News
  • Oil prices rise above $100 a barrel as conflict escalates Administrator

    9 September 2026

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    Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel on 9 September for the first time since July as the US-Iran conflict escalated and Iran-backed Houthi forces attacked Saudi energy infrastructure.

    Brent crude futures reached $100.95 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to $95.60. Brent had last traded above $100 on 24 July.

    The latest escalation has heightened concerns about oil supplies from the region, with shipping through both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea facing disruption.

    Flows through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen below 2 million barrels a day (b/d) from about 8-9 million b/d before the latest escalation, according to Rystad Energy.

    At the same time, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia threaten another important route for oil exports, with the group targeting energy infrastructure and shipping in and around the Red Sea.

    US strikes on Iranian tankers

    US forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on 8 September after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles.

    The US Central Command (Centcom) said the warship successfully evaded two Iranian attacks and that no US personnel were harmed.

    Four of the Iranian vessels – Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco – were struck in the Gulf of Oman, while the Derya was attacked near Kharg Island, Iran’s main crude export hub.

    The M/T Riesco subsequently sank in the Gulf of Oman, according to Centcom.

    Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles towards Jordan. Jordan’s armed forces said 18 of 20 missiles were intercepted, with the remaining two falling in unpopulated areas.

    Iran’s IRGC also said it had attacked two US naval vessels, eight oil tankers and 10 other vessels in the Gulf, although it did not identify the vessels or provide evidence of the attacks.

    The latest exchanges mark a further escalation in the US-Iran conflict, which began on 28 February.

    Houthi attacks raise supply concerns

    The conflict has also widened into a renewed confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.

    On 8 September, Saudi authorities said Houthi attacks had targeted civilian and economic sites in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran in the south of the kingdom, injuring 73 people.

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said several energy sector facilities and installations had been targeted, causing fires and forcing a temporary halt to some operations.

    The Houthis said their attacks were in response to Saudi military action in Yemen, including what they described as attacks on Houthi positions and a Saudi blockade of ports and airports.

    Riyadh condemns attacks

    Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned the Houthi attacks and warned that it would take measures to defend its territory and national assets.

    In a statement on 8 September, the Ministry of Energy said authorities were working to address the impact of the attacks and ensure the safety of facilities and personnel while maintaining operations in accordance with approved plans.

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the attacks and said the kingdom had the right to take measures to defend its sovereignty and protect its citizens, residents and national assets.

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    Indrajit Sen
  • What actually slows a gigaproject down Administrator

    9 September 2026

     

    Ask anyone delivering a major programme in the GCC what causes delays and sequencing will come up early. Utilities go in too late. Approvals lag behind construction. Stations, depots and access roads are procured as if they belong to different projects rather than one system.

    “None of this is new. The industry has understood these risks for years,” says Alan Caldwell, managing director for transport and infrastructure at WSP Middle East.

    For Caldwell, that is what makes the pattern worth interrogating rather than simply restating.

    “The more important question is why the same issues around interfaces, approvals, stakeholder alignment and delivery sequencing continue to slow major programmes when the risks are already so well understood,” he says.

    The answer, he argues, is not that these programmes are too big or too technically complex. What breaks a schedule is a wider system delivered as a set of disconnected parts; an approval sitting with an authority team with no visibility of the construction sequence downstream; or a station package proceeding without the utilities diversion it depends on.

    “Infrastructure programmes do not struggle because a railway is too large or a highway network is too complex,” Caldwell says. “They encounter difficulties when interconnected elements are delivered in the wrong order.”

    Sequencing decisions are rarely purely technical either, he adds. They are commercial – shaped by which assets need to unlock value first, which phases are tied to funding, and where sales or investment assumptions depend on infrastructure landing in a particular order.

    Approvals sit at the centre of that logic. On many programmes, they become one of the biggest sources of lost time – not because the requirements are unreasonable, but because approvals are not planned, evidenced or owned as part of the delivery logic from day one.

    Caldwell has seen the same pattern across three decades of Gulf delivery, from early work on Palm Jumeirah to today’s region-wide transport programmes.

    “The decisive factor has often been the same: whether interfaces, approvals, responsibilities and delivery sequencing are aligned early enough to prevent complexity becoming delay.”

    Integration needs to be well understood

    “Most programme teams in the region would say they understand the need for integration,” Caldwell says. Fewer are structured to deliver it. “The harder task is turning that understanding into the way projects are actually set up and managed,” he argues.

