Sembcorp’s Manah 2 solar IPP begins operations
3 January 2025
Oman’s Manah 2 solar independent power project (IPP) has commenced commercial operations.
The 588MW solar IPP achieved commercial operations four months ahead of schedule, its main shareholder, Singapore-based utility developer Sembcorp, has announced.
Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement Company signed the 20-year power-purchase agreement (PPA) with the developer team, comprising Sembcorp and Hong Kong-based Jinko Power Technology, in March 2023.
The project was the first renewable energy contract the Singaporean firm had won in the Middle East region.
Sembcorp owns an 80% stake in a joint venture comprising its subsidiary, Sembcorp Utilities, and Jinko Power, which will implement the project.
Manah 2 and another project, Manah 1, were previously named Solar IPP 2022 and 2023.
Three developer consortiums submitted technical and financial proposals for the Manah 1 and Manah 2 contracts in late September 2022.
To be located 150 kilometres southwest of Muscat, the Manah 1 and 2 solar projects comprise the second utility-scale renewable energy projects to be tendered by OPWP, after Ibri 2, which has been operational since 2021.
Manah 1 is undergoing commissioning.
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Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar Properties has launched the Terra Gardens residential project in partnership with Dubai World Trade Centre at Expo City Dubai.
The development will offer 560 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhouses.
Terra Gardens will be located adjacent to Expo Mall.
The development is part of the Expo Living masterplan, which spans 451,295 square metres. The masterplan comprises five residential communities with a total of 3,555 residential units.
Terra Gardens follows the launch last month of Emaar Hills, a new masterplanned community adjacent to Dubai Hills Estate.
Emaar Hills will offer more than 40,000 residential units.
It will include a limited collection of mansions ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 square feet.
Emaar Hills will also feature a golf course, retail amenities, and other wellness and leisure facilities.
Emaar has also purchased a land bank in the Ras Al-Khor area adjacent to its Dubai Creek Harbour masterplan, as disclosed in its H1 2025 financial report. Emaar plans to launch another masterplanned community on that plot in the near future.
Emaar’s latest project launch reflects increased activity in the UAE real estate market, which has led major developers to report record revenues in recent years.
Dubai Financial Market‑listed Emaar Properties reported a net profit of AED7.1bn ($1.9bn) in H1 2025, a 33% increase compared with the same period last year.
The developer's revenues surged to AED19.8bn in the first half of this year, which is a 38% increase from H1 2024.
Emaar said that this was driven by “robust performance across development, retail, hospitality and international operations".
Emaar has sold inventory worth AED46bn in H1 2025, which is 46% higher than the same period last year.
UK-based data analytics firm GlobalData predicts the UAE construction sector to grow by 4.2% in real terms in 2025, driven by infrastructure, energy, utilities and residential construction projects. It is also estimated that projects worth more than $323bn are in the execution or planning stages in the UAE.
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Egypt launches Red Sea gas exploration round5 November 2025
Egypt’s petroleum ministry has launched a new bid round for oil and gas exploration in four Red Sea blocks, as part of efforts to attract fresh foreign investment into its energy sector.
The tender, announced by the country’s Petroleum Minister Karim Badawy during the Adipec 2025 conference in Abu Dhabi, will be offered by the state-run South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) via the Egypt Upstream Gateway (EUG) digital platform.
For the first time, Egypt will apply a profitability-based production-sharing model.
In a statement, the petroleum ministry said that it believed this would offer more flexible and competitive terms to global energy companies, particularly in deepwater and frontier areas.
Badawy said: “The new bid round reflects Egypt’s commitment to creating an attractive investment environment and maximising the country’s oil and gas potential.”
He added that the Red Sea remains one of Egypt’s most promising new exploration frontiers, with several blocks showing high potential for future discoveries that could boost output and enhance energy security.
Egypt is currently working to boost its upstream oil and gas production capacity while promoting itself as a regional energy hub.
