meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Tunnelling projects take the front seat

22 August 2023

The economic and energy diversification programmes of countries in the Middle East and North Africa have provided an impetus for physical infrastructure projects such as tunnels, which have become emblematic of the region’s transition towards a more interconnected and sustainable future.

In some cases, tunnelling projects in the region also extend beyond their utilitarian functions – in addition to decongesting cities and improving water networks, they embody diplomatic overtones and regional cooperation.

Some of the biggest tunnelling projects in the Middle East have historically been executed in the GCC, especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. These two countries also promise the most robust future project pipelines.

Neom tunnels

In line with its strategy of redefining sustainable urban living, the integration of tunnels is key to shaping the landscape at Neom in Saudi Arabia.

Tunnels are core components of the integrated transportation network at Neom's The Line, Oxagon and Trojena developments.

According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, about $6.9bn-worth of schemes with tunnel components are at the pre-execution and execution phases at Neom.

Tunnel projects worth over $4.6bn are in the execution phase. These include the backbone infrastructure tunnels for The Line project, which involve constructing two railway tunnels in parallel using the drill-and-blast method, one for passengers and the other for goods.

In June 2022, Neom awarded $2.7bn-worth of main contracts to the joint venture of Shibh al-Jazira Contracting, China State Construction Engineering and FCC Construction for lots two and three of this scheme.

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

The pipeline of projects with tunnel components at Neom is worth about $2.3bn. Some of the major upcoming projects include the time-travel tunnel and funicular railway at Trojena and a package of works for the Spine railway network at The Line. The main contract bids for both packages are in the evaluation phase.

Other upcoming projects include the Spine's desert coastal west cut-and-cover tunnels for The Line, which are under design, and packages one and two of the delta junction tunnel at Oxagon. Neom expects to receive the bids for both packages by 27 August.

Dubai Deep Tunnels Portfolio

In Dubai, meanwhile, the Deep Tunnels Portfolio includes a series of interconnected deep sewage tunnels and associated facilities. The project involves the construction of two sets of deep tunnels terminating at two pump stations located at sewerage treatment plants (STPs) in Warsan and Jebel Ali.

A conventional sewage and drainage collection system and STPs will be built in Hatta.

First announced in 2015, the Dubai Deep Tunnels Portfolio project has faced delays over the years. The tender for consultancy services was first issued in 2015 and was awarded the following year to US-headquartered Parsons.

In June 2017, Dubai Municipality appointed Dutch consulting firm KPMG to assist with preparing the project under a public-private partnership (PPP) model instead of the conventional engineering, procurement and construction model.

There was no significant progress on the project after Dubai Municipality conducted a geotechnical investigation in late 2017.

This changed in June of this year, however, when Dubai’s Executive Council approved the project and said it would require an investment of about AED80bn ($22bn).

It added that the project has been designed to serve the needs of the Dubai population for the next 100 years, in alignment with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and the Dubai Urban Plan 2040.

In August, Dubai Municipality invited firms to express interest in bidding for the contract to provide project management consultancy services for the scheme. It expects to receive prequalification applications by 25 August.

Jeddah stormwater system

Jeddah Municipality is also taking steps to improve the city’s water infrastructure, and is investing in stormwater drainage and management systems.

The latest project under this programme is the King Abdullah Road-Falasteen Road (Kafa) tunnel, which is being developed in two phases. Phase one involves the construction of two main storage tunnels, one 5.3 kilometres (km) long and the other 3.4km long.

The scope of phase two includes constructing a terminal pumping station, a marine outfall and all necessary online and offline shafts.

In March, Jeddah Municipality invited contractors to prequalify for the contract to build the tunnels. It is understood the client received responses to the request for qualifications in June.

US-based Aecom is the consultant for the project.

Morocco's undersea rail link

In June this year, the Spanish government revived the Morocco-to-Spain undersea rail link project after allocating about $2.5m for a renewed design study. 

The project was launched in 2003 but was put on hold after the 2008 financial crisis. It has undergone several rounds of feasibility studies but remains in the study stage after nearly two decades of funding-linked delays.

The plans involve a double-rail track and additional service line stretching 38.5km between Tarifa in Spain and Tangier in Morocco. A 28km section will run under the Mediterranean Sea at a maximum depth of 475 metres.

