meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Top 10 GCC contractors by country

29 March 2023

 

This article is part two of MEED's 2023 construction contractor ranking. The first part, MEED's 2023 top 10 GCC contractors, can be accessed here. Key points include: 

> Sentiment runs ahead of construction activity

> Improved outlook for the Gulf region’s construction market is not reflected in the 2023 contractor ranking

> Nesma & Partners retains its position as the most active GCC contractor, but its total value of work this year is down 22 per cent on 2022

PPP progress spurs Bahrain real estate

Bahrain is traditionally the smallest construction market in the GCC, a position that reflects the island kingdom’s small population and land area, combined with energy exports that are limited when compared to its neighbours. 

China Machinery Engineering Corporation continues to lead the ranking in 2023 with $689m-worth of work at the execution phase thanks to its contract to build the East Sitra development for the Housing Ministry.

In second position is Sharjah-based Al-Hamad Building Contracting, which is working on $560m-worth of projects. The contractor was the third-ranked contractor last year. 

In third position this year is the local Kooheji Contractors with $449m of projects. Its rise from eighth position in the ranking reflects the resurgent property market in Bahrain. The firm is part of the Kooheji group, which is developing new real estate projects in Manama, including the Onyx Sky View project that was launched at the end of last year.

Turkey’s Tav Construction – which was ranked fifth last year as it completed work at the airport – has now left the top 10. Its position in the ranking since 2016 demonstrated the importance of major projects to the Bahrain market.

While there has been a lull in construction activity in Bahrain over the past two years, major new projects are planned, including the Bahrain Metro and a second causeway bridge to Saudi Arabia. 

The Transport & Communications Ministry has prequalified companies for the metro, which will be developed as a public-private partnership (PPP). Similarly, the King Fahd Causeway Authority has approached contractors about working on the causeway, which is also being developed as a PPP. 

Airport contractor still leads in Kuwait

Kuwait’s ranking continues to be led by Limak with $5bn-worth of work at the execution stage. The Turkish contractor remains active on the expansion of Kuwait International airport. It could be the last year that Limak heads the Kuwait ranking, however, as the airport work is due for completion this year. 

The rest of the contractors below Limak have endured a significant drop in the value of the projects they are engaged on. The average total value of projects being worked on for the top 10 in 2023 is $1.1bn, down from $1.7bn in 2022.

Occupying the second and third places in this year’s ranking are two of Kuwait’s largest contracting companies. Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading Company is in second place with $1.1bn of work, followed by Mohammed Abdulmohsin al-Kharafi & Sons with $900m. 

With Limak’s work at the airport coming to a close, these two companies are likely to return to the top of the Kuwait ranking in 2024. 

The only other international companies in the Kuwait top 10 are Italy’s Impresa Pizarotti in sixth place with $730m of work and India’s Shapoorji Pallonji in seventh place with $687m of work at the execution stage.

Little change in Oman as big projects loom

Oman’s contractor ranking has remained largely static this year. The local Galfar Engineering & Contracting tops the list again with $1.05bn of work, down slightly on the $1.1bn of projects it was working on in 2022. 

Last year’s second- and third-ranked contractors have switched places. The local Al-Adrak Trading & Contracting Company is now ranked second with $800m of work and the local Al-Tasnim Enterprises is ranked third with $770m.

India’s Larsen & Toubro is the only international company that makes the top 10 this year. It is ranked number five with projects worth $280m at the execution stage. 

International companies could figure more prominently in the ranking in future. Oman-Etihad Rail Company is expected to tender construction contracts connecting Oman and the UAE later this year, and it is likely that international contractors will be involved in delivering that project. 

Similarly, tentative steps have been taken on the proposed Muscat Metro project. This scheme is unlikely to move into construction by next year, but if it goes ahead, it will offer more significant opportunities for international players.  

Qatar numbers drop in post-World Cup lull

After years of doubt and criticism, Qatar’s construction market successfully delivered the infrastructure, stadiums and hotels needed to host the Fifa World Cup last year. 

The problem is, with that 10-year building programme now complete, there are few projects left for contractors to work on. This is most clearly shown in the 2023 contractor ranking by the local Urbacon Trading & Contracting Company’s numbers. 

This year, the firm has $1.8bn-worth of projects at the execution stage, which is significantly less than the $4.9bn it was working on in 2022.

