News
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Kuwait retenders Doha desalination package Administrator30 April 2025
Kuwait’s Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry (MEWRE) has retendered a contract to design and build the planned second phase of a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant in Doha.
The Doha SWRO phase two project was expected to have a capacity of 60 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD) when it was first tendered.
The tender closing date for the retendered contract is 27 May.
The scope of work entails the supply, installation, operation and maintenance of phase 2 of the Doha SWRO plant, inclusive of alkalinisation equipment for produced water.
The ministry cancelled the tender for the contract in June last year.
Contractors submitted bids for the contract in September 2022. At the time, the MEW did not disclose the engineering, procurement and contracting firms that were invited to bid for the contract.
The MEW awarded South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, now known as Doosan Enerbility, the $422m contract to build the 60MIGD Doha 1 SWRO in May 2016.
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Kuwait tenders 900MW Subiya plant contract Administrator30 April 2025
Kuwait’s Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy Ministry (MEWRE) has reissued the tender for a contract to build a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant in Subiya.
The fourth phase of the Subiya power and water complex is expected to have a capacity of 900MW.
The ministry issued the tender on 27 April and expects to receive bids by 27 May.
The ministry announced earlier this month that the Kuwait Central Authority for Public Tenders has approved issuing the tender for the 36-month contract.
MEWRE first tendered the contract to design and build the 900MW Subiya phase 4 CCGT in 2022.
According to MEED Projects data, the bidders and their offers were:
- Al-Ghanim International General Trading & Contracting (local): $837.3m
- Al-Zain United General Trading & Contracting (local): $866.17m
MEED understands that Al-Ghanim International emerged as the preferred bidder after agreeing to a revised contract value of $662m.
The planned project, along with a scheme to convert an existing 250MW simple-cycle plant into a CCGT plant, aims to boost the generation capacity at the Subiya power complex by 1,150MW.
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Read the May 2025 MEED Business Review Administrator30 April 2025
Download / Subscribe / 14-day trial access Global stock markets suffered some of their worst days on record following US President Donald Trump's announcement of his 'Liberation Day' tariffs on 2 April. Although a 90-day pause was quickly announced for most trading partners, the 10% baseline import duty and levies on aluminium and industrial metals led to selloffs across regional indices. Oil prices also took a hit, as Brent crude dropped to under $60 a barrel for the first time since 2021.
The GCC is well positioned to survive the trade wars, however. Oil, energy and various petrochemicals products remain exempt from US tariffs, and with low regulatory barriers and the capacity to engage in manufacturing-intensive activities, the region's economies pride themselves on being trade-friendly. By building on the strong relations that regional leaders enjoy with the Trump administration, GCC states can hope to emerge from the assault relatively unscathed.In the May edition of MEED Business Review, we take an in-depth look at how regional governments hope to avoid the worst of the hits from US tariffs, examine the impact of the tariff regime on Gulf stock markets and assess the additional damage that falling prices will cause for oil exporters across the Middle East and North Africa region.
MEED's latest issue also includes a 17-page market report on the UAE, which explores how solid fiscal and macroeconomic fundamentals will help the country ride out the global uncertainty caused by the imposition of US tariffs. UAE financial institutions remain on a strong growth heading, and an expected increase in oil production, continued chemicals sector growth, expansionary government spending on infrastructure and renewed investment in real estate will all help the UAE to weather the storm.
In addition, this month's issue features MEED's 2025 GCC Contractor Ranking, which reveals an increase in orders across the region in the past year. While the GCC’s most active contractor is Saudi Arabia’s Nesma & Partners, with $13.9bn of work at the execution stage, Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation has continued to grow strongly to secure second place this year, just $300m behind Nesma with $13.5bn.
This issue is also packed with analysis. We examine the steps that are being taken by Damascus to reassure regional partners and lay the groundwork for the reconstruction of war-torn Syria; look at what Saudi Arabia and Oman are doing to attract local and international miners; and learn how UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala is investing in a low-carbon future.
In the May issue, the team also speaks exclusively to Walter Simpson, the former managing director of CC Energy Development (CCED), about the oil producer’s plans for growth in Oman; and Iain McBride, head of commercial for gigaproject multi-asset developer Roshn Group, who lays out the procurement strategy that is enabling the company to navigate the challenges presented by Saudi Arabia’s construction boom.
We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the May 2025 issue of MEED Business Review.
Must-read sections in the May 2025 issue of MEED Business Review include:
> AGENDA:
> GCC shelters from the trade wars
> Gulf markets slide as US tariff shockwaves hit
> Lower oil prices raise Gulf’s fiscal pressure> CURRENT AFFAIRS:
> Syria makes progress towards reunificationINDUSTRY REPORT:
2025 GCC contractor ranking
> Contractors take on more work in 2025> MINERALS: Saudi Arabia and Oman open up their minerals potential
> INTERVIEWS:
> CCED seeks growth in Oman’s hydrocarbons sector
> A case study in procurement> LEADERSHIP: Rethinking investments for a lower-carbon future
> UAE MARKET REPORT:
> COMMENT: UAE is poised to weather the storm
> GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: UAE looks to economic longevity
> BANKING: UAE banks dig in for new era
> UPSTREAM: Adnoc in cruise control with oil and gas targets
> DOWNSTREAM: Abu Dhabi chemicals sector sees relentless growth
> POWER: AI accelerates UAE power generation projects sector
> CONSTRUCTION: Dubai construction continues to lead region
> TRANSPORT: UAE accelerates its $60bn transport push
> DATABANK: UAE growth prospects head north> MEED COMMENTS:
> Opec+ shows defiance in the face of sliding oil prices
> Corruption may hinder Iraqi oil pipeline reopening
> Mall of the Emirates sets trends again with $1.4bn revamp
> Abu Dhabi infrastructure entity will help forge partnerships> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index inches upwards
> MARCH 2025 CONTRACTS: Region records $70.3bn of deal signings in first quarter of 2025
> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects
> OPINION: Trump’s new world order
> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts
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Oman seeks firms for geothermal plant study Administrator30 April 2025
Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (PWP) has invited companies to bid for a contract to provide technical and economic consultancy services for the sultanate’s first planned geothermal power plant project.
Known as the Hot Springs geothermal project, the site being considered for the project’s first phase is the area between Wilayat Fanja and Al-Ansab in Wilayat Bausher in Muscat.
PWP expects to receive bids from technical and financial consultancy firms by 22 May.
The selected bidder will conduct a feasibility assessment of geothermal energy potential within the specified sites.
The project supports Oman Vision 2040 and renewable energy targets as well as its net-zero committed target.
The tender proceedings are under way for several renewable energy projects in Oman.
In February, PWP received four bids for the contract to develop and operate the Ibri 3 solar independent power producer (IPP) project.
The 500MW scheme is Oman’s fourth utility-scale solar power plant project.
The bidding process is also under way for two wind IPPs in Oman.
The Jalan Bani Bu Ali wind IPP will cater to the Main Interconnection System (MIS), while the Dhofar 2 wind IPP will cater to the smaller Dhofar Power System (DPS).
The Jalan Bani Bu Ali wind IPP, located in South Sharqiyah Governorate, will have a capacity of 91MW-105MW and has a commercial operation target of Q1 2027.
Adjacent to the existing Dhofar Wind 1 IPP in Shaleem and Al-Hallaniyat Islands in Dhofar Governorate, the Dhofar 2 wind plant will have a capacity of 114MW-132MW and will be operational in Q2 2027.
Photo credit: Pixabay, for illustrative purposes only
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Kurdistan plant to deploy GE Vernova technology Administrator30 April 2025
The 1,250 MW Bazyan power plant in the Iraqi Kurdistan region will deploy the US-based GE Vernova's first upgrade of its Advanced Gas Proven (AGP) technology that runs on its 9E.03 gas turbine fleet.
Known as AGP Xpand, the technology can increase their 9E.03 gas turbines' output by up to approximately 7%, with an approximately 1% incremental efficiency, GE Vernova said.
Taurus Energy, a portfolio company of Onex Group, operated the Bazyan power plant. Onex Group is a private energy group with a portfolio of power generation, utilities, energy trading, shipping and refining companies.
Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Kamal Mohammad Salih Khalil, Minister of Electricity in the Kurdistan Regional Government and Steven Bitner, consul general at the US Consulate General Erbil, along with other senior government officials and local business leaders witnessed the signing of the agreement held in Sulaymaniyah.
In addition to increasing the gas turbines' efficiency, the technology enables exhaust energy to increase by up to 2.6% to produce more steam or power, for combined heat and power (CHP) plants or combined cycle plants, like the Bazyan power plant.
Taurus is welcoming this technology, which could modernize its
The Bazyan power plant is powered by
Four GE Vernova 9E.03 and two 9F.04 gas turbines power the Basyan power plant, which uses natural gas as the primary fuel source and light fuel oil as backup fuel.
Taurus designed and engineered the power plant for baseload operations with an expected lifetime of 25-30 years.
The AGP XPAND upgrade is expected to enhance the current capacity and deliver additional, much-needed electricity to the Kurdistan Region as well as nearby cities and governorates such as Mosul and Salahaddin.
In addition, GE Vernova and Taurus Energy signed a new 17-year long-term service agreement covering four GE Vernova’s 9E units with the first 9E rotor life extension package in Iraq.
“By utilising Kurdistan Region’s natural gas resources and power generation capacity, we are laying the foundation to create an energy hub," said Saad Tayeb Hasan, Onex founder and chairman.
"Through projects like Bazyan, we can contribute to the efforts to meet local energy needs as well as transmit additional power to other parts of the country."
According to GE Vernova, it has added more than 19GW of power capacity in Iraq since 2011, built and energised more than 30 substations since 2015, and mobilised over $3bn in financing for energy projects since 2015.
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Algeria holds talks with Chinese nuclear firm head Administrator30 April 2025
Algerian State Minister and Energy, Mines and Renewable Energies MInister, Mohamed Arkab, met with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) president, Wang Yongge in Algiers on 26 April.
According to a local media report citing a ministry statement, the two reviewed the ongoing cooperation between Algeria's Commissariat for Atomic Energy (Comena) and CNNC, focusing on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, its medical applications, and prospects for future development.
They also assessed the progress of the previously established specialised working group tasked with preparing and launching a radioactive isotopes production project in Algeria.
This project holds strategic importance in supporting the national healthcare sector, particularly in diagnosis and radiation therapy, with a special emphasis on cancer treatment.
MEED understands that Yongge expressed his firm's "readiness" to support Algeria in implementing the radioactive isotope production project.
MEED reported in May 2013 that Algeria was planning to build its first nuclear power plant by 2025 as part of efforts to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity.
“We plan to have our first nuclear power plant in 2025 and we are in the process of working on this project,” Youcef Yousfi, the country’s Energy and Mines Minister at the time, was quoted in the Algerian state media outlet Algerie Presse Service (APS).
Algeria has uranium reserves of 29,000 tonnes, which is enough to supply two 1,000MW nuclear power plants for 60 years, said Yousfi.
That project has yet to move beyond the planning stage.
Relations between China and Algeria have become increasingly close over recent years.
In November 2023, China’s Chery Automobile Company said it plans to build a car plant in the province of Bordj Bou Arreridj with a preliminary capacity of 24,000 units a year.
In July the same year, President Xi Jinping held talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and agreed to increase economic cooperation between the two countries.
The two leaders said they would deepen cooperation in sectors including infrastructure, petrochemicals, mining and agriculture.
They also said that they would expand cooperation in high-tech fields including aerospace, nuclear energy and renewable energy to nurture new growth drivers of cooperation.
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Oxagon discloses capacity of data centre phase Administrator29 April 2025
The region's first planned net-zero and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data centre project in Oxagon, the industrial cluster of Saudi gigaproject Neom, will have an initial capacity of 300MW.
The first phase of the data centre facility, which local data centre developer DataVolt will own and operate, is expected to begin operations in 2028.
"Over time, the data centre’s total capacity is expected to reach 1.5GW, supporting anticipated local and global demand," Oxagon announced.
It added that the projected output will place the kingdom among a "select group of countries boasting operational capacities of 1GW or more, comparable to those in the US, China, Japan, Australia and India".
The project is estimated to require an investment of several billion dollars.
The initial 300MW facility’s modular design will ensure scalability to meet future demand in terms of information technology infrastructure, rack power density and cooling systems, said Oxagon.
The DataVolt facility will be located on a 350,000 square-metre area and will ultimately be powered by renewable energy, primarily from solar and wind sources within the Neom region.
The current plan entails deploying large-scale battery storage for system stability and gas turbines for redundancy, "enabling up to 48 hours of autonomous operation with green hydrogen fuel, if needed".
According to Oxagon, these energy solutions will enable the facility to meet the enormous power demands of AI workloads with Tier 3 levels of redundancy and availability while maintaining net-zero emissions during operations.
Founded in 2023, DataVolt has previously announced a plan to invest $5bn in developing data centres in Saudi Arabia, without specifying potential locations.
DataVolt is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi public-private partnership-focused developer and investor Vision Invest.
According to the International Energy Agency, data centres currently consume 1%-1.3% of global electricity demand. Advancements in generative AI mean that power consumption is expected to grow exponentially in the next decade.
Photo credit: Oxagon
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Abu Dhabi reaches Shuweihat 1 plant conversion deal Administrator29 April 2025
Abu Dhabi state offtaker and utility Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) has signed a new power purchase agreement (PPA) for the conversion of the existing Shuweihat 1 (S1) independent water and power project (IWPP) into an independent power plant (IPP).
Under the new PPA, S1 will be converted to a natural gas-fired open-cycle power plant only, providing up to 1.1GW of "flexible" reserve supply for 15 years, with commercial operations beginning from 2027, Ewec said.
It added: "S1 will be reconfigured from a cogeneration power and water desalination facility to a power plant only, providing flexible reserve supply to support the increased integration of renewable and clean energy sources."
MEED reported in June 2023 that Ewec intended to seek interest from developers for the potential conversion or extension of the S1 IWPP as well as another plant, Taweelah A1.
A team of France's Engie and Japan's Sumitomo won the contract to develop the S1 IWPP in 2001. The project reached commercial operations in 2004 under a 20-year PPA.
Engie and Sumitomo each own a 20% interest in Shuweihat CMS International, the project company, while Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) owns 60%.
The plant's desalination units ran on multi-stage flash and multi-effect distillation technologies.
Mohamed Al-Marzooqi, Ewec's chief asset development and management officer, said: “By strategically reconfiguring this power plant we are maximising the efficient use of existing infrastructure to deliver a reliable, flexible power supply while reducing carbon emissions associated with the project."
He added that using natural gas as a "flexible transition fuel" enables the accelerated integration of renewable and clean energy projects, such as solar and wind, into the energy mix, and preserves resources.
Located approximately 250 kilometres southwest of the city of Abu Dhabi, the Shuweihat IWPP features a 1,500MW combined-cycle power plant, a 120-million-gallon-a-day desalination plant, 220 kilovolt (kV) and 400 kV power substations and a 188-million-gallon-a-day water pumping station.
At the time of commissioning in 2024, the plant was the largest IWPP ever procured.
Germany's Siemens Energy executed the $895m power generation package and Italy's Fisia Italimpianti undertook the $500m contract for the plant's desalination package 24 years ago.
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Unec wins $200m Dubai Tilal Al-Ghaf villas deal Administrator28 April 2025
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Local firm United Engineering Construction Company (Unec) has won a AED736m ($200m) contract from local real estate company Majid Al-Futtaim Development to construct its Plagette 32 and Amara residential developments in the Tilal Al-Ghaf community in Dubai.
The scope of the contract covers the construction works on about 116 villas in the Amara cluster and 32 mansions in the Plagette 32 residential development.
The contract award follows Majid Al-Futtaim Development's appointment of Unec in January last year for the construction of 130 villas across a 2 square-kilometre neighbourhood.
The construction of both clusters has begun and is expected to be completed by the second half of 2026.
Unec was also awarded a contract in 2021 to deliver more than 900 three- and four-bedroom townhouses as part of the Elan project at Tilal Al-Ghaf.
The 300-hectare Tilal Al-Ghaf project will be developed in phases over 10 years and will feature 6,500 freehold apartments, townhouses, bungalows and luxury villas upon completion in 2027.
Earlier in April, MEED reported that Dubai-based firm Dutco Construction had won a AED1.5bn ($427m) contract from Majid Al-Futtaim Development to construct 109 mansions in the Tilal Al-Ghaf community.
The project, known as Serenity Mansions, was designed by South African architectural firm Saota and Lebanon’s Nabil Gholam.
According to the official statement, Dutco’s scope of work comprises the construction of the Serenity Mansions, including interior fitout, public realm landscaping, gatehouses, ancillary buildings and infrastructure works.
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Thermal plants resurgence creates crossroads Administrator25 April 2025
Commentary
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Energy & technology editorThe GCC states awarded $27bn-worth of gas-fired power plant contracts in 2024, up 127% from the previous year's figure, and nearly 300 times the value of similar contracts awarded in 2019, which sat at a record low of $93m.
And, while the values of awarded thermal plant and renewable energy plant contracts achieved parity in 2023, clients awarded thermal power plant contracts with a total value that was 172% higher than all awarded renewable contracts put together last year.
This trend establishes the return of gas as a feedstock for power generation plants across the GCC states, following years where only a handful of deals came through as a result of offtakers and utilities expanding their scope for renewable energy in line with their energy diversification plans.
The energy transition focus and the muted electricity demand growth throughout Covid-19 and shortly after the pandemic has meant that the comeback of thermal power plants has been fraught with challenges.
There is a squeeze on top original equipment manufacturers' capacity, with the top suppliers having clipped their capacity expansion plans in line with the anticipation that demand would fall, rather than rise, as the implementation of energy transition programmes took hold.
The sheer volume of new combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) projects in the GCC – and nearly everywhere else – has also put pressure on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors, which are now becoming more selective about which projects to bid on, in an effort to manage project delivery risks.
This has led or is leading to a higher levelised cost of electricity (LCOE), as a diminished number of utility developers and investors that are still interested in bidding for thermal plant projects seek to protect their profit margins from elevated market risks.
This, in turn, collides with the mandates of most offtakers and utilities to achieve "least-cost" energy transition.
It is also unclear whether the demand spike in CCGT, as well as the so-called peaker – or open-cycle gas turbine – plants, is short-lived, as a means to address the intermittency of renewables or replace liquid fuel-fired fleets, as is the case in Saudi Arabia. Or whether it is long-lasting, as a permanent solution to achieving security of supply that will have to co-exist with the emerging battery energy storage systems (bess) technology.
Based on data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the existing project pipeline for thermal power plants in the GCC remains robust, with about $10bn under bid, $9.4bn in prequalification and over $22bn under study and design.
However, this pipeline is significantly smaller compared to the more than $90bn of planned and unawarded renewable projects.
The continued deployment of renewables with or without bess, and the need to interconnect grids, will dictate to a large extent the pace at which offtakers and utilities in the region continue to procure thermal power plants.
It requires everyone in the supply chain to adopt an adroit and flexible strategy that will enable them to meet their net-zero targets while keeping their shareholders happy.
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