meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

PPP activity eases back but remains strong

25 October 2024

 

This package also includes: Region remains global project finance hotspot

Public-private partnership (PPP) activity appears to be easing back in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region in 2024, with the total value of contract awards in the first nine months of the year coming in at $24bn, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

This is 6.5% lower than the $25.6bn recorded in the same period a year earlier. The full-year total for 2023 then ended up at $41.3bn after a surge of activity in the final three months of the year.

While there are plenty of contract awards pencilled in for the final quarter of this year, too – including several large power and water projects in the Levant and the Gulf – at this stage, it appears unlikely that the gap to the record 2023 total will be bridged.

Among the projects with main contract awards due to be made before 31 December are a 10GW battery energy storage system (bess) in Saudi Arabia and the 3.7GW fifth round of the country’s renewable energy programme, both planned by Saudi Power Procurement Company.

Other major projects at a similar stage include a 10GW solar power project planned by the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Organisation in Iran; the $4.3bn Aqaba-Amman water desalination and conveyance scheme backed by Jordan’s Water & Irrigation Ministry; and the $3bn, 2.3GW Facility E independent water and power project by Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa).

In total, 72 main contract awards are due to be made by the end of 2024 – almost as many as were handed out in the whole of 2023. However, there can be no certainty as to which ones will get over the line before the year’s end and which ones might suffer delays or cancellations.

Even without such projects, though, the number and value of contracts finalised in the first nine months of this year means 2024 is set to be one of the most active for PPP deal-making so far this century.

Other than last year’s record-setting run, the combined value of deals has not been this high since 2009, when a total of $29.6bn-worth of contracts were awarded. In terms of the number of awards, this year has also been among the most active. 

The 45 contracts handed out between January and the end of September is already above the annual average of 44 contracts a year over the past decade. It puts the year firmly on track to be among the top performing years in terms of the number of PPP contracts awarded. The surge in the past three years highlights the popularity that PPP deals are enjoying among Mena governments at present.

The average size of contract awards is also running well above the long-term figure, with the typical deal being worth $533m in 2024. This is down from the $574m figure of last year, but well ahead of any other performance in the past decade save the $556m figure in 2014.

Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE lead

In terms of geography, the standout markets this year have been Iraq, with $11bn of PPP awards, followed by Saudi Arabia with $5.4bn and the UAE with $3bn. Between them, these three countries accounted for a total of 34 contract awards, or 75% of the figure for the whole of the Mena region in the opening nine months of the year.

Key contracts signed in these markets have included the $8bn Al-Faw refinery and petrochemicals complex in Iraq’s southern Basra province, which is being developed by the Southern Refineries Company; and a series of contracts
awarded by the National Investment Commission on seven lines of the $2.5bn Baghdad Metro.

In Saudi Arabia, there have been 15 awards across the transport, power and water sectors, including the 2GW Haden solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant, the 600MW Al-Ghat independent power producer (IPP) wind project, and expansion work at Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International airport in Medina.

In the UAE, the contract activity has been more varied, with awards in the power, water, transport, construction and industrial sectors. Among the biggest awards so far this year were a $1.5bn contract awarded by Emirates Water & Electricity Company for the 1.5GW Al-Ajban solar IPP in Abu Dhabi and a $682m contract awarded by Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority to Acwa Power for the Hamriyah seawater reverse osmosis independent water project.

Another market with high levels of activity this year is Egypt, where there has been $3.7bn-worth of contract awards, including a $2.2bn strategic warehousing scheme. The Damietta Port Authority also signed a $665m deal to deliver a second container terminal and a $500m award for the 1GW Benban solar PV power plant and 600 megawatt-hour bess in Aswan Governorate.

Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Tunisia have each seen one or two awards apiece, with the individual awards being generally more modest in value.

Sectoral and contractual shift

On a sectoral basis, this year has seen an even broader spread of awards across different industries compared to last year.

In 2023, the power sector accounted for 55% of the total awards by value, with the water and transport sectors accounting for a further 39% between them.

This year, power has again been the main focus of activity, but its share of the total awards value has fallen to 30%, while the transport sector fell to 15%.

The chemicals and oil industries then inched ahead, with 17% each, split across the planned $8bn combined value of the Al-Faw refinery and petrochemicals complex in Iraq.

The water sector has meanwhile seen a sharp drop-off in awards, with deals in the first nine months of the year accounting for just 6.6% of the total.

These changes have contributed to another significant shift, with the type of contracts proving most popular also undergoing a change this year.

In 2023, most of the awards were either for build, own and operate or build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts, which accounted for 34% and 32% of the total value of awards handed out, respectively. 

This was followed by build and operate and build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) awards, worth a further 14% each.

This year, the activity has been led by BOOT contracts, which have totalled $9.2bn, or 38% of the total for the first nine months. This was driven again by the $8bn-worth of contract value accounted for by the Al-Faw Refinery in Iraq.

Following behind are BOT contracts with a total value of $5.4bn, representing 22% of the total, most of which has
been awarded in the power sector. Design-build-finance-operate-transfer contracts worth $5bn accounted for 21% of the total with the value split across the transport and industrial sectors.

The picture could yet change in the final quarter of the year. In recent years, the last three months have been the busiest period for contract signings. In 2021, 38% of the year’s awards were made in Q4, with this figure increasing to 66% in 2022, before receding again to 38% in 2023 – but yet again with more than a third of all awards being made in the last quarter.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12694682/main.gif
Dominic Dudley

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Aldar and Mubadala acquire Masdar City Square

    17 September 2026

    Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company and local developer Aldar have completed the acquisition of Masdar City Square at Masdar City, in a transaction valued at AED918m ($250m).

    The deal was executed through their joint venture established in 2024.

    Masdar City Square comprises more than 47,000 square metres (sq m) of net leasable area across seven office buildings.

    Completed in Q1 2026, the development is 99% occupied. Tenants include Taqa, the Department of Energy, Emirates College and the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

    The transaction expands the joint venture’s real estate portfolio in Masdar City, which is now valued at AED4.7bn ($1.3bn).

    Masdar City is one of the region’s leading hubs for clean energy, artificial intelligence, advanced research and sustainable urban development.

    The joint venture acquired The Link project at Masdar City for AED654m ($178m) in April.

    Comprising about 32,000 sq m of net leasable area across five buildings, The Link is fully leased to a portfolio of major tenants, including Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

    The asset includes Grade A, Leed Platinum office space, a net-zero-energy headquarters building, a multi-use hall and residential accommodation, supporting its position as a high-performing, integrated component of Masdar City.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19748241/main5814.png
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Dubai announces new 80km highway corridor

    16 September 2026

    Dubai has approved the construction of the new fourth corridor, a major highway programme aimed at boosting inter-emirate connectivity, increasing road capacity and easing congestion.

    The corridor will extend 80 kilometres, from Al-Faya Road in Abu Dhabi to Al-Shanouf Road in Sharjah.

    It will include 12 lanes, 72 bridges and 17 tunnels.

    The project is expected to reduce travel times by up to 60% and serve more than 3.1 million people, while providing links to Al-Maktoum International airport and Etihad Rail.

    It will have the capacity to accommodate 24,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.

    The project will be delivered in two phases. The first phase, running from Al-Shanouf Road to Dubai-Al Ain Road, will be delivered at a cost of AED3.5bn ($953m).

    The second phase will stretch from Dubai-Al Ain Road to Al-Faya Road in Abu Dhabi.

    The scheme adds a fourth spine to a network that has long relied on three main corridors: the E11 (Sheikh Zayed Road/Al-Ittihad Road); the E311 (Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road) and the E611 (Emirates Road), which together carry more than 850,000 vehicles commuting between Dubai and the northern emirates daily.

    That concentration has made the route one of the country’s most congested, with peak-hour bottlenecks a persistent problem for residents. The new corridor is designed to divert a significant share of that traffic onto a higher-capacity route, rather than add pressure to the existing network.

    The project also aligns with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, which anticipates population growth to 5.8 million by 2040 and calls for the expansion of roads, railways, airports and ports to support that growth and reinforce Dubai’s position as a global trading hub. This is reflected in the corridor’s direct links to Al-Maktoum International airport and Etihad Rail.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19725878/main.jpeg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Engineering progresses on Ras Laffan LNG terminal berths

    16 September 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Front-end engineering and design (feed) works are progressing on a QatarEnergy LNG project to build 13 liquefied natural gas (LNG) loading berths at the south export terminal in Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City.

    Ras Laffan Industrial City, which lies about 90 kilometres north of Doha, is the world's largest integrated LNG production and export complex, comprising 15 processing trains with a total capacity of 77.5 million tonnes a year (t/y). QatarEnergy began LNG operations at the facility, which houses all its processing trains and export infrastructure, in 1984.

    According to sources, QatarEnergy LNG, a subsidiary of state enterprise QatarEnergy, awarded the feed contract for the project to build 13 LNG berths at the south export terminal at Ras Laffan to Australia-headquartered Worley.

    The contract was awarded to Worley in the second quarter of this year. Its duration is estimated to be 200,000-250,000 man hours, sources told MEED.

    Ras Laffan’s LNG processing and export capabilities will increase by up to about 63% when the three phases of QatarEnergy’s estimated $40bn North Field LNG expansion project come into operation by the end of this decade. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on all three projects are progressing.

    QatarEnergy is understood to have committed nearly $30bn to the first two phases – North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) – which will lift Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77.5 million t/y to 126 million t/y by 2028.

    QatarEnergy awarded the main EPC contracts for NFE in 2021. The project was intended to raise LNG output to 110 million t/y by 2025. The $13bn EPC package – covering the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of four LNG trains, each with a capacity of 8 million t/y – was awarded in February 2021 to a consortium of Japan’s Chiyoda and France’s Technip Energies.

    In May 2023, QatarEnergy awarded the $10bn main EPC contract for NFS to a consortium of Technip Energies and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC). The contract includes two LNG trains, each with a capacity of 7.8 million t/y.

    Once fully operational, the first two phases are expected to add 48 million t/y of LNG supply to the global market.

    QatarEnergy took the final investment decision on the third phase, North Field West (NFW), this year, awarding an EPC contract estimated at $8bn to a joint venture comprising Technip Energies, CCC and Gulf Asia Contracting in February.

    Chiyoda carried out the feed work for the NFW LNG project.

    The NFW scope covers the EPC of two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 16 million t/y, as well as associated facilities for gas treatment, natural gas liquids recovery and helium extraction.

    In addition to LNG, NFW is expected to produce about 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day of condensate, ethane and liquefied petroleum gas.

    With all three phases under EPC execution – and NFE scheduled for commissioning later this year – QatarEnergy is positioning itself to remain one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers in the long term.

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

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the September 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19715235/main5946.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Design completed for Libyan oil field development

    16 September 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Design work has been completed for a project to develop Libya’s I/R oil field, according to industry sources.

    The front-end engineering and design work was completed by a team in the London offices of Italy’s EniProgetti and paves the way for the main engineering, procurement and construction contract to be tendered.

    One source said: “At the moment, there is no fixed date for when the invitation to bid for the main contract will be issued, but the project has a lot of momentum and is progressing towards tendering.”

    The I/R oil field is located in Murzuq Basin in southwestern Libya.

    In June this year, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) signed a unified operating agreement for the field.

    The I/R field is operated by Akakus Oil Operations, which is a joint venture of NOC in partnership with Spain’s Repsol, France’s TotalEnergies Repsol, Austria’s OMV and Norway’s Equinor.

    The agreement in June was signed by NOC as well as its concession partners.

    NOC said the agreement would unify operational and administrative procedures related to field management, optimise resource utilisation and support production sustainability.

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

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the September 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19711588/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Chinese contractor wins Qiddiya e-games arena

    16 September 2026

     

    Saudi gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has awarded an estimated $500m-$600m contract to build an e-games arena, also known as the Fortress Arena, at its Qiddiya Entertainment City development outside Riyadh.

    The contract was awarded to Beijing-headquartered Metallurgical Corporation of China.

    The scope of work covers the construction of an auditorium with a capacity of about 5,100 seats, as well as commercial areas, hospitality facilities and other associated infrastructure.

    The e-games arena will provide space for local, national and international competitions.

    MEED understands that QIC tendered the contract in January, with bids submitted in March.

    Completion is expected by April 2029.

    US-based architectural firm Populous designed the project, supported by New York-based Thornton Tomasetti.

    The project is located in District 18, Upper Plateau, in Qiddiya City.

    The Fortress Arena is one of several major projects within the wider Qiddiya development.

    Other projects include the Dragon Ball theme park, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a horse racing venue, a performing arts centre, the Speed Park, the National Tennis Centre and the Six Flags theme parks and Aquarabia waterpark.

    The project is a key part of Riyadh’s strategy to boost leisure tourism in the kingdom. According to UK analytics firm GlobalData, leisure tourism in Saudi Arabia has grown significantly in recent years.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19661939/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal