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November 2025: Data drives regional projects

25 November 2025

Click here to download the PDF

Includes: Top 10 global contractors | Brent Spot Price | Construction output

 MEED's 2025 EPC contractor ranking

MEED’s December 2025 report on Bahrain includes:

> COMMENT: Manama pursues reform amid strain
> GVT & ECONOMY: Bahrain’s cautious economic evolution
> BANKING: Mergers loom over Bahrain’s banking system
> OIL & GAS: Bahrain remains in pursuit of hydrocarbon resources
> POWER & WATER: Bahrain advances utility reform
> CONSTRUCTION: Bahrain construction faces major slowdown
> TRANSPORT: Air Asia aviation deal boosts connectivity

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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    China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) Shanxi Institue has won the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 125MW Dhofar 2 wind independent power project (IPP) in Oman.

    The main construction includes the design, equipment procurement, construction, commissioning and after-sales services for the wind farm.

    The contract also comprises the construction of a new 400kV substation and a 3.7-kilometre-long transmission line.

    In November, state offtaker Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP) awarded the developer's contract to Singapore's Sembcorp Utilities and local firm OQ Alternative Energy (OQAE) under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

    Under the PPA, Sembcorp and OQAE will build, own and operate the wind farm, which will supply power to Nama PWP once operational.

    As MEED previously reported, Sembcorp will have 75% equity in the project and OQAE will own the remaining 25%.

    The project is expected to begin commercial operations in the third quarter of 2027.

    In October, CEEC, through its subsidiaries, signed EPC contracts for three major renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia with a total capacity of 5GW.

    The agreements cover the 1GW Shaqra wind power project, the 2GW Starah wind power project and the 2GW Khulis solar photovoltaic project.

    The Dhofar 2 IPP is valued at about OR43m ($112m) and will be located on a 12-square-kilometre site in Dhofar Governorate.

    The project comprises 20 Windey WD200 turbines, each with a 6.25MW capacity. Each turbine stands 215 metres tall and will be connected to the national grid with a 400kV substation.

    The development will provide clean electricity to more than 18,000 homes and will cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 158,000 tonnes a year.

    Sembcorp has over 1.1GW of energy assets in Oman. In September, the firm signed a new 10-year power and water purchase agreement with Nama PWP for its Salalah independent water and power plant.

    According to Nama PWP, the offtaker has contracted 26 water and desalination plants, exceeding $11bn in investment, over the past 15 years.

    Chief energy transition officer at Nama PWP, Abdullah Bin Rashid Al-Sawafi, said the company "plans to attract a further $5bn over the next five years, mainly in renewable energy and storage technologies".

    This includes an extra 9GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, representing 60% of total contracted capacity.

    Oman aims to have 30% of its electricity generation from renewable sources by the same year.

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    Dubai Municipality has launched an initiative to build the world’s first residential villa constructed entirely using robotic building systems.

    The project will be delivered by a local and international partnership led by Dubai Municipality, bringing together more than 25 advanced technology companies and academic institutions.

    The initiative aims to develop scalable construction models that improve productivity, sustainability and build quality.

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  • Dubai Municipality tenders water pipeline project

    29 January 2026

    Dubai Municipality has issued a request for qualification notice for a construction contract to develop a recycled water network project on the Dubai–Al-Ain road.

    The project will be delivered through the municipality’s Sewerage & Recycled Water Projects Department and covers a section of the road from Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Road to Bukadra Interchange.

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  • Contractors get more time for Dorra offshore gas project bids

    29 January 2026

     

    Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) has allowed contractors more time to prepare bids for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work on a project to develop natural gas from the Dorra gas field, located in waters of the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone.

    KJO, which is jointly owned by Saudi Aramco subsidiary Aramco Gulf Operations Company (AGOC) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) subsidiary Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC), has divided the project’s scope of work into four EPC packages – three offshore and one onshore.

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    AGOC has extended the bid submission deadline for seven EPC packages as part of a project to construct the Khafji gas plant, which will process gas from the Dorra field onshore Saudi Arabia, until 22 April.