    Riyadh Metro is the reference point he returns to, precisely because engineering complexity was not the deciding factor in its delivery.

    Coordinating a city-scale transport system meant aligning design, construction, systems, utilities and stakeholder interfaces across every delivery vertical.

    “The lesson for the region today is clear,” Caldwell says. “Ambitious programmes need a delivery model that gives every contributor a shared view of progress, risk, decision-making and the business case driving programme priorities.”

    That shared view, he argues, will be what the next phase of Gulf delivery is judged on.

    Whether clients, consultants, contractors, operators and approval authorities can work to a single delivery logic will be key.

    “This requires more than coordination meetings. It requires integrated ways of working, shared common data environments and governance structures that make risks, decisions and dependencies visible before they become delays,” he says.

    From reporting progress to managing risk before it lands

    Digital tools have a role here, Caldwell says, but not as a headline in themselves.

    Digital twins, programme visualisation and data-led modelling matter only if they help teams identify and address problems before they affect the wider programme.

    “The real value is not technology for its own sake,” he says. “It is the ability to see, in one place, where approvals are outstanding, where interfaces are unresolved, where programme dates are slipping, where clashes are emerging and where decisions need to be escalated."

    None of it works without governance behind it, he cautions. “A dashboard will not resolve a delayed approval if nobody knows who owns the decision, when it needs to be made, or how it should be escalated.”

    Data only has value if the processes and responsibilities around it are clear, which is why Caldwell frames the shift the region needs not as digitisation, but as a move “from programme management as a discipline focused mainly on reporting and coordination, and towards project and programme intelligence”.

    With many of the region’s programmes running for a decade or more, he adds, delivery models also need to flex as funding assumptions, user needs and policy priorities change along the way.

    “The ambition behind the Gulf’s transformation programmes is not in question,” Caldwell says.

    What will determine how much of it is realised on time is whether delivery models evolve at the same pace: earlier integration, clearer approval pathways, shared data environments, and every contributor working to a delivery logic that connects technical sequencing with the funding and operational case behind it.

    “The region’s next challenge is not imagining bigger projects,” he says. “It is changing the way they are delivered, operated and adapted over time.”

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    Yasir Iqbal
  • Qatari firm wins $221m Qiddiya stadium MEP deal Administrator

    9 September 2026

     

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    Qatari contractor Elegancia MEP, part of Estithmar Holding, has won a SR829m ($221m) mechanical package contract for the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia.

    The contract covers full mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works for the stadium, and is Elegancia MEP’s largest award in Saudi Arabia to date.

    The 45,000-seat stadium will feature a fully combined retractable pitch, roof and LED wall.

    The stadium’s main construction works are being undertaken by a joint venture of Spanish firm FCC Construction and local firm Nesma & Partners.

    Saudi gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company awarded an estimated SR15bn ($4bn) deal to build the stadium in October 2024, as MEED exclusively reported.

    The contract covered the construction of a multipurpose stadium on top of the 200-metre-high Tuwaiq cliff in the new sports and entertainment district of Qiddiya City.

    Once completed, the stadium will be the home ground for Saudi Pro League football clubs Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal.

    US-based architect Populous is the project consultant.

    The stadium is one of the venues for the kingdom’s 2034 Fifa World Cup bid and will host events such as the Saudi King Cup, the Asian Cup and the 2034 Asian Games.

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    Yasir Iqbal
  • Jordan tenders advisory for wastewater treatment plant Administrator

    9 September 2026

    The Water Authority Jordan (WAJ) has issued an invitation to prequalify for advisory services for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Shallala wastewater treatment plant in Irbid, northern Jordan.

    The Shallala plant was commissioned in 2013 with a design capacity of about 14,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

    The rehabilitation and expansion project will increase its treatment capacity to about 30,500 cm/d to meet projected wastewater flows through 2050.

    The PIU Support and Construction Supervision Consultancy Services tender was released on 19 August.

    The submission deadline is 21 September.

    The consultancy will support the project implementation unit and provide construction supervision services for the project. The project has an estimated value of $69m and is being financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

    The planned works include rehabilitating the existing activated sludge and treatment units and constructing a new treatment train.

    The scope also includes installing biogas combined heat and power units, improving sludge handling and dewatering systems, and installing odour control and chemical containment systems.

    WAJ is also undertaking the upgrade and expansion of the Ain Ghazal wastewater treatment plant in Amman.

    The existing facility had a capacity of 330,000 cm/d and is being upgraded to 726,712 cm/d to accept and treat expected incoming flows until 2045.

    The local Arab Towers Contracting Company was appointed as the main contractor for the project last year.


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

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

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

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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    Mark Dowdall
  • Consultants bid for Abu Dhabi light rail project management Administrator

    9 September 2026

     

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    Abu Dhabi Transport Company (ADTC) has issued a request for prequalification (RFQ) notice to consultants for a contract for project management engineering consultancy services for the first phase of the light rail transit network, also known as ADT4.

    The notice was issued on 7 September, with a submission deadline of 9 November.

    The project’s first phase will span 19 kilometres (km) and include 23 stations, connecting Zayed International airport (AUH) with nearby areas, including Yas Island, Al‑Raha Beach and Khalifa City.

    The key sections of the tram are:

    AUH to Yas Island: The tram will start from Terminal A at AUH and run through the Yas tunnel to Yas Gateway Park. It will serve areas including Yas Bay, Media Zone, Yas Plaza, Yas Drive, Yas Mall, Sea World and Water Edge.

    This section covers 13km and includes 13 at-grade stations and one underground station.

    Al-Raha: This section will stretch for 4.3km and run along Al-Raha Street. It will serve areas including Al-Zeina, Al-Muneera and Al-Bandar, towards the Aldar head office. The section will include seven at-grade stations.

    Etihad Plaza: This section will pass the Etihad Aviation Training Centre and span about 1.7km. It will feature a main depot near the Etihad Airways headquarters, along with two at-grade stations.

    The tender also covers the procurement of 25 trams, each with a capacity of 270 people, along with associated systems.

    The project was officially launched at the GlobalRail exhibition in Abu Dhabi in October last year.

    Referred to as Abu Dhabi Tram Line 4, the project will be delivered in three phases.

    Construction of the first phase is expected to start next year. The tram is slated to begin operations by 2030.

    Future phases will extend towards Khalifa City and serve additional destinations across Yas Island.

    The project forms a key part of the recently announced AED170bn ($46bn) package of national transport and road projects to be implemented by 2030.

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    Yasir Iqbal
  • Medina’s KEC signs real estate project development deal Administrator

    9 September 2026

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    Medina’s Knowledge Economic City (KEC) has signed an agreement with Riyadh-based Kaden Investment Company to develop a mixed-use project in Medina.

    The project will have an estimated gross floor area of about 230,000 square metres (sq m).

    According to a statement filed by KEC with the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), the project – called Multaqa Al-Madinah 2 – will be built on a 92,000 sq m plot located directly north of the first phase of the Multaqa Al-Madinah development.

    It is expected to include about 1,527 residential units across three residential zones, along with commercial and office space totalling about 31,108 sq m of net leasable area.

    It will also feature parking, recreational and service facilities, landscaping and other supporting infrastructure.

    KEC and Kaden intend to deliver the project through a closed-ended real estate investment fund regulated by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority.

    Under the proposed structure, KEC will contribute the land as an in-kind contribution and hold 75% of the fund units, while Kaden will contribute cash and hold the remaining 25%.

    Kaden will also serve as the development manager.

    KEC said the land has been initially valued at about SR692.3m ($184.6m), while the total equity required for the project is estimated at around SR833m.

    Once final agreements are signed, KEC expects to receive SR67.7m in cash and fund units valued at approximately SR624.6m.


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

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

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

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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    Yasir Iqbal
  • Morocco signs agreement for synthetic fuel complex Administrator

    9 September 2026

    Switzerland-based Synhelion has signed an agreement with the Government of Morocco with the aim of developing a large-scale commercial synthetic fuel plant in the country’s southern Tan-Tan province.

    The memorandum of understanding (MoU) relates to a facility with the capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes a year of fuel, according to a statement released by the company.

    Synhelion has secured land for the project site and established a subsidiary in Morocco to develop the fuel complex.

    Gianluca Ambrosetti, one of Synhelion’s co-chief executives, said: “Morocco’s exceptional renewable energy resources and its clear industrial strategy make it an ideal location for scaling our synthetic fuel technology.

    “With the MoU signed, the land reservation secured and our branch in place, we are moving from evaluation to execution and toward our first commercial-scale plant in the region.”

    Synhelion specialises in producing hydrocarbon fuels using renewable energy. Its products include synthetic jet fuel, gasoline and diesel.


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

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

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

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19489903/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Iraq solar package on track to come online in December Administrator

    9 September 2026

     

    The 1,000MW solar photovoltaic project in Artawi – also called Ratawi – in southern Iraq is on track for its second phase to come online on 8 December, according to industry sources.

    This phase has a capacity of 250MW and will bring the project’s total online capacity to 500MW.

    The first phase of the project, also with a capacity of 250MW, came online in March this year.

    The third and fourth phases, each with a capacity of 250MW, are expected to be brought online next year.

    The solar project is part of the broader Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), which has an estimated total value of $27bn and a first phase worth an estimated $10bn.

    The solar project’s ownership differs from the headline GGIP ownership structure, with its ownership equally divided between France’s TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy.

    The wider GGIP consortium includes TotalEnergies, Iraq’s Basra Oil Company and QatarEnergy, which hold stakes of 45%, 30% and 25%, respectively.

    China Energy Engineering Corporation is part of a consortium that is executing the main engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project.

    It announced that the first 250MW of capacity had been connected to the grid on 4 March this year.

    The consortium also includes China Energy Engineering Group Tianjin Electric Power Construction Company and Chengdu-headquartered Southwest Electric Power Design Institute Company.

    The project scope includes:

    • Construction of a substation
    • Installation of a 132kV booster station
    • Installation of solar panels
    • Installation of transformers
    • Laying of transmission lines
    • Construction of related infrastructure

    In February 2025, Basra Investment Commission director Alaa Abdul Hussein said the solar plant had an estimated total value of $820m.

    The GGIP programme is focused on developing four major projects in Iraq:

    • The Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP)
    • The Ratawi gas processing complex
    • The 1GW solar power project for Iraq’s electricity ministry
    • A field development project at Ratawi, known as the Associated Gas Upstream Project (AGUP)

    All four of these projects are currently under execution, though there have been some delays related to the regional war that started when the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

    The conflict has caused significant disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iraq uses to export crude oil and import equipment and materials for projects.


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

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

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

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19489818/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Sabic subsidiary to build methanol plant in Jubail Administrator

    8 September 2026

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    Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has announced that its subsidiary, Saudi Methanol Company (Ar-Razi), has received approval from the kingdom’s Ministry of Energy for a feedstock allocation to build a greenfield methanol plant in Jubail, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

    The planned facility will have an output capacity of 1.8 million tonnes a year (t/y), Sabic said in a filing with the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) on 6 September.

    Sabic said it will announce any material developments related to the project, including the final investment decision, in due course.

    “The project will strengthen Sabic’s methanol production portfolio and is aligned with the company’s strategy of focusing on its core businesses while strengthening the fundamentals of its operations and positioning the group for long-term growth,” the Saudi chemicals giant said.

    ALSO READ: Sabic posts $100m loss in Q2 2026 due to regional conflict

    “The proposed facility in Jubail is expected to further support Saudi Arabia’s petrochemicals and downstream industries by expanding domestic production capacity and strengthening the kingdom’s position as a major global chemicals manufacturing hub,” Sabic said in its filing.

    Before announcing the methanol project in Jubail, Sabic said it received approval from the Ministry of Energy in March for a feedstock allocation for a project to expand its urea production capacity by 54%, from about 4.8 million metric t/y to 7.4 million metric t/y.

    The project, which is also planned for Jubail Industrial City, will be led by Sabic affiliate Sabic Agri-Nutrients and replaces a previously planned low-carbon or blue ammonia project with a conventional ammonia and urea facility.

    The project will be Sabic Agri-Nutrients’ seventh plant in Jubail Industrial City, and will have a production capacity of about 1.2 million metric t/y of conventional ammonia and 2.6 million metric t/y of urea, the company said in a Tadawul filing.

    The project, which was previously known as San VI, was slated to produce 1.2 million metric t/y of low-carbon ammonia and 1.1 million metric t/y of urea and specialised agri-nutrients.


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

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

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

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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    Indrajit Sen
  • Saudi water sector hits sharp slowdown Administrator

    8 September 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s water sector has recorded a sharp slowdown in contract awards this year, with $3.94bn of new contracts awarded as of early September.

    According to regional project tracker MEED Projects, this is well below the $10.7bn recorded in 2025, $13bn in 2024 and a record $15.3bn in 2023.

    The slowdown comes as several major projects remain in the procurement process, with some yet to reach financial close or contract award, while tender deadlines for other schemes have been pushed back.

    Among the largest is the estimated $2bn Riyadh-Qassim independent water transmission pipeline. The 859-kilometre project will have a transmission capacity of 685,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d). Vision Invest was selected as the preferred bidder last December; however, more than eight months later, an official developer’s agreement has not yet been signed.

    Similarly, the Arana and Hadda independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP) projects have yet to reach the financial close originally targeted for the second quarter. The two schemes will provide a combined treatment capacity of 350,000 cm/d.

    Delays extend further down the procurement pipeline. The latest developer bid deadline for the estimated $150m Riyadh East ISTP is 29 September, almost a year after the request for proposals (RFP) was issued in October 2025.

    Procurement for the main contracts for the Jubail-Buraidah and Ras Mohaisen-Baha-Mecca independent water transmission system projects could also slip into 2027, amid delivery-model changes by Water Transmission Company.

    New awards

    The market received a boost in September when Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) announced it had signed a SR1.3bn ($347m) deal with a Saudi-Chinese consortium for package 10 of its long-term operations and maintenance programme.

    The consortium – comprising China’s Jiangsu United Water Technology and Saudi-based Armada Holding – will rehabilitate, operate and maintain nine sewage treatment plants (STPs) with a combined design capacity of more than 337,000 cm/d. Based on the latest procurement timeline, it is unclear whether the selected consortium for package 11 will be formally announced this year. Packages 12 and 14 remain under tender while package 16 is next in line, with its RFP not expected to be issued before November.

    NWC is the second-largest awarding entity by value in 2026, accounting for $1.09bn, or about 28% of the total. Saudi Aramco is the largest, with $2.15bn, meaning the two organisations account for more than 82% of awards so far this year.

    Aramco’s activity has been led by two major oil field developments. In June, it awarded the $1.5bn Safaniya onshore surface facilities project: package 1 to a joint venture of Tecnimont and Consolidated Contractors Company. The package includes a water treatment and injection plant supporting upstream production.

    It also awarded the second phase of its Zuluf water treatment project to a joint venture of Almar Water Solutions and AlJomaih Energy & Water. The project will add a 308,000-cm/d treatment facility at Tanajib in the Eastern Province, supplying water for injection at the offshore Zuluf oil field.

    The concentration of awards in industrial projects this year has been notable. Against the slowdown in municipal water infrastructure procurement, much of the value awarded so far has been linked to the water requirements of oil and gas and mining developments.

    The third-largest award is the $350m Taif Ar Rjum water pipeline project, being developed by Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) in Mecca. The project will support the Ar Rjum gold mining and processing facility and is being developed under a build-own-operate-transfer model. 

    By project type, treatment projects make up the largest share of awards, at $2.85bn or about 72% of the total. Transmission projects account for $980m and cooling projects for a further $110m, while no major desalination or water storage contracts have been awarded so far this year.

    Project pipeline

    The slowdown in awards appears to reflect the timing of projects moving through procurement rather than a fundamental weakening in demand for water infrastructure.

    Saudi Arabia continues to face rising demand for desalination, wastewater treatment and water transmission as population growth and industrial expansion drive demand for water.

    Sharakat, formerly Saudi Water Partnership Company, set out the next phase of the kingdom’s water investment programme in its latest seven-year statement, published in March.

    The plan points to a significant expansion in desalination capacity. Capacity from Sharakat-procured projects is expected to increase from about 3.88 million cm/d in 2025 to roughly 7.18 million cm/d by 2031.

    The increase will be supported by seven new independent water plants (IWPs) with a combined capacity of about 2.8 million cm/d, in addition to projects already operating, under construction or in procurement.

    However, several of the planned projects have yet to move into active procurement, while others have seen their expected timelines pushed back.

    Among the schemes affected are the Ras Al-Khair, Tabuk, Shuqaiq and Jizan IWPs, which have all progressed through prequalification, but have seen changes to their expected procurement schedules.

    The largest is phase two of the Ras Al-Khair IWP, a 600,000-cm/d reverse osmosis desalination plant that has been in development for more than a decade.

    The revised schedule indicates that the $400m Al-Shuqaiq 4 IWP is expected to be the first of the seven new plants to reach commercial operation. Its main contract had been expected to be tendered later this year, but it is now understood that the first RFP will not be issued until early 2027.

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    Mark Dowdall