meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Riyadh receives Duwaiheen nuclear advisory bids

14 July 2023

 

State offtaker Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has received bids for the financial, legal and technical consultancy contracts to prepare and review project agreements related to the procurement of electricity from Saudi Arabia’s first nuclear power plant.

The scope extends to signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the project company for the planned Duwaiheen nuclear power plant, provisionally called Duwaiheen Nuclear Energy Company.

Saudi Arabia plans to build a large-scale nuclear power plant facility as part of its energy diversification agenda.

The current status of the main contract to implement the kingdom's first nuclear plant project is unclear.

Project progress

The Finance Ministry said in its 2023 annual budget statement that the kingdom received bids on 31 December 2022 for the deal to build Saudi Arabia’s first nuclear power plant.

An industry source close to the project, however, told MEED in June that the bid deadline for the contract was extended to June this year.

Another source recently indicated that discussions, rather than a formal bidding process, are proceeding for the project.

MEED earlier reported that the most likely bidders for the main contract are China National Nuclear Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and Russia’s Rosatom.

Neither King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy (KA-Care) nor the apparent bidders have confirmed the bid list.

2.8GW project

The kingdom’s first planned nuclear power plant is expected to be procured using a traditional design-and-build model. 

In September 2016, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia was carrying out technical and economic feasibility studies for the first reactors, and was also looking at possible locations for the kingdom’s first nuclear project, a 2.8GW facility.

MEED reported the following year that KA-Care had received requests for information from US firm Westinghouse, France’s EDF and Russia’s Rosatom. It is understood South Korea’s Kepco and a Chinese nuclear power company had also responded to the request for qualifications for the main contract. 

Latest developments

In March 2022, Saudi Arabia announced the establishment of a holding company to develop nuclear power projects in the country.

Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan, Saudi ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was quoted as saying that the holding company would develop nuclear power plants to produce electricity, desalinate seawater and for use in thermal energy applications. 

He said the kingdom is working on a framework programme for nuclear energy in 2022-27, which includes “capacity building and collaboration with international institutes for research and development”.

This followed Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud's announcement in January 2022 that Saudi Arabia has uranium resources that it wants to exploit transparently through partnerships.

Work on advisory contracts for Saudi Arabia’s planned multibillion-dollar nuclear power projects is progressing, as MEED reported in November last year.

KA-Care awarded three separate contracts for the project's legal, technical and financial advisory works in May 2022.

It awarded a team led by UK-headquartered EY the financial advisory contract in May 2022. Legal and technical consultancy contracts for the project were awarded earlier. 

In 2018, Australia’s Worley was appointed by KA-Care for the project management office consultancy role for the nuclear energy programme. Worley is understood to have previously completed the Large Nuclear Power Plant (LNPP) site selection study for KA-Care.

Nuclear strategy

Riyadh plans to develop nuclear power through a three-pronged strategy. The majority of the nuclear power capacity will be developed through conventional, large-scale nuclear facilities, such as the one being tendered.

The kingdom also plans to develop atomic energy through a series of smaller, system-integrated modular advanced reactor technology (Smart) nuclear power plants in partnership with South Korea.

The third pillar of Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy programme will involve mining uranium resources to fuel the plants, as highlighted earlier this year by the energy minister.

Thumbnail image: Flickr

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11008173/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • WEBINAR: UAE Projects Market 2026

    15 April 2026

    Webinar: UAE Projects Market 2026
    Tuesday, 28 April 2026 | 11:00 GST  |  Register now

    Agenda:

    • Overview of the UAE projects market landscape
    • 2025 projects market performance
    • Value of work awarded 2026 YTD
    • Impact of the Iran conflict on the projects market and real estate, assessing supply chain disruptions, material cost inflation and war risk premiums
    • Key drivers, challenges and opportunities
    • Size of future pipeline by sector and status
    • Ranking of the top contractors and clients
    • Summary of key current and future projects
    • Short and long-term market outlook
    • Audience Q&A

    Hosted by: Colin Foreman, editor of MEED 

    Colin Foreman is editor and a specialist construction journalist for news and analysis on MEED.com and the MEED Business Review magazine. He has been reporting on the region since 2003, specialising in the construction sector and its impact on the broader economy. He has reported exclusively on a wide range of projects across the region including Dubai Metro, the Burj Khalifa, Jeddah Airport, Doha Metro, Hamad International airport and Yas Island. Before joining MEED, Colin reported on the construction sector in Hong Kong.

    Click here to register

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16401868/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Saudi Landbridge finds its moment in Gulf turmoil

    15 April 2026

    Commentary
    Yasir Iqbal
    Construction writer

    The strategic case for the Saudi Landbridge has never been more urgent. SAR’s appointment of Spain’s Typsa as lead design consultant, reported by MEED this week, is more than a procurement milestone. After two decades of delays, it reflects how the long-deferred project has become a strategic necessity.

    The conflict reshaping the Middle East has made that necessity more immediate. Red Sea transits are costly and unpredictable. The Strait of Hormuz carries risk no insurer can fully price. Saudi Arabia’s most valuable exports, including crude oil, refined products, petrochemicals and industrial goods, move almost entirely by sea through routes that are no longer reliably secure.

    The kingdom sits between two coastlines with no rail link connecting them. That gap is now an economic exposure.

    The $27bn project addresses it directly. More than 1,500 kilometres of track, anchored by a 900km railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, will provide direct freight access from King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea, with upgrades to the Riyadh-Dammam line and a new connection to Yanbu.

    Together, they create what Saudi Arabia has never had: a continuous land corridor linking Gulf industrial ports to Red Sea export terminals, entirely within its own borders.

    The commercial implications are substantial. Aramco’s downstream output, Sabic’s chemicals, and the manufacturing clusters of Jubail and Yanbu gain flexible access to both coasts.