    MEED previously reported that AGOC issued main tenders for the seven EPC packages in 2025. Contractors were initially set deadlines of 24 October for technical bid submissions and 9 November for the submission of commercial bids, which was then extended by AGOC until 22 December.

    The seven EPC packages cover a wide range of works, including open-art and licensed process facilities, pipelines, industrial support infrastructure, site preparation, overhead transmission lines, power supply systems and main operational and administrative buildings.

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    Progress has been hampered by a geopolitical dispute over ownership of the Dorra gas field. Iran, which refers to the field as Arash, claims it partially extends into Iranian territory and asserts that Tehran should be a stakeholder in its development. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia maintain that the field lies entirely within their jointly administered Neutral Zone – also known as the Divided Zone – and that Iran has no legal basis for its claim.

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    Since that show of strength and unity, projects targeting the production and processing of gas from the Dorra field have gained momentum.

    KGOC onshore processing facilities

    KGOC has initiated early engagement with contractors for the main EPC tendering process for a planned Dorra onshore gas processing facility, which is to be located in Kuwait.

    KGOC is at the feed stage of the project, which is estimated to be valued at up to $3.3bn. The firm is now expected to issue the main EPC tender in the second quarter of this year, MEED recently reported.

    The proposed facility will receive gas from a pipeline from the Dorra offshore field, which is being separately developed by KJO. The complex will have the capacity to process up to 632 million cf/d of gas and 88.9 million barrels a day of condensates from the Dorra field.

    The facility will be located near the Al-Zour refinery, owned by another KPC subsidiary, Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company.

    A 700,000-square-metre plot has been allocated next to the Al-Zour refinery for the gas processing facility and discussions regarding survey work are ongoing. The site may require shoring, backfilling and dewatering.

    The onshore gas processing plant will also supply surplus gas to KPC’s upstream business, Kuwait Oil Company, for possible injection into its oil fields.

    Additionally, KGOC plans to award licensed technology contracts to US-based Honeywell UOP and Shell subsidiary Shell Catalysts & Technologies for the plant’s acid gas removal unit and sulphur recovery unit, respectively.

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    The UAE’s Etihad Rail has received project management consultancy (PMC) bids from firms for the civil works and station packages of the high-speed railway (HSR) line that will connect Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

    MEED understands that at least four groups have submitted their best and final offers in late January.

    Etihad Rail is close to finalising the contracts related to the civil works and station packages of the HSR project, as MEED reported earlier this month.

    The design speed of the trains running on the UAE’s HSR network will be 350 kilometres an hour (km/h) and the operating speed will be 320km/h, as MEED reported last year.

    The proposed HSR programme will be constructed in four phases, gradually adding further connectivity to other areas within the UAE.

    The first phase involves constructing a railway line connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which is expected to be operational by 2030.

    The second phase will develop an inner‑city railway network with 10 stations within the city of Abu Dhabi.

    The third phase of the railway network involves constructing a connection between Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain.

    The fourth phase involves developing an inter-emirate connection between Dubai and Sharjah.

    The 150-kilometre (km) first phase of the HSR will stretch from the Al-Zahiyah area of Abu Dhabi to Al-Jaddaf in Dubai.

    The project’s civil works have been split into two packages – Abu Dhabi and Dubai – comprising four sections. The scope of these sections includes:

    • Phase 1A: Al-Zahiyah to Yas Island (23.5km) 
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    • Phase 1C: Abu Dhabi/Dubai border to Al-Jaddaf (52.1km)
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    The rail line will have five stations: Al-Zahiyah (ADT), Saadiyat Island (ADS), Yas Island (YAS), Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) and Al-Jaddaf (DJD).

    The ADT, AUH and DJD stations will be underground, while ADS will be elevated and YAS will be at grade.

    The overall construction package also includes provisions for rolling stock, railway systems and two maintenance depots.

    The high-speed project will slash journey times between the UAE’s two largest cities and economic centres. The journey time between the YAS and DJD stations will be 30 minutes.

    Spanish engineering firms Sener and Ineco are the project’s engineering consultants.

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