The maximum depth of the tunnels will be 300 metres. Each single-track tunnel will have an inner diameter of 7.9 metres, while the service gallery will be 6 metres in diameter.

The two countries are developing the project jointly through Morocco’s National Society for Strait of Gibraltar Studies and the Sociedad Espanola de Estudios para the Comunicacion Fija a Traves del Estrecho de Gibraltar.

In 2006, Swiss engineering company Lombardi Engineering was selected to design the tunnel and the preliminary studies for the project were completed two years later.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11087697/main.jpg
Yasir Iqbal

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Regional chemicals spending set to soar

    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.

    Mena energy producers have also ramped up their investment in expanding gas processing potential, as global demand for natural gas – especially from the power generation sector – rises exponentially. 

    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
    refinery complex in Jubail that has the capacity to process 465,000 barrels a day (b/d) of Aramco’s Arabian Heavy crude oil grade to produce refined products such as diesel, jet fuel, gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, benzene, paraxylene, propylene, coke and sulphur.

    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.

     

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14568180/main.gif
    Indrajit Sen
  • Kuwait’s political hiatus brings opportunity

    29 August 2025

    Commentary
    John Bambridge
    Analysis editor

    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.

    With the ability to now take on debt as needed, the country’s budget can be decoupled to a degree from the volatility of global oil market cycles. Also significant is the reported consideration of the setup of a KD50bn ($163bn) domestic investment fund that could become a transformative engine for Kuwait’s future.

    March also heralded a new mortgage law that has ended prior restrictions, bringing property loans more in line with international norms in a way that will open up new avenues of growth for the banking and real estate sectors.

    In the projects market, however, while the value of planned projects has swollen, actual contract awards increased only modestly in 2024 and are on track for a similar performance in 2025. The more optimistic industry analysts have chalked this up as a temporary situation that will be corrected when the projects now in pre-execution push through to the execution phase. More cynical observers have suggested, however, that there may be more wrong with Kuwait’s project sector than just budgeting.

    The Al-Zour North independent power and water plant phase 2 & 3 is a case in point, having travelled through several planning iterations from the point of its launch in 2006 up until its final award in August. This comes despite Kuwait’s rapid approach to the limits of its own power generation capacity – limits it then exceeded in April 2025, when soaring temperatures caused demand for electricity to outstrip supply, bringing power cuts.

    Despite all this, the award of the long-awaited Al-Zour North scheme is a hopeful sign that Kuwait is on the move once again – as it will need to be. With an enfeebled private sector, atrophied contracting industry and mounting public wage bill, the policy needs of the day are great in Kuwait.

    While the emir’s consolidation of power has given the government a rare opportunity to act decisively – with the political hiatus already delivering key outcomes that years of parliamentary debate could not – the real test will be whether a credible economic transformation can be set in motion while Kuwait still has the time to act.

     

    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
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14523293/main.gif
    John Bambridge
  • 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.

    The commercial construction sector is expected to grow by 6% in 2025 and at an average annual rate of 6.6% between 2026 and 2029, supported by a rebound in tourism and hospitality.

    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.

    Institutional construction is forecast to grow by 4.2% in 2025 and at an average annual rate of 6.6% from 2026 to 2029, supported by public investment in education and healthcare.

    Finally, the residential construction sector is projected to grow by 4.7% in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 7.7% from 2026 to 2029, addressing the country’s growing housing deficit.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14567479/main.gif
  • UAE firm begins Yemen 120MW solar expansion

    29 August 2025

    Yemen’s Aden solar photovoltaic (PV) plant will double its capacity to 240MW following the groundbreaking of its second phase – a 120MW expansion developed by UAE-based Global South Utilities (GSU), in partnership with Yemen’s Ministry of Electricity & Energy.

    Located in Bir Ahmed, the plant began operations last year with a capacity of 120MW in its first phase. 

    GSU said the project will reduce Yemen’s reliance on imported fuel and improve air quality, with the expansion set to include more than 194,000 solar panels.

    Phase 2 is expected to begin commercial operations in 2026.

    Once operational, it will generate around 247,462 megawatt-hours annually, enough to supply electricity to 687,000 households and cut an estimated 142,345 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

    Combined with phase 1, the facility will reduce almost 285,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. This is equivalent to removing more than 