchase order issued by FVE Lifecare, a UAE private trading company. The firm is understood to be procuring the solar-bess system for an internal or third-party data centre.

    KPI Green Energy said the project will be delivered through its subsidiary Sun Drops Energia.

    The package also covers a 120kVA modular UPS system, electrical panels, cabling and full system integration.

    The contract is small-scale but reflects broader momentum for battery storage in the UAE across both private facilities and the national grid.

    Construction is expected to begin this month on the UAE’s largest grid-side energy storage project to be awarded through open tender.

    Called Bess 1, the project closely follows the model of Abu Dhabi’s independent power project (IPP) programme, in which developers enter into a long-term energy storage agreement (ESA) with Ewec as the sole procurer.

    Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE) and South Korea’s Kepco won the award to develop the project in October.

    Emirates Utilities Development Company, a subsidiary of EtihadWE, will develop and operate the project in partnership with Kepco. 

    Chinese firm Dongfang International is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

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

    Spending on oil and gas production surges; Doha’s efforts support extraordinary growth in 2026; Water sector regains momentum in 2025.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the February 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15623323/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Egypt’s oil and gas sector shows bright spots

    11 February 2026

     

    The discovery of the supergiant Zohr gas field in the eastern Mediterranean by Italian energy major Eni in 2015 created the possibility of Egypt becoming a regional gas hub and a major exporter.

    When Zohr entered production in 2017, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources said the field would produce 2.7 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) until 2039. However, after rising to a peak of about 3.4 billion cf/d in 2019, output from the offshore field began a steady decline. Reasons cited include early overproduction and Eni and its partners reducing activity in response to Cairo’s delayed arrears and other payments.

    Production at Zohr now stands at about 1 billion cf/d, accounting for roughly a fifth of Egypt’s total gas output. With domestic power demand surging, Egypt has made urgent, concerted efforts to ensure local and international operators ramp up production of both natural gas and crude oil to reduce the country’s import bill.

    In addition, the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources, led by Karim Badawi, is overseeing a major five-year exploration campaign to increase Egypt’s hydrocarbon resources and, in turn, support production growth.

    Exploration drive

    The strategy involves drilling up to 480 wells over the next five years, including 101 wells in 2026 alone. The drilling programme is estimated to require total investment of $5.7bn, with the ministry primarily courting overseas majors.

    Over the past few months, Egypt has secured investments – or at least commitments – from international exploration and production (E&P) companies, including an $8bn pledge from Eni and a plan by the UK’s BP to invest $5bn in the upstream sector.

    In November, Arcius Energy, a 51:49 joint venture of BP and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) international arm, XRG, signed a deal to acquire the Harmattan gas discovery offshore Egypt.

    As part of the development plan for the prospect, located in the El-Burg offshore concession, Arcius Energy will invest $3.7bn to drill up to three wells and build infrastructure, including a fixed offshore platform connected by a 50-kilometre pipeline to onshore processing facilities near Port Said. Production is expected to start in 2028.

    UAE-based Dana Gas recently reported progress in 2025 on its $100m capital expenditure (capex) plan under a concession agreement it signed with Egypt in late 2024. During 2025, the company drilled four wells and completed a workover programme on three additional wells, adding approximately 30 million cf/d of new production and 36 billion cubic feet of reserves.

    Dana Gas plans to drill a further seven wells in Egypt during 2026 under its capex programme. The first of these, the Daffodil exploration well, was spudded in January.

    Separately, in November, the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources launched a new bid round for oil and gas exploration in four Red Sea blocks. Run by the state-owned South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) via the Egypt Upstream Gateway (EUG) digital platform, the round marks the first time Egypt has offered E&P companies a profitability-based production-sharing model.

    Chemical investments

    Beyond the upstream sector, several petrochemical and speciality chemical projects in Egypt have also advanced in recent months. The largest is a planned $2bn project by Egypt-based Anchorage Investments to establish a petrochemicals complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).

    Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), the Suez Canal Authority will take an equity stake in the Anchor Benitoite complex, to be developed in Ain Sokhna in the northwest of the Gulf of Suez.

    The facility will be built on land owned by the Suez Canal Authority. It will include a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and a polypropylene (PP) plant with a capacity of 750,000 metric tonnes a year (t/y), according to a Suez Canal Authority statement.

    The authority said the facility represents the first phase of a larger project and will support future expansion into downstream and complementary industrial units. Future phases are expected to include integrated chemical facilities, with an estimated investment of about $4.5bn and a targeted output of 1.9 million t/y of chemical products.

    Meanwhile, the Egyptian government is seeking to accelerate an estimated $680m project to develop a new soda ash facility. In November, the cabinet granted the state-owned Egyptian Soda Ash Company a ‘golden licence’ to develop the plant, which will also produce soda ash derivatives.

    A golden licence is a single cabinet approval that consolidates multiple permits into one, in an effort to speed up project delivery. It covers permits relating to land allocation, construction, operation and management.

    The plant is expected to produce 600,000 t/y of soda ash and derivatives, making it one of the largest industrial projects of its kind in the region. The project is being developed on a 1.12 million-square-metre plot in the industrial zone of New Alamein City.

    Last February, China National Chemical Corporation was appointed as the project’s main contractor.

    Separately, China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation (CNCEC) No. 16 Chemical Construction Co. signed a land purchase agreement with the Suez Canal Authority this February to establish another soda ash manufacturing facility.

    To be developed in three phases in Ain Sokhna, the complex will have the potential to produce up to 30,000 t/y of soda ash.

    MEED’s March 2026 report on Egypt also includes:

    > GOVERNMENT: Egypt adapts its foreign policy approach
    > ECONOMY & BANKING: Egypt nears return to economic stability
    > POWER & WATER: Egypt utility contracts hit $5bn decade peak
    > CONSTRUCTION: Coastal destinations are a boon to Egyptian construction

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15622570/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen