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Read the December 2024 MEED Business Review

4 December 2024

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Regional integration is crucial to the GCC’s ongoing economic success story.

After signing the Al-Ula Accords in January 2021, there has been a renewed sense of togetherness across the GCC that has manifested itself in several important ways.

The December 2024 issue of MEED Business Review examines how close collaboration between the GCC states is driving regional growth and attracting investment.

In 2024, the six GCC states have enjoyed warm relations, and tensions with Iran have cooled following a series of diplomatic rapprochements involving Tehran, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. 

These diplomatic efforts have resulted in a more stable business environment that has produced robust economic growth, record levels of inward investment and record spending on projects.

At the same time, transport projects, including the GCC railway, causeways and road links, are being driven forwards to connect the GCC states. Once built, these schemes should provide a catalyst for further economic activity. Read more about the transport links that are stitching the GCC together here. 

The December issue also includes our annual engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor ranking. 

The past four quarters have seen the award of an unprecedented value of oil, gas and chemicals projects in the Middle East and North Africa. Between Q4 2023 and Q3 2024, the combined value of regional schemes reached $94bn, soaring above the already elevated $67bn of awards in the previous four quarters.

The surge in contract awards over the past two years is a boon for the EPC sector, with Italian firms emerging as the top EPC contract winners.

This month’s exclusive 15-page market report focuses on Bahrain, where the projects sector is dragging on the economy. MEED’s analysis finds that Manama must course correct after seven straight years of project sector value contraction. 

Meanwhile, in this month’s issue, the team assesses the potential impact of the joint resolution issued by Arab and Islamic leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa region when they gathered in Riyadh on 11 November, calling for a ceasefire to end the expanding regional conflict centred on Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

We also examine Kuwait’s hopes that newly appointed Oil Minister Tariq Suleiman Al-Roumi can push forward key hydrocarbons projects after years of stalled progress, look at how the award of high-profile construction contracts and financial support from the Saudi government have helped Jeddah-based Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) to make a comeback in 2024, and learn why international arbitration is becoming the mechanism of choice for resolving legal disputes arising in the energy sector amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

The December issue is also packed with exclusive interviews. Gregory Jasmin, Khazna Data Centres’ senior director of business development strategy, tells MEED about the firm’s plans to build more 100MW-scale data centres; Mohammad Abdelqader El-Ramahi, chief green hydrogen officer at Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), discusses Abu Dhabi's low-carbon hydrogen agenda; and Sener’s Middle East managing director, Mario Neves, details the Spanish engineering company’s plans for the Middle East region.

We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the December 2024 issue of MEED Business Review. 

 

Must-read sections in the December 2024 issue of MEED Business Review include:

> AGENDA: 
> Cooperation strengthens Gulf markets
> Transport links stitch GCC together

> CURRENT AFFAIRS:
> Arab-Islamic summit demands Gaza ceasefire
> Kuwait hopes new oil minister can push projects forward

INDUSTRY REPORT:
MEED's 2024 ranking of regional EPC contractors
> Italian firms are top EPC contract winners
> Contractors battle chronic problems

> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi Binladin Group makes a comeback

> DATA CENTRES: Khazna expects to build more 100MW-scale data centres

> GREEN HYDROGEN: Abu Dhabi bullish on green hydrogen

> INTERVIEW: Sener eyes role in evolving Middle East infrastructure

> LEGAL: Navigating energy disputes through international arbitration

> BAHRAIN MARKET REPORT: 
> COMMENT: Bahrain’s projects sector drags on economy
> GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: Bahrain’s economic growth momentum falters
> BANKING: Bahrain banking works to scale up
> OIL & GAS: Bapco Energies sets sights on clean energy goals
> POWER & WATER: Manama jumpstarts utility sector
​​​​> CONSTRUCTION: Bahrain construction struggles to keep pace
> INDUSTRY: Alba positions for the future

> MEED COMMENTS: 
> Riyadh may turn to different CEOs to run its projects
> Warming Riyadh-Tehran ties herald regional shift
> Decarbonising steel is hard to resist
> Saudi Arabia power sector unlikely to disappoint

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market returns to strong growth

> OCTOBER 2024 CONTRACTS: Region sets stage to break records this year

> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects

> OPINION: Middle East faces a reckoning

> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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    The Hijaz Eye would not be the first giant observation wheel to be built in the region. The UAE's Ain Dubai, on Bluewaters Island, is currently the world's tallest observation wheel, standing 250 metres high – nearly twice the height of the London Eye.

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    Iraq’s cabinet, which met under Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, has approved the award, according to a cabinet statement.

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