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Saudi Arabia gigaprojects tracker

3 October 2023

 

Saudi Arabia’s five official gigaprojects have awarded $45bn of construction contracts since they were launched, according to MEED’s Saudi Gigaprojects Tracker compiled using data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects. 

The $45bn total for the five official gigaprojects awards represents about 16 per cent of the $290bn of contract awards made across all clients and sectors in Saudi Arabia since the initial gigaproject contracts were awarded in May 2017.

Speaking in January, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud confirmed there are five official gigaprojects in the kingdom: the Diriyah, Neom, Qiddiya, Red Sea and Roshn projects.

Contract activity has exponentially increased over the past two years as key elements move out of the design phase and into construction. In September 2021, there had been $9bn of contracts awarded on gigaprojects, then in 2022, the total more than doubled to $26bn, and has nearly doubled again in September this year.

On a monthly basis, September has been the best month for contract awards in Saudi Arabia this year with $14.5bn of deals reported. The best-performing month this year for gigaprojects was April, when there were $3.1bn of contracts awarded.

Looking ahead, contract activity is set to continue for the gigaprojects and broader Saudi market. Major construction contracts are in the final negotiation stage for all five of the gigaprojects, and contractors also expect a steady stream of major deals from other major masterplanned projects in the kingdom and the oil and gas sector, which is typically led by Saudi Aramco’s capital expenditure. 

MEED's October 2023 special report on Saudi Arabia includes: 

> POLITICS: Saudi Arabia looks both east and west
> SPORT: Saudi Arabia’s football vision goes global
> ECONOMY: Riyadh prioritises stability over headline growth
> BANKS: Saudi banks track more modest growth path
> UPSTREAM: Aramco focuses on upstream capacity building
> DOWNSTREAM: Saudi chemical and downstream projects in motion
> POWER: Riyadh rides power projects surge
> WATER: Saudi water projects momentum holds steady
> GIGAPROJECTS: Gigaproject activity enters full swing
> TRANSPORT: Infrastructure projects support Riyadh’s logistics ambitions
> JEDDAH TOWER: Jeddah developer restarts world’s tallest tower

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Colin Foreman

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