To counter the decline in the domestic market, Urbacon is pursing opportunities internationally. The company recently secured two major contracts in Saudi Arabia for the construction of entertainment complexes. 

Other contractors are likely to pursue a similar strategy as they face fewer new Qatari projects moving into the construction phase in the near term. 

There is a hope that major schemes such as the Doha Bay Crossing and extensions to the metro will move ahead, however. If these schemes do progress, then they are likely to spend the next year in the design and tendering phases before they move into construction.

Gigaprojects shake up Saudi ranking

Saudi Arabia is the region’s most exciting construction market in 2023. After six years of planning, construction work is now well under way on the kingdom’s five gigaprojects – Neom, Qiddiya, The Red Sea, Roshn and Diriyah Gate – as well as on a host of other masterplan projects such as Sports Boulevard and King Salman Park.

As construction ramps up, logic would dictate that the value of projects that contractors are working on would also increase. Somewhat surprisingly, this has not been the case, and in the 2023 ranking, most of the top 10 are working on a lower value of projects than they were in 2022. 

This could be explained by the fact that several legacy projects in the kingdom have been completed in the past year, but it also suggests that while there is an expectation of a significant ramp-up in construction activity, it has not quite happened yet.

The top-ranked contractor, Nesma & Partners, shows this trend clearly. In 2022 it was working on $6.8bn of projects. In 2023 it is working on $5.3bn. 

The second-ranked Saudi Binladin Group has experienced a similar decline, with its total value falling from $6.5bn to $4bn. 

There are several explanations for this trend. Some say projects are moving into construction more slowly than expected as they get bogged down in the design phase, and that decision making at the senior level is hampering design and procurement decisions. Others say that the market is already operating at full capacity and can not take on more work. 

Some respite for the market is in sight. This year, the Public Investment Fund invested in four contractors: Almabani, Nesma, El-Seif Engineering & Construction and Al-Bawani. These firms are expected to grow rapidly and take a leading role in delivering projects for Vision 2030. 

Other companies are also expanding. One is the local Modern Building Leaders, which has entered the top 10 this year at number eight, with $2.3bn of work at the execution stage. Its main project wins have been the Royal Arts Complex in Riyadh and the expansion of Duba Port. 

With so many large projects expected to move into construction in the next year, there will be plenty of opportunities for contractors in Saudi Arabia to build up their order books. This should mean that the kingdom’s ranking will be a dynamic one in the years ahead. 

All change in the UAE construction market

The top 10 contractor ranking for the UAE shows a shift in the order of companies and the growing dominance of Abu Dhabi-based contractors, as well as a general decline in the value of projects being worked on. 

National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) has taken the top spot with projects worth $2.3bn. The Abu Dhabi-listed contractor has moved up from fourth position in the 2022 ranking.

NMDC replaces Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation, which was at the top of the 2022 ranking with project values worth $2.6bn. The Chinese firm has dropped to third place this year with projects worth $1.6bn. Its fall from the top of the ranking can largely be explained by it completing a series of real estate projects in Dubai in the past year. 

China State’s orderbooks are expected to swell this year as Dubai’s property market remains buoyant and major projects start moving into construction. An example is Wasl’s Island project, which involves the construction of several high-end hotels on a man-made island close to Marsa al-Arab. 

Abu Dhabi-based Trojan General Contracting has moved up from the sixth position in 2022 to the second position in 2023, with project values worth $1.7bn. 

Another Abu Dhabi-based firm, Al-Amry Transport & General Contracting, has moved into the top 10 to occupy the fourth position in the 2023 raking, with $1.2bn of projects at the execution phase.

In fifth position is iBuild, which is working on $1.2bn of projects. The company is part of Innovo Holding UK, a London-registered firm with ownership links to ASGC, which occupied 10th position in the 2023 ranking with $774m of projects at the executions stage. 

Although they are separate companies, if iBuild and ASGC were taken together they would be working on $2bn-worth of projects and would occupy the second position in the ranking. 

Another contractor in the ranking that has gone through corporate change is Dubai-based Alec. Ranked seventh with $919m of work, it completed the acquisition of Abu Dhabi-based Target Engineering last year, giving it a foothold in the oil and gas market. Both Alec and Target now aim to double their turnover in the next five years, mostly with work from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

MEED's 2023 top 10 GCC contractors 

 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10710223/main.gif
Colin Foreman

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Saudi Arabia eyes investors for $136m ferris wheel project

    7 July 2026

    Saudi Arabia is seeking investors to fund a SR511m ($136m) ferris wheel project, known as the Hijaz Eye.