    Exporters targeting Europe and the Americas load at Jeddah; those serving Asia pivot east to Dammam by rail, on demand, without Hormuz risk or Red Sea freight surcharges.

    No neighbouring economy has that optionality. The network also underpins a broader economic ambition. Connecting Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Jubail, Yanbu, King Abdullah port and King Khalid airport by rail positions the kingdom as a genuine logistics corridor between East and West. 

    With design now under way and construction tenders expected imminently, the Landbridge is closer to reality than at any point in its troubled history. Regional disruption did not create this project. But it has made the argument for it unanswerable.

    MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
    > GVT &: ECONOMY: Riyadh navigates a changed landscape
    > BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
    > UPSTREAM: Offshore oil and gas projects to dominate Aramco capex in 2026
    > DOWNSTREAM: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
    > POWER: Wind power gathers pace in Saudi Arabia
    > WATER: Sharakat plan signals next phase of Saudi water expansion
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction enters a period of strategic readjustment
    > TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure push

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16401567/main.png
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Kuwait awards $565m upstream oil contract

    15 April 2026

    Kuwait’s Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) has been awarded a contract for flowlines and associated works in North Kuwait by the state-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).

    In a statement to Kuwait’s stock exchange, Heisco said it had received a formal contract award letter for the project, valued at KD174.2m ($565m).

    The contract was awarded under Tender No. RFP-2141028 and was approved by Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders.

    Heisco was the fourth-lowest bidder for the contract.

    In its stock market statement, Heisco said that the financial impact of the contract will be determined at a later stage, with further updates to be provided as the project progresses.

    Heisco has also signed a renewal agreement with a local bank for a KD50m ($165m) loan.

    The company said in a disclosure statement that the loan is intended to finance Heisco’s activities in Kuwait and other countries.

    “Our company has renewed the credit facilities agreement with one of the local banks to finance its activities,” it said.

    Earlier this month, Heisco submitted the lowest bid for a project to upgrade part of the Mina Abdullah refinery’s export infrastructure.

    It submitted a bid of KD11,919,652 ($38.6m) for the project to implement renovation works on the artificial island that forms part of the port at the refinery.

    The only other bidder was Kuwait’s International Marine Construction Company (IMCC), which submitted a bid of KD12,480,113 ($40.4m).

    Kuwait is currently seeing significant disruption to its oil and gas sector due to fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

    The Mina Abdullah refinery was integrated with the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery as part of the $16bn Clean Fuels Project, which came online in 2021.

    Several units at the Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery were shut down after the refinery was hit by drone attacks last month.

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

    Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16394808/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • Sirte oil projects expected to progress in Libya

    15 April 2026

     

    Three oil projects located in Libya’s Sirte basin are expected to be prioritised in the wake of Libya’s recent budget deal, according to industry sources.

    The projects are being developed by Libya’s Waha Oil Company, a subsidiary of the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC).

    All three projects will develop Libyan reservoirs that have not yet been tapped.

    The projects are known as:

    • NC98
    • Gialo 3
    • 6J North Gialo

    Together, the projects are expected to double Waha’s production from around 300,000 barrels of oil a day (b/d) to 600,000 b/d.

    The Waha concession covers 13 million acres.

    The stakeholders in Libya’s Waha concessions include France’s TotalEnergies, which has a 20.41% stake, and US-based ConocoPhillips.

    In March, MEED revealed that South Korea’s Daewoo had pulled out of the tender process for Libya’s 6J North Gialo oil field development project.

    Daewoo had formed a partnership with Egypt’s Petrojet to participate in the tender process.

    The only other company to submit a bid for the project was UK-based Petrofac, which filed for administration in October last year.

    In September last year, MEED reported that two bids had been submitted for the project and were under evaluation.

    The 6J North Gialo project was the first to be tendered; it was expected to be followed by NC98, with the Gialo 3 project likely to be tendered last.

    The NC98 field is located in the southeast area of Libya’s Sirte basin. Waha Oil Company ran a technical workshop for the NC98 project in June 2023.

    The workshop included a presentation of a study conducted by TotalEnergies that considered different development options for injecting gas and water, as well as exporting gas.

    At the time, Waha Oil said that the project to develop NC98 was one of its “major strategic projects” and by implementing it, it hoped to raise production by an average of 60,000 b/d.

    The Gialo 3 project scope includes installing surface facilities to channel output to a new production unit. Three existing production units will also be upgraded as part of the project.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16394706/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • EtihadWE tenders feasibility study for UAE-India power link

    14 April 2026

     

    Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE) has tendered a contract for a techno-economic feasibility study of a proposed UAE-India undersea power interconnector.

    The study aims to assess the long-term technical, economic and market viability of a power exchange between the UAE and India.

    The deadline for interested firms to purchase tender documents is 23 April.

    The proposed scheme would be the UAE’s first direct subsea cross-border electricity interconnector and the first direct power link between the UAE and India.

    In January, MEED exclusively reported that the utility was seeking consultants to register their interest in participating in the tender process.

    It is understood that firms may bid as single entities or as part of a consortium.

    According to the utility, the scope of work includes developing feasible interconnection options and defining design parameters and capacity.

    It will cover preliminary and survey-supported routing for the subsea cables and the identification of landing points and onshore transmission links.

    The study will also provide refined cost estimates, supply-chain and execution timelines, legal and regulatory reviews, commercial frameworks, risk identification, and support for the preparation of draft tender documents and technical specifications.

    In addition, it will outline bankable financing, ownership and operational structures as well as an implementation and operations schedule.

    Furthermore, the consultant will be required to assess the project’s impact on the grid and optimise interconnector capacity through sensitivity studies.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16385529/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall