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Top pending projects in 2024

27 December 2023

 

This report on 2024 projects also includes: Upcoming regional projects hit $270bn

$17.6bn
Neom City Development Programme

Project client: Neom

Since its launch in 2017, Saudi Arabia’s Neom has announced numerous masterplans – among them the 170-kilometre-long The Line, the partly offshore industrial city Oxagon and the Trojena mountain resort. These projects make up a large part of the $17.6bn of work currently under bid within the gigaproject.

As the $500bn gigaproject becomes a busy construction site, the construction industry has started to benefit from a sharp increase in contract awards. In 2023, Neom contract awards hit $10bn, making it a major regional market in its own right – one that is only surpassed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.

$3.6bn
The Line

Significant progress has been made on the construction of The Line. Work on The Line’s backbone infrastructure tunnels began in June 2022, when Neom awarded $2.7bn-worth of contracts for lots two and three of the scheme to a joint venture of Shibh al-Jazira Contracting, China State Construction Engineering Corporation and FCC Construction.

Another contract worth about $1.8bn for lots four and five was awarded to a team of Archirodon, Samsung Engineering and Hyundai Engineering.

Neom is prioritising the construction of the railway that forms part of the infrastructure corridor known as the Spine within its phased delivery plan. In August 2023, Neom awarded package A3 for the mountain railway tunnels on The Line to China Construction Third Engineering Bureau. The same month, Neom invited companies to bid for the $500m track works as part of the railway network programme along the spine of The Line. The contract award is expected in the first quarter of 2024.

$4.1bn
Oxagon

The Oxagon industrial city, launched in late 2021, is a 48 square-kilometre development that includes onshore elements as well as floating structures offshore. Its port, Duba Port, is being expanded to act as a key conduit for the delivery of materials into Tabuk Province. Construction at the site is now well under way, with a team of Boskalis, Besix and the local Modern Building Leaders delivering the $800m first phase of the Duba Port expansion project. In October 2023, Belgium’s Deme and Greece’s Archirodon were also awarded the $1bn contract to complete the next phase of the port.

Looking ahead, contractors have submitted bids for packages one and two of the Delta Junction tunnel project as part of the Neom Industrial City Connector at Oxagon. The scheme is likely to be awarded in early 2024 and is split into two packages covering 26.5km of tunnelling.

$3.7bn
Trojena

Neom is steadily advancing its plans to deliver several key components of Trojena, with Saudi Arabia set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games at the location in 2022. It recently completed the technical evaluation of the proposals for the Trojena dams, and the client and selected contractors are now negotiating the commercial aspects of the project.

In 2023, Neom engaged three contractors on an early contractor involvement basis: a consortium of the local Al-Ayuni with Turkiye-headquartered Limak; Beijing-based PowerChina; and Italy’s WeBuild. In October, Neom awarded a $1.2bn infrastructure development contract at Trojena to a joint venture of the local Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting and Turkish Limak Holding. In August 2023, the tender was issued for the contract to construct the shell and core components of the Vault at Trojena. 

In 2023, Neom contract awards hit $10bn, making it a major market in its own right – surpassed only by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar

$7.7bn
National Renewable Energy Programme

Project client: SPPC

In November 2023, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) kicked off the procurement process for the fifth round of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme, issuing the request for qualifications for a new batch of four solar power plant projects.

Saudi Arabia has publicly tendered over 6.6GW of renewable energy capacity since 2017, of which about 4.4GW, or 66 per cent of the total tendered capacity, has been for photovoltaic solar schemes. SPPC is set to procure 30 per cent of the kingdom’s target installed renewable energy capacity of 58.7GW by 2030. 

$7bn
UZ1000 Upper Zakum Expansion

Project client: Adnoc Offshore

The UZ1000 Upper Zakum expansion will increase the oil production potential of Abu Dhabi’s largest producing oil asset – the Upper Zakum offshore field – to 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d). The $7bn contract for the development of surface facilities on the project is the largest single project package currently under bid in the region. 

Bids for the work have been submitted by the UK’s Petrofac, the local Target Engineering Construction Company and Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas.

$6bn
Duwaiheen nuclear power plant

Project client: Duwaiheen Nuclear Energy Company

The $6bn first package of Saudi Arabia’s Duwaiheen nuclear power plant entails the construction of two 2,800MW nuclear reactors on behalf of the special purpose vehicle the Duwaiheen Nuclear Energy Company. In November, the deadline for the tendering process was extended to 31 December, two months later than the previous deadline. Expected bidders include China National Nuclear Corporation, France’s EDF, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Russia’s Rosatom.

$4.8bn
Dubai Metro Blue Line

Project client: Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority

The Dubai Metro Blue Line is a $4.8bn project that will connect the existing Red and Green lines by means of an additional 30km of track, 15.5km underground and 14.5km above ground, together with 12 additional stations and the expansion of connecting stations. The scope of the contract also includes the supply of 28 driverless trains, the construction of the train depot and all associated works. The project was tendered by the Roads & Transport Authority after the project was greenlit in November 2023. Expressions of interest are being sought from three experienced international consortiums.

$4.5bn
Ruwais LNG Terminal

Project client: Adnoc Gas Processing

Adnoc Gas Processing is evaluating bids for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Ruwais, UAE, worth an estimated $4.5bn. This project involves constructing a plant that will add 9.6 million tonnes a year of liquefaction capacity and will be the first electric LNG plant in the Mena region. Bids for the projects have been submitted by South Korea’s Hyundai E&C, Japan’s JGC Corporation, the US’ McDermott, local firm NPCC, Italy’s Saipem and France’s Technip Energies.

$4bn
Al-Zour North IWPP: Phases 2 and 3

Project client: Kapp

The $4bn phases two and three of Kuwait’s Al-Zour North independent water and power project (IWPP) involve constructing a 2,700MW power plant coupled with a desalination facility with a capacity of 165 million gallons a day. The Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (Kapp) is currently reviewing the prequalification documents for five potential bidders.

$4bn
North Field Production Sustainability: Phase 2

Project client: QatarEnergy LNG

The $4bn phase two, scope D of the North Field Production Sustainability project in Qatar involves the delivery of two large offshore gas compression complexes that will weigh between 25,000 and 35,000 tonnes as part of a total of 100,000 tonnes of fabrication. Bid submissions are due in December 2023, and the expectation is that both US’ McDermott and Italy’s Saipem will make bids.

 Upcoming regional projects hit $270bn 

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John Bambridge

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    29 August 2025

     

    With the energy transition gaining momentum and demand for transport fuels plateauing, it is no longer lucrative for state-owned hydrocarbons producers in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region to channel significant amounts of their crude oil towards refineries.

    This does not mean that regional energy producers have curtailed their spending on refinery expansions or greenfield projects, however. A total of $21.62bn was spent on Mena downstream oil projects in 2024, with capital expenditure (capex) at nearly $7bn so far this year, according to data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

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    The region invested a total of $25.67bn in gas processing projects in 2024, and in 2025, MEED Projects puts that figure at $9.3bn year-to-date.

    Meanwhile, the surge in petrochemicals projects in the Mena region over the years has also been significant. 

    The drive among regional players to increase petrochemicals output capacity is being facilitated by a rapid rise in chemicals demand from various industries and supply chains, as well as by the fact that converting oil and gas molecules into high-value chemicals is economically rewarding for hydrocarbons producers.

    Preparing for growth

    Global petrochemicals capacity is poised to grow significantly by 2030. Asia is set to dominate this, driven by a high demand for petrochemicals in the automotive, construction and electronics industries, according to UK analytics firm GlobalData.

    The Middle East is also set to undergo an increase in production capacity, with a total capacity of 122.1 million tonnes a year (t/y) projected in 2025-30. Capex on production plants is expected to reach $69bn in the coming years, according to a recent report by GlobalData.

    Steady spending

    An estimated $17.8bn was spent on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for chemicals projects in 2024, with spending year-to-date of about $5.8bn, MEED Projects says.

    The region’s biggest chemicals project under EPC execution is the $11bn Amiral project in Saudi Arabia, which represents the expansion of Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (Satorp) in the petrochemicals sector. 

    Satorp, in which Saudi Aramco and France’s TotalEnergies hold 62.5% and 37.5% stakes, respectively, operates a
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    Integrated with the existing Satorp refinery in Jubail, the Amiral complex will house one of the largest mixed-load steam crackers in the Gulf, with the capacity to produce 1.65 million tonnes a year (t/y) of ethylene and other industrial gases.

    This expansion is expected to attract more than $4bn in additional investment in several industrial sectors, including carbon fibres, lubricants, drilling fluids, detergents, food additives, automotive parts and tyres.

    Another large-scale project under execution is the Al-Faw integrated refinery and petrochemicals project in Iraq. State-owned Southern Refineries Company brought on board China National Chemical Engineering Company in May 2024 to develop the estimated $8bn project.

    The Al-Faw project is being implemented in two stages. The first phase involves developing a refinery will have a capacity of 300,000 b/d and will produce oil derivatives for both domestic and international markets. The second phase relates to the construction of a petrochemicals complex with a capacity of 3 million t/y.

    EPC works are also progressing on the $6bn Ras Laffan petrochemicals complex in Qatar, which will have an ethane cracker that will be the largest in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world.

    The project is being developed by a joint venture (JV) of QatarEnergy and US-based Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem). QatarEnergy owns a majority 70% stake in the JV. CPChem, which is 50:50 owned by US firms Chevron and Phillips 66, holds the remaining 30%.

    The Ras Laffan petrochemicals complex is expected to begin production in 2026. It consists of an ethane cracker with a capacity of 2.1 million t/y of ethylene. This will raise Qatar’s ethylene production potential by nearly 70%.

    The complex includes two polyethylene trains with a combined output of 1.68 million t/y of high-density polyethylene polymer products, raising Qatar’s overall petrochemicals production capacity by 82%, to almost 14 million t/y.

    A JV of South Korean contractor Samsung Engineering and CTCI of Taiwan was awarded the EPC contract for the ethylene plant, which is understood to be valued at $3.5bn. The EPC contract for the polyethylene plant was awarded to Italian contractor Maire Tecnimont, which announced that the value of its contract was $1.3bn.

    Chemicals uptick

    While the downstream hydrocarbons sector in the Mena region has so far seen significant capex allocated to refinery modification and expansion projects, and robust spending on gas processing projects, chemicals schemes are set to dominate spending going forward.

    Data from MEED Projects suggests that the value of planned chemicals projects in the Mena region is four times greater than the combined value of downstream oil and gas projects.

    Saudi Arabia’s liquids-to-chemicals programme, which aims to attain a conversion rate of 4 million b/d of Saudi Aramco’s crude oil production into high-value chemicals, accounts for the majority of planned chemicals projects in the region.

    Aramco has divided its liquids-to-chemicals programme in Saudi Arabia into four main projects. It has made progress this year by signing JV investment agreements with international partners for these projects:

    • Conversion of the Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery Company (Sasref) complex in Jubail into an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex through the addition of a mixed-feed cracker. The project also involves building an ethane cracker that will draw feedstock from the Sasref refinery. Front-end engineering and design on the project is under way and is being performed by Samsung E&A.
       
    • Conversion of the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company (Yasref) complex in Yanbu into an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex through the addition of a mixed-feed cracker. China’s Sinopec is a JV partner in the project.
       
    • Conversion of the Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company (Samref) complex in Yanbu into an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex through the addition of a mixed-feed cracker. US oil and gas producer ExxonMobil has signed a memorandum of understanding with Aramco to potentially invest in the project.
       
    • Building a crude oil-to-chemicals complex in Ras Al-Khair in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. Progress on this project remains slow.

    Separately, Aramco subsidiary Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) is in advanced negotiations with bidders for a project that involves building an integrated blue ammonia and urea manufacturing complex at the existing facility of its affiliate, Sabic Agri-Nutrients Company, in Jubail.

    The $2bn-$3bn project, which is known as the low-carbon hydrogen San VI complex, is part of Sabic’s Horizon 1 low-carbon hydrogen programme that will be developed at Sabic Agri-Nutrients’ facility in Jubail Industrial City.

    The planned San VI complex will have an output capacity of 1.2 million metric t/y of blue ammonia and 1.1 million metric t/y of urea and specialised agri-nutrients.

     

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  • Kuwait’s political hiatus brings opportunity

    29 August 2025

    Commentary
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    After Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah took the unusual step of suspending Kuwait’s parliament in May 2024, the country anticipated a rush of reforms and the unblocking of the project pipeline.

    In March 2025, the government delivered on the most significant part of that, passing the long-awaited new public debt law, allowing $65bn in sovereign and Islamic bonds to be issued over the next 50 years. In June, Kuwait began moving ahead with plans to issue bonds worth an estimated KD2bn ($6.6bn) to cover its projected financing needs for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

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    MEED’s September 2025 report on Kuwait includes:

    > GOVERNMENT: Kuwait looks to capitalise on consolidation of power
    > ECONOMY: Kuwait aims for investment to revive economy
    > BANKING: Change is coming for Kuwait’s banks
    > OIL & GAS: Kuwaiti oil activity rising after parliament suspension
    > POWER & WATER: Signs of project progress for Kuwait's power and water sector
    > CONSTRUCTION: Momentum builds in Kuwait construction
    > DATABANK: Kuwait’s growth picture improves

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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  • GlobalData forecasts Egypt construction growth

    29 August 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Egypt’s construction industry is poised for significant growth, with GlobalData projecting a real-term increase of 4.7% in 2025.

    This growth is expected to be fuelled by a surge in net foreign direct investment (FDI) and substantial government spending on renewable energy and industrial construction projects. According to the Central Bank of Egypt, net FDI rose by 9.3% year-on-year in the first half of the 2024/25 financial year, increasing from E£278.6bn ($5.5bn) in July-December 2023 to E£304.5bn during the same period in 2024.

    The influx of foreign capital is anticipated to strengthen the construction sector, which is further supported by the government’s 2025/26 budget, approved in June 2025. The budget allocates total expenditure of E£4.6tn, marking an 18% increase over the previous fiscal year. Key allocations include E£100bn for the electricity and renewable energy sector, E£77bn for water and wastewater projects, and E£5.2bn for railways.

    Looking ahead, the construction industry’s output is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.4% between 2026 and 2029. This growth will be driven by investments in housing, renewable energy and transport infrastructure, alongside the government’s target of developing 10GW of renewable energy capacity by 2028.

    Sector-specific forecasts point to a promising outlook across various construction segments.

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    The industrial construction sector is anticipated to expand by 12.2% in 2025, with robust average annual growth of 9.1% through 2029, driven by investments in manufacturing and rising external demand.

    Infrastructure construction is projected to grow by 3.6% in 2025 and at an average annual rate of 6.9% from 2026 to 2029, underpinned by investment in roads, rail and ports – including the construction of 1,160 bridges by 2030.

    The energy and utilities construction sector is expected to grow by 3.7% in 2025, with an average annual rate of 7.8% between 2026 and 2029, driven by investments in renewable energy and water infrastructure.

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  • UAE firm begins Yemen 120MW solar expansion

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  • Feed progresses on Libya oil field project

    29 August 2025

    US oilfield services provider Haliburton is continuing to work on the front-end engineering and design (feed) for Libya-based Waha Oil Company’s project to rehabilitate the country’s Al-Dhara oil field, according to sources.

    The project is estimated to be worth $1bn, and is expected to considerably increase oil production from the field.

    The Al-Dhara field is currently producing 24,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil, sources said.

    One source said: “Locally run projects have managed to increase production from zero to 24,000 b/d and that’s a massive achievement – but the project that Haliburton is working on is likely to be much more significant.”

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    The Al-Dhara field is generating revenues of around $450m a month, sources said, and this money has been earmarked to fund the rehabilitation of the field and phased work to increase production.

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    Waha Oil Company announced in August 2022 that it had restarted test operations at the Al-Dhara oil field after a seven-year hiatus.

    Waha Oil Company is a joint venture of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, US-based ConocoPhillips and France’s TotalEnergies.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14565844/main5853.jpg
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