    The project will be located in Medina and will cover an area of more than 33,000 square metres (sq m).

    According to information listed on the Invest Saudi platform, a database of about 2,200 state investment opportunities, the project is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy, offering an internal rate of return (IRR) of over 25%, with a payback period of seven years.

    The tender prospectus does not disclose the ferris wheel's height.

    The pitch to investors describes it as "the best destination to get a bird's eye view of the city", and frames it as an attraction aimed at pilgrims, with the project designed to "enrich the experience of pilgrims" and address a "growing need to increase cultural communication among pilgrims".

    The Hijaz Eye project is part of a broader initiative to establish Saudi Arabia as a leading tourism hub in the Middle East, and reflects Riyadh's growing push to lean on private capital, rather than public financing, for large-scale tourism infrastructure.

    Ain Dubai parallels

    The Hijaz Eye would not be the first giant observation wheel to be built in the region. The UAE's Ain Dubai, on Bluewaters Island, is currently the world's tallest observation wheel, standing 250 metres high – nearly twice the height of the London Eye.

    It is designed to carry up to 1,750 visitors in 48 air-conditioned cabins.

    Ain Dubai's budget was originally estimated at about $272m. The attraction opened in October 2021, coinciding with Expo 2020 Dubai.

    The project used about 9,000 tonnes of steel, more than was used in the construction of the Eiffel Tower, and required some of the world's largest cranes to lift its 1,805-tonne hub and spindle assembly, which is comparable in weight to four Airbus A380 aircraft.

    Despite its scale, Ain Dubai's post-opening record has been uneven. The attraction has closed and reopened several times since its debut, including a widely publicised reopening in December 2024.

    For the Hijaz Eye, the experience of Ain Dubai underlines a message that operational reliability will be central to whether the project can deliver on its projected 25%-plus IRR.

    Project positioning

    The Hijaz Eye is being positioned as an anchor for a specific strategic gap, which includes extending the time and spending of religious visitors to Medina beyond prayer and pilgrimage.

    Domestic and religious tourism sit at the core of the kingdom's Vision 2030 strategy, and the numbers underline why Medina, rather than a leisure hub like Riyadh or Jeddah, is a logical testing ground for private-capital tourism infrastructure.

    In 2025, Saudi Arabia's Tourism Ministry recorded 14 million overseas visitors that visited the kingdom for religious purposes, roughly twice the number of leisure travellers and seven times that of business travellers.

    A further 14 million domestic tourists travelled for religious purposes, of which 6.5 million visited Medina specifically.

    Image credit: www.cranebriefing.com

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

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17576184/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Worley announces Aramco project management consultancy deal

    7 July 2026

    Australian engineering firm Worley has announced it has been awarded a long-term agreement (LTA) by Saudi Aramco to support its projects within Saudi Arabia, mainly by providing project management consultancy (PMC) services.

    The five-year agreement is intended to support Aramco’s extensive capital programme – one of the largest sources of project investment globally, across the energy, chemicals and resources sectors, Worley said in a statement.

    Under the LTA, Worley will provide PMC services, including engineering and design, project development studies, detailed engineering, procurement support, project and construction management and technical expertise. It will also support capability building for local talent in Saudi Arabia.

    Worley was one of 11 local and foreign engineering firms selected by Aramco to create a new pool of PMC service providers, MEED reported in May.

    The Saudi energy giant signed LTAs with several companies for the PMC service providers pool at a ceremony at its Dhahran headquarters on 30 April. The agreements have a duration of five years, with an option to extend for a further three years. These companies were:

    • Engineers India (India)
    • Fluor (US)
    • IDOM (Spain)
    • KBR (US)
    • Kent (UAE)
    • Sinopec (China) / Sinopec Nanjing Engineering Company (China)
    • SNC Lavalin Fayez Engineering (Saudi Arabia) + McDermott (US)
    • Technip Energies (France)
    • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain) / TR Saudia (local branch)
    • Wood (UAE)
    • Worley (Australia)

    “Importantly, this agreement supports Aramco to ensure critical infrastructure for ongoing energy, chemicals and resources supply for the domestic market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as global markets,” Sydney-headquartered Worley said in a statement.

    Services will be delivered through Worley’s offices in Saudi Arabia and the UK, with support from global offices including the Global Integrated Delivery team.

    “The agreement requires Worley to leverage its digital capabilities, including artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, digital twins, robotics and automation, digital scanning, and smart energy solutions, to improve engineering delivery efficiency in compliance with Aramco’s engineering and information security standards,” the Australian Securities Exchange-listed company added.

    Pool of brownfield EPC contractors

    In addition to selecting firms for its PMC services pool, Aramco also created a group of brownfield engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.

    Aramco awarded LTAs to the following 18 contractors for the brownfield EPC services at the same ceremony in Dhahran on 30 April:

    • Abdulhasan Group (Saudi Arabia)
    • Archirodon (Greece)
    • Bin Quraya (Saudi Arabia)
    • China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (China)
    • Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (Egypt)
    • Engineering Procurement & Project Management (Tunisia)
    • Gas Arabian Services (Saudi Arabia)
    • GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea) / GS Construction Arabia (local branch)
    • Kalpataru Projects International (India)
    • Kent (UAE)
    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
    • M R Al-Khathlan Company for Contracting (Saudi Arabia)
    • Max Streicher (Germany/Italy)
    • National Basics Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • New Horizons Contracting & Maintenance Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • Sinopec (China) / Sinopec Nanjing Engineering Company (China)
    • Technip Energies (France)
    • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain) / TR Saudia (local branch)

    The scope of services covered under the LTA for brownfield EPC contractors includes the following activities across the kingdom’s Eastern Province and Shaybah areas:

    • Onshore oil/gas/water well tie-ins and hookups
    • Miscellaneous and capital projects
    • Site preparation
    • Power, communication, control, and security projects including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (Scada) systems and remote terminal units (RTUs)
    • Project management, engineering, fabrication, coating, procurement, material management and direct construction services
    • Testing, pre-commissioning, commissioning and mechanical completion
    • Camp and office construction, operations and maintenance
    • Modifications, improvements and upgrades to existing onshore facilities
    • Fencing and general onshore civil and structural works

    The LTAs for brownfield EPC works span seven geographical zones:

    1. Northern Area Zone NA-1: Includes plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Manifa, Safaniyah, Wasit, Abu Hadriyah, Fadhili and Khursaniyah.
    2. Northern Area Zone NA-2: Encompasses plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Berri, Abu Ali Island and Qatif.
    3. Southern Area Zone SA-1: Covers plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Dammam, Abqaiq, Aindar, Shedgum and Farzan.
    4. Southern Area Zone SA-2: Comprises plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Haradh and Harmaliyah.
    5. Southern Area Zone SA-3: Spans plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Khurais/Mazalij/Abu Zifan, Central Arabia/Hawtah/Layl, and Nuayyim.
    6. Southern Area Zone SA-4: Incorporates plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Hawiyah and Uthmaniyah.
    7. Shaybah Area Zone SHYB-1: Focuses on plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Shaybah.

    In addition to the newly created LTA pools for PMC services and brownfield EPC works – and excluding the GES+ engineering group – Aramco maintains two LTA contractor groupings for offshore and onshore oil and gas capital projects.

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

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17576189/main4243.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Saudi Arabia sets July deadline for Taif International airport

    7 July 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Matarat Holding, in collaboration with the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP), has set a deadline of 24 July for a contract to develop the new Taif International airport project in Mecca Province.

    The client has opted for a 30-year build-transfer-operate (BTO) contract model, including the construction period.

    In January, MEED reported that four consortiums and one standalone company had been prequalified to proceed to the next stage of the bidding process.

    These were:

    • Kalyon Insaat / AlBawani (Turkiye/local)
    • Mada International Holding / TAV Airports (local/Turkiye)
    • Tamasuk / Bengaluru International Airport (local/India)
    • Vision Invest / Asyad / DAA International (local/local/Ireland)
    • GMR Airports (India)

    The new Taif International airport will be located 21 kilometres southeast of the existing Taif airport and will have a capacity of 2.5 million passengers by 2030.

    In addition to a new airport terminal, the proposed design features a runway with a full-length parallel taxiway connecting to a single commercial apron.

    The scope includes facility buildings, utility networks, car parks and access roads, as well as provisions for additional expansions to meet future subsystem requirements.

    The new airport is expected to meet the projected increase in demand by 2055 and contribute to the economic development of the city of Taif and its surrounding areas, in line with the kingdom’s National Aviation Strategy.

    It is also expected to meet the needs of Umrah pilgrims, as an alternative within the region’s multi-airport system, which includes King Abdulaziz airport in Jeddah, Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz airport in Medina and Prince Abdulmohsen Bin Abdulaziz airport in Yanbu.

    Previous tenders

    The Taif, Hail and Qassim airport schemes were previously tendered and awarded as public-private partnership (PPP) projects using the BTO model.

    Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) awarded the contracts to develop four airport PPP projects to two separate consortiums in 2017.

    A team of Turkiye’s TAV Airports and the local Al-Rajhi Holding Group won the 30-year concession agreement to build, transfer and operate airport passenger terminals in Yanbu, Qassim and Hail.

    A second team, comprising Lebanon’s Consolidated Contractors Company, Germany’s Munich Airport International and local firm Asyad Group, won the BTO contract to develop Taif International airport.

    However, these projects stalled following the restructuring of the kingdom’s aviation sector.

    Saudi Arabia has already privatised airports including the $1.2bn Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International airport in Medina, which was developed as a PPP and opened in 2015.

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

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17574264/main2939.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • KBR wins Iraq pipeline contract

    7 July 2026

    US-based KBR has been awarded a consultancy contract for a planned pipeline project that will extend from Basra in the south of Iraq to Haditha in Al-Anbar Governorate.

    Iraq’s cabinet, which met under Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, has approved the award, according to a cabinet statement.

    State-owned Basra Oil Company (BOC), which manages the majority of Iraq’s southern oil fields, is now expected to sign a contract with KBR for the project.

    In April, Iraq announced the allocation of $1.5bn for the project, which is part of a larger scheme, estimated to be worth $5bn.

    The wider project includes additional pipeline links that will extend to Kirkuk in Northern Iraq and to Jordan.

    Earlier in July, Iraq's cabinet approved BOC signing a ​heads of agreement and a non-disclosure agreement with a consortium of companies to explore possible future oil pipeline projects, including the Basra-Haditha connection.

    The consortium includes US-based companies Chevron and TI Capital, as well as Qatar’s UCC.

    The consortium will prepare technical and financial feasibility studies for strategic export pipeline projects, according to a statement from Iraq’s cabinet.

    In June, Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi and US Special Presidential Envoy Tom Barrack agreed to advance the memorandum of understanding with TI Capital to rehabilitate a disused pipeline that extends from Kirkuk to Baniyas in Syria.

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

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17570453/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Oman outlines grid plan for four 1GW solar IPPs

    7 July 2026

    The Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) has outlined the planned grid connection schedule for four 1GW solar independent power projects (IPPs) that will support the sultanate's renewable energy expansion through 2030.

    The projects are detailed in OETC's Five-Year Annual Transmission Capability Statement (2026-30), which sets out the transmission infrastructure required to integrate new generation capacity into the national grid.

    According to the report, the first of the four gigawatt-scale projects, the Adam solar IPP, is scheduled for integration in 2028.

    Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP) issued a request for qualification for the development of the Adam solar IPP in June.

    OETC said it expects the 1GW Al-Kamil 2 solar project to be integrated in 2030 through the planned Sadaf 400kV grid station. The 1GW Dhofar solar IPP and 1GW Mahadha solar IPP are also scheduled for integration in 2030.

    Before the gigawatt-scale projects are connected, several smaller utility-scale solar schemes are expected to enter service.

    The first is the 500MW Ibri 3 solar project, supported by the Al-Sebkha 400kV switching station. Construction began on Ibri 3 in January.

    The report says this will be followed by the Al-Kamil 1, Sinaw and Marsa solar IPPs.

    The power purchase agreement for the 500MW Al-Kamil IPP was recently signed by a separate consortium comprising France's EDF Power Solutions, Oman National Engineering & Investment Company and the local OQ Alternative Energy.

    Nama PWP has issued a supervisory consultancy tender for the 280MW Marsa IPP in North Al-Batinah Governorate, with a bid submission deadline of 26 July.

    The transmission statement says about 70 transmission projects are expected to enter service between 2026 and 2030.

    The programme is intended to increase transmission capacity, connect new renewable generation, strengthen grid reliability and support electricity demand growth across the sultanate.

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

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17564537/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall