meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Saudi Arabia’s finances and ambition align

30 September 2022

Commentary

John Bambridge

Analysis editor

Amid an energy crisis in Europe, whispers of recession in the US and dampened growth in China, Saudi Arabia has rapidly risen to the fore as one of the best-performing markets in the world in 2022, with a forecast 7.6 per cent real GDP growth rate.

Much of the credit for this lies with the oil price, and it is true that without the leap in global energy prices as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, Riyadh would unlikely have enjoyed a second quarter with the fastest quarterly growth in 10 years.

But a strong increase in non-oil growth has also factored into the recent uptick. The financial sector was in the ascendant long before the year’s oil price windfall came about, and non-oil activities as a whole picked up by 5.4 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter.

Activity in the construction sector is also ramping up as the kingdom’s major projects continue to lumber from study into execution. For the second year running, overall project awards are set to exceed completions – further putting paid to the 2016-20 slump.

The key Vision 2030 projects are only just getting started, however. Many of the kingdom’s most ambitious projects are still only in the earliest stages. Short of a major upset, the country’s pipeline of projects will guarantee a continuity of contracting work for at least a decade. In the most optimistic reading, it has been suggested that the country could become the world’s largest construction site.

Certainly the budget value of all active and planned projects across the kingdom tops $1tn – and while this attention-grabbing figure may not be realised, it is indicative of the scope and breadth of the ambition.

At every turn, Riyadh is launching new projects, or more often entire programmes of projects, while strategies to overhaul and upgrade whole industries also abound. There is seemingly no exhausting the wellspring of ideas.

And now, with oil prices firmly ensconced above the $80-a-barrel mark, Riyadh has the fiscal breathing space it needs to spin the yarns from its idea mill into the kind of credible tapestry of success that will ultimately sell the kingdom’s dream to the investors it craves.

MEED's October 2022 special report on Saudi Arabia also includes: 



> ECONOMY | Saudi economy soars as globe flounders

> GOVERNMENT | Riyadh looks to renew investor appetite

> BANKING | Saudi lenders eye new growth opportunities

> UPSTREAM | Aramco paces ahead with upstream projects

> DOWNSTREAM | Saudi downstream schemes register progress

> CHEMICALS | Saudi Arabia accelerates chemical projects

> POWER: Saudi Arabia needs to ramp up renewables

> WATER | Riyadh to implement over $30bn of water projects

> CONSTRUCTION | Major projects drive Saudi construction

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10050775/main.gif
John Bambridge

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Egypt signs $420m Gabal El-Zeit wind agreements

    10 June 2026

    Egypt has signed agreements worth $420m for the investment, operation and power purchase of the 580MW Gabal El-Zeit wind power complex in the Red Sea region.

    Gabal El-Zeit 1 has a capacity of 240MW, while Gabal El-Zeit 2 and 3 have capacities of 220MW and 120MW, respectively.

    The agreements were signed between Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and Dubai-based Alcazar Energy.

    Under the agreements, Alcazar Energy will invest in, operate and manage the farms through a project company established under Egyptian law.

    The company will be responsible for technical operations, maintenance and efficiency upgrades while maintaining a minimum capacity of 580MW throughout the contract period.

    The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company will purchase the electricity generated by the plant.

    The agreements follow earlier efforts to privatise the Gabal El-Zeit wind complex, involving a deal with UK-headquartered private equity firm Actis.

    According to the Egyptian government, the project supports the country’s state ownership policy and national energy strategy, which aim to increase the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix to 45%.

    The Gabal El-Zeit area on Egypt’s Red Sea coast is one of the country’s most established wind power development zones. The latest Gabal El-Zeit wind farm was completed in 2014, according to MEED Projects data. Germany’s Siemens Gamesa was the main contractor. 

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17170360/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Majid Al-Futtaim awards $545m Ghaf Woods contract to ECC

    10 June 2026

    Majid Al-Futtaim Properties has appointed Engineering Contracting Company (ECC) as the main contractor for the Capria East, Capria West and Maravelle Residences developments at its Ghaf Woods community in Dubai, in a deal valued at AED2bn ($545m).

    The contract covers the construction of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and duplex residences across the two Capria clusters.

    The award adds to a series of major construction contracts Majid Al-Futtaim has issued across its Dubai communities in recent years.

    In May, local contractor Al-Sahel Contracting was awarded a AED700m contract for the Distrikt development, also at Ghaf Woods.

    In 2024, Majid Al-Futtaim awarded AED3bn in contracts for its Tilal Al-Ghaf community, appointing Innovo Build to build 94 waterfront villas at Elysian Mansions and United Engineering Construction (Unec) to deliver 130 villas at the Alaya development.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17170744/main.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Saudi Arabia and Turkiye sign railway agreements

    10 June 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the railway and logistics sectors, advancing Riyadh’s ambitions to become a global logistics hub.

    Transport and Logistics Services Minister Saleh Al-Jasser and Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu signed the agreements at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh on 9 June, following ministerial talks held with a high-level Turkish delegation. Transport General Authority president Fawaz Al-Sahli and officials from the kingdom’s transport and logistics sector were also present.

    Agreement scope

    The first MoU covers logistics services and operations, including the exchange of expertise, policies and regulations. The second focuses on railway technologies, signalling and communication systems, railway digitalisation, human capacity development, the localisation of the railway industry and measures to reduce the sector’s environmental impact.

    More broadly, the agreements cover cooperation on railway standards and related innovations, the exchange of expertise on the design, operation and maintenance of rail projects, and engineering, infrastructure and safety standards.

    The two sides will also cooperate on research and development, with provision for joint workforce training through specialist railway academies.

    Riyadh said the agreements will help support its National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services and Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to position the kingdom as a logistics bridge connecting three continents.

    Turkish projects

    Turkish contractors have already established themselves as key players in the region’s rail sector. In 2012, Yapi Merkezi secured a $2.1bn contract for work on the Haramain high-speed rail network in Saudi Arabia, while Turkish firms Mapa and Limak are leading the ongoing civil works on Dubai’s $5.5bn Metro Blue Line project as part of a China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) consortium. Turkish consultancy Proyapi Muhendislik ve Musavirlik Anonim Sirketi has also won design contracts for the 111km Kuwait National Rail Road project.

    The agreements signed by Saudi Arabia and Turkiye may also give momentum to longstanding discussions around a rail corridor linking the GCC with Turkiye. The route, which has been discussed for years, has gained renewed impetus in recent months as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed regional governments to accelerate the development of overland trade alternatives.

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

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17169958/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Joint venture tenders Algeria field development contract

    10 June 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Hassi Bir Rekaiz Group (GHBR), which operates Algeria’s Hassi Bir Rekaiz field, has issued a tender for phase 2A of the asset’s field development project.

    GHBR is a joint venture of Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach and Thailand’s national exploration and production company PTTEP.

    The scope of the contract focuses on the “provision of engineering and supervision services”, according to documents published by Sonatrach.

    The tender has been issued with a bid deadline of 16 June 2026.

    In May, GHBR signed a $1.1bn contract for phase two of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz development project.

    The contract was won by a consortium of Egypt’s Petrojet and Italian engineering and contracting company Arkad.

    Petrojet’s portion of the project was estimated to be worth around $600m, and Arkad’s portion was estimated to be worth $500m.

    The contract used the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model.

    The scope of the project contract is focused on the construction of a central processing facility (CPF) capable of processing crude oil and associated gas.

    It also includes developing off-plot pipelines, as well as related utilities and infrastructure.

    The CPF will have the capacity to process 32,000 barrels a day (b/d) and will be designed to support future expansions.

    The related infrastructure will include an extensive pipeline network spanning approximately 217 kilometres, as well as a road network.

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

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17163750/main3325.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Algeria extends deadline for urea-formaldehyde project

    10 June 2026

     

    Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach has extended the bid deadline for a project to develop a new concentrated urea-formaldehyde unit in its Arzew industrial zone.

    The latest bid deadline is 15 June.  

    The contract uses the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model, and the bid deadline for technical tender submissions was originally set for early April.

    The condensed urea-formaldehyde unit will be located at the CP1-Z facility.

    The CP1-Z facility began operations in 1975 and has a capacity of 152,000 tonnes a year. It produces products including methanol, resin and formol.

    It is a two-phase tender. The first phase is a technical bid submission, and the second phase is a commercial bid submission.

    To be eligible to win this contract, companies must specialise in petrochemical industrial installation projects.

    They also need to have a share capital of at least $7m and more than 15 years of relevant experience.

    The new unit, UFC85, will have the capacity to produce 40,000 metric tonnes of concentrated and condensed urea-formaldehyde annually.

    The project’s scope also includes the development of auxiliary equipment and installations.

    Urea-formaldehyde has a wide range of uses, including the production of laminates, textiles and paper.

    In the wood industry, it is used as a thermosetting adhesive to bond wood to create plywood and particleboard. In agriculture, urea-formaldehyde is widely used as a slow-release fertiliser.

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

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17163657/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp