Oman recovers investment-grade credit rating
16 July 2025
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Oman’s credit rating has returned to investment grade by the reckoning of two of the three main credit ratings agencies, after Moody’s upgraded its rating earlier in July, following a similar move by S&P last September.
Moody’s upgraded Oman’s credit rating from Ba1 to Baa3 with a stable outlook in July 2025, becoming the second ratings agency to raise the status of Oman's sovereign credit rating back into investment-grade range.
S&P upgraded Oman’s rating from BB+ to BBB- with a stable outlook in September 2024, in the first promotion of the sovereign back to investment grade after seven years in junk territory due to a decline in oil revenues owing to low prices and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The combined upgrade by both agencies makes Oman’s investment-grade status the majority opinion. Fitch, meanwhile, affirmed its BB+ rating for Oman in December 2024, but also significantly changed the sultanate’s outlook from stable to positive.
Moody’s, for its part, cited structural reforms and strengthened macroeconomic fundamentals and fiscal indicators – most critically, the country’s reduced public debt as a result of Muscat’s lower public spending and return to a 2.8% fiscal surplus.
The twin upgrade from S&P and Moody’s, together with the positive assessment from Fitch, should serve to lower the cost of borrowing for Oman, including by potentially allowing it to restructure existing debt and lower its interest payments moving forward.
Another significant part of Muscat’s recent structural reforms was the consolidation of state-owned entities operating under the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), and the 19.3% reduction in the aggregated debt associated with OIA assets.
The effective restructuring of debts among OIA holdings, alongside the reduction of government guarantees on loans for major companies, including state energy comglomerate OQ, Asyad and Nama – and the halting of new guarantees – all served to improve Muscat’s credit standing.
The structural reform programme continues in Oman, which in its latest major economic policy development, announced the planned introduction of 5% income tax in the country in 2028.
Such ongoing measures are in line with Muscat’s heightened need to wean itself off a boom-bust spending cycle linked to oil prices and instead diversify its government tax and revenue base to fund public spending on a more sustainable basis.
READ THE JULY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF
UAE and Turkiye expand business links; Renewed hope lies on the horizon for trouble-beset Levant region; Gulf real estate momentum continues even as concerns emerge
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
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> AGENDA: UAE-Turkiye trade gains momentum
> INTERVIEW 1: Building on UAE-Turkiye trade
> INTERVIEW 2: Turkiye's Kalyon goes global
> INTERVIEW 3: Strengthening UAE-Turkiye financial links
> INTERVIEW 4: Turkish Airlines plans further growth
> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Middle East tensions could reduce gas investments
> GCC REAL ESTATE: Gulf real estate faces a more nuanced reality
> PROJECTS MARKET: GCC projects market collapses
> INTERVIEW 5: Hassan Allam eyes role in Saudi Arabia’s transformation
> INTERVIEW 6: Aseer region seeks new investments for Saudi Arabia
> LEADERSHIP: Nuclear power makes a global comeback
> LEVANT MARKET FOCUS: Levant states wrestle regional pressures
> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index continues climb
> CONTRACT AWARDS: Mena contract award activity remains subdued
> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects
> OPINION: A farcical tragedy that no one can end
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The Al-Rjum gold mining and processing facility, located in Medina province, is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2027. It will become the largest gold mining operation in Saudi Arabia when operational.
According to sources, the pipeline is to be developed using a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works will have a duration of 38 months, followed by a 20-year operations and maintenance period.
Lamar Holding and Alkhorayef are understood to be the only bidders for the proposed Taif to Al-Rjum water pipeline, which forms package B of the Maaden gold mining project.
The two contractors submitted bids for the water pipeline project on 1 July, sources told MEED.
The main scope of work involves building a 150-kilometre pipeline that will supply treated sewage effluent water to the Al-Rjum gold mining facility.
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The Al-Rjum gold mining and processing facility will have an output capacity of 250,000 ounces of gold a year. The project will increase Maaden’s total gold production to 700,000 ounces a year by 2028, helping the company support Saudi Arabia’s overall goal of doubling gold production by 2030 and achieving a four-fold increase in output by 2040.
MEED recently reported that Maaden had received bids for a tender to develop accommodation facilities for over 4,500 of its workers at the upcoming Al-Rjum gold mining and processing facility.
Bids for the Al-Rjum worker accommodation tender, which is also under the BOOT model, were submitted in late June. The operations and maintenance period for this contract is 15 years.
ALSO READ: Saudi Arabia and Oman open up their minerals potential
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Bahrain and US sign nuclear energy agreement
17 July 2025
Bahrain and the US have signed a cooperation agreement covering the field of peaceful nuclear energy.
The agreement aims to enhance collaboration in nuclear energy, recognising its vital role in sustainable development and energy security. It aligns with Bahrain's ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 and contributes to global efforts to combat climate change.