In October, it announced a five-year exploration plan worth $5.7bn to drill 480 new oil and gas wells in several regions.
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Aramco registers marginal jump in third quarter profit4 November 2025
Saudi Aramco has registered a 0.9% jump in third-quarter 2025 profit on the back of higher production, even as oil prices remained under pressure.
The Saudi energy giant’s adjusted net income in the third quarter stood at $28bn compared to $27.7bn in the same period of last year.
The company recorded revenues of $111.5bn in the third quarter versus $109.66bn in the same period last year.
“We increased production with minimal incremental cost, and reliably supplied the oil, gas and associated products our customers depend on, driving strong financial performance and quarterly earnings growth,” Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said.
The world’s largest oil company reported a free cash flow of $23.6bn compared with $22bn a year earlier.
Aramco’s board also declared the 2025 base dividend of $21.1bn and performance-linked dividend of $200m to be paid in the fourth quarter.
Aramco’s capital expenditure (capex) in the third quarter of 2025 stood at $12.55bn, a marginal year-on-year increase of 2%. For the first nine months of the year, the firm registered capex of $37.41bn, an increase of 3.38% compared to the same period of last year.
The company had earlier announced a capital investment guidance in the range of $52bn to $58bn for 2025, excluding around $4bn of project financing.
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Construction begins on Emirates Float Glass project4 November 2025
Local investment firm Dubai Investments has begun construction to expand its Emirates Float Glass (EFG) facility in the Kezad industrial area of Abu Dhabi.
The estimated AED600m ($164m) expansion will add a second production line at the EFG facility.
The main construction works are being undertaken by Dubai-based firm Mar Contracting.
Dubai Investments’ subsidiary, Emirates Building Systems, will support the main contractor with the design and erection of steel structures for the project.
Local firm Design House Engineering Consultancy is the project consultant.
Germany-based Horn Glass Industries is providing the technology for the expansion.
Cyprus-headquartered DG Jones & Partners is the contract administrator and cost consultant for the project.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2028.
According to an official statement, “The expansion will establish EFG as the only glass manufacturer in the GCC operating dual float lines.”
The new production line will increase EFG’s production capacity from 600 tonnes a day to 1,200 tonnes a day and introduce what the company calls “ultra-clear, low-iron glass” — a first-of-its-kind capability in the Mena region.
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Diriyah tenders conference and exhibition centre4 November 2025

Saudi Arabia’s gigaproject developer Diriyah Company has issued a tender inviting contractors to bid for the construction of a conference and exhibition centre in the second phase of the Diriyah project.
MEED understands that the main contract tender was issued in October.
Technical bids are due on 9 November, while commercial bids must be submitted by 17 December.
The project covers an area of 29,000 square metres in Diriyah’s Northern Community.
The Diriyah masterplan envisages the city as a cultural and lifestyle tourism destination. Located northwest of Riyadh’s city centre, it will cover 14 square kilometres and combine 300 years of history, culture and heritage with hospitality facilities.
This year, the company has awarded several main construction contracts worth over SR18bn ($5bn).
Just days after Webuild announced that it had won the $600m contract for package three of the Diriyah Square project, Beijing-headquartered China Harbour Engineering Company won a SR5.7bn ($1.5bn) contract to build the Arena Block assets in the Boulevard Southwest section of the second phase of the Diriyah Gate development (DG2).
In April, Diriyah awarded an estimated SR4bn ($1.1bn) contract for a utilities relocation package for the King Saud University project located in DG2. The contract was awarded to a joint venture of Beijing-headquartered China Railway Construction Corporation and China Railway Construction Group Central Plain Construction Company.
Earlier in the same month, a SR5.1bn ($1.3bn) construction deal was awarded to a joint venture of local firm El-Seif Engineering & Contracting, Beijing-headquartered China State Construction Engineering Corporation and Qatari firm Midmac Contracting to build the Royal Diriyah Opera House.
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