As Bahrain explores alternative energy sources, senior officials have previously indicated to MEED that they are closely monitoring developments in small modular reactor (SMR) technology. This is particularly crucial for Bahrain, where limited land availability poses challenges for solar energy projects. Floating solar plants have been identified as a potential solution, but the exploration of nuclear energy and SMRs remains a priority for future energy diversification.
The agreement was signed during an official visit to the US by Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the crown prince and prime minister of Bahrain.
The agreement was formalised by Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Bahrain’s minister of foreign affairs, and Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state.
Al-Zayani added that the agreement builds upon the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA) signed in 2023. The agreement aims to strengthen cooperation in defence, security, emerging technologies, trade and investment.
READ THE JULY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFUAE and Turkiye expand business links; Renewed hope lies on the horizon for trouble-beset Levant region; Gulf real estate momentum continues even as concerns emerge
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA: UAE-Turkiye trade gains momentum> INTERVIEW 1: Building on UAE-Turkiye trade> INTERVIEW 2: Turkiye's Kalyon goes global> INTERVIEW 3: Strengthening UAE-Turkiye financial links> INTERVIEW 4: Turkish Airlines plans further growth> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Middle East tensions could reduce gas investments> GCC REAL ESTATE: Gulf real estate faces a more nuanced reality> PROJECTS MARKET: GCC projects market collapses> INTERVIEW 5: Hassan Allam eyes role in Saudi Arabia’s transformation> INTERVIEW 6: Aseer region seeks new investments for Saudi Arabia> LEADERSHIP: Nuclear power makes a global comeback> LEVANT MARKET FOCUS: Levant states wrestle regional pressures> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index continues climb> CONTRACT AWARDS: Mena contract award activity remains subdued> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects> OPINION: A farcical tragedy that no one can endTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14281751/main.jpeg -
Kuwaiti firm wins $53m Duqm coastal road contract
17 July 2025
Kuwaiti contractor Combined Group Contracting Company (CGCC) has won a RO20.6m ($53m) contract to construct coastal roads in Duqm.The scope of work covers the construction of roads with a total length of 14 kilometres, including a coastal road, a proposed service road, an extension to an existing service road, a resort street, four roundabouts, future extensions and proposed links.
The contract duration is two years from the start date of construction.
MEED reported in August 2023 that CGCC had emerged as the lowest bidder for the project.
GlobalData estimates that the construction industry in Oman will grow by 3.6% in real terms in 2025, supported by rising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country, particularly in the manufacturing sector, as well as investment in the energy and transport sectors.
The infrastructure construction sector is estimated to grow by 5.7% in 2025, before recording an annual average growth of 5.2% between 2026 and 2029, supported by the government’s investment in upgrading road and airport infrastructure.
CGCC’s contract win in Oman comes shortly after a key contract win in the UAE, worth AED685m ($186m).
The scope of work under this contract encompasses the upgrade works on Emirates Road, from the Al-Badea intersection in Sharjah to the E55 intersection in Dubai.
The UAE’s Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure is the project client.
The contract duration is 25 months.
READ THE JULY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFUAE and Turkiye expand business links; Renewed hope lies on the horizon for trouble-beset Levant region; Gulf real estate momentum continues even as concerns emerge
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA: UAE-Turkiye trade gains momentum> INTERVIEW 1: Building on UAE-Turkiye trade> INTERVIEW 2: Turkiye's Kalyon goes global> INTERVIEW 3: Strengthening UAE-Turkiye financial links> INTERVIEW 4: Turkish Airlines plans further growth> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Middle East tensions could reduce gas investments> GCC REAL ESTATE: Gulf real estate faces a more nuanced reality> PROJECTS MARKET: GCC projects market collapses> INTERVIEW 5: Hassan Allam eyes role in Saudi Arabia’s transformation> INTERVIEW 6: Aseer region seeks new investments for Saudi Arabia> LEADERSHIP: Nuclear power makes a global comeback> LEVANT MARKET FOCUS: Levant states wrestle regional pressures> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index continues climb> CONTRACT AWARDS: Mena contract award activity remains subdued> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects> OPINION: A farcical tragedy that no one can endTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14281451/main.gif -
Algeria awards $855m contract for gas production project
17 July 2025
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Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach has awarded an $855m contract to China’s Jereh Group for a project to develop facilities at the Rhourde Nouss gas field.
Jereh Group said that its subsidiary Jereh Oil & Gas Engineering will build a natural gas booster station in the Rhourde Nouss gas field and upgrade and renovate related transmission pipelines.
The Yantai-based company cited a letter of award from Sonatrach and said that the contract will boost the company's footprint in North Africa’s oil and gas engineering service sector.
The Rhourde Nouss boosting project will centralise the boosting of natural gas produced by the gas field and the adjacent Gassi Touil gas field, to improve their production efficiency and natural gas processing capacity, the company said.
Sonatrach, the largest gas producing company in Africa and the largest state-owned enterprise in Algeria, will pay $629.1m and $226m for the construction of the project, Jereh said.
Jereh's growing footprint
Jereh has been expanding overseas in recent years and has won contracts with major Middle Eastern oil and gas clients, including Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.
In June 2021, the company was awarded a contract for the design, procurement and construction of a gas debottlenecking project in Algeria.
The project was located in the Bir Rebaa Nord and Rhourde Ouled Djemma fields, which are located in the eastern Algerian desert, about 300 kilometres southeast of Hessi Messaoud.
The client on that project was Groupement Sonatrach Eni, a joint venture of Sonatrach and Italian energy company Eni.
READ THE JULY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFUAE and Turkiye expand business links; Renewed hope lies on the horizon for trouble-beset Levant region; Gulf real estate momentum continues even as concerns emerge
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA: UAE-Turkiye trade gains momentum> INTERVIEW 1: Building on UAE-Turkiye trade> INTERVIEW 2: Turkiye's Kalyon goes global> INTERVIEW 3: Strengthening UAE-Turkiye financial links> INTERVIEW 4: Turkish Airlines plans further growth> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Middle East tensions could reduce gas investments> GCC REAL ESTATE: Gulf real estate faces a more nuanced reality> PROJECTS MARKET: GCC projects market collapses> INTERVIEW 5: Hassan Allam eyes role in Saudi Arabia’s transformation> INTERVIEW 6: Aseer region seeks new investments for Saudi Arabia> LEADERSHIP: Nuclear power makes a global comeback> LEVANT MARKET FOCUS: Levant states wrestle regional pressures> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index continues climb> CONTRACT AWARDS: Mena contract award activity remains subdued> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects> OPINION: A farcical tragedy that no one can endTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14278458/main.jpg -
Riyadh Expo appointments are the launchpad for construction
17 July 2025
Commentary
Colin Foreman
EditorIt has been nearly two years since Saudi Arabia was selected as the host country for the World Expo 2030.
The vote was effectively the starting gun for the region’s largest and most challenging construction projects. The event will be hosted at a purpose-built venue on the outskirts of Riyadh, which is expected to require billions of dollars in construction spending and, perhaps more importantly, must be completed in time for the Expo’s opening in 2030.
Apart from a few high-level meetings with various stakeholders, there had been little update on the project since November 2023.
One of the key issues was the entity responsible for delivering it. That question was answered in June when the Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC) as a wholly owned subsidiary to build and operate facilities for Expo 2030.
A few days later, Talal Al-Marri was appointed as the CEO of the new entity.
Now, in July, US-based Bechtel has announced its appointment as the project management consultant (PMC) for the Expo.
These important updates serve as the launchpad for construction to begin. With the project leadership now established, attention can shift to actual construction. MEED recently reported that contractors have submitted bids for a contract to build the site offices required for initial construction works at the Expo site.
The pace of tendering and contract awards will ramp up sharply over the next two years. Experience from Dubai, which hosted Expo 2020, shows that after being initially selected for the event, a period of about two years follows as bureaucratic structures are established. It is worth noting that Dubai appointed its PMC team, comprising UK-based Mace and US-based CH2M (now part of Jacobs), in December 2014.
Construction activity then quickly ramps up, and in the case of Dubai, over $5bn of Expo-related contracts were awarded during the 2016-18 period.
For Riyadh, which is hosting the event exactly 10 years later, there will need to be a similar value and volume of work awarded during 2026-28 if the project is to be finished in time for 2030.
READ THE JULY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFUAE and Turkiye expand business links; Renewed hope lies on the horizon for trouble-beset Levant region; Gulf real estate momentum continues even as concerns emerge
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA: UAE-Turkiye trade gains momentum> INTERVIEW 1: Building on UAE-Turkiye trade> INTERVIEW 2: Turkiye's Kalyon goes global> INTERVIEW 3: Strengthening UAE-Turkiye financial links> INTERVIEW 4: Turkish Airlines plans further growth> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Middle East tensions could reduce gas investments> GCC REAL ESTATE: Gulf real estate faces a more nuanced reality> PROJECTS MARKET: GCC projects market collapses> INTERVIEW 5: Hassan Allam eyes role in Saudi Arabia’s transformation> INTERVIEW 6: Aseer region seeks new investments for Saudi Arabia> LEADERSHIP: Nuclear power makes a global comeback> LEVANT MARKET FOCUS: Levant states wrestle regional pressures> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index continues climb> CONTRACT AWARDS: Mena contract award activity remains subdued> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects> OPINION: A farcical tragedy that no one can endTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14281675/main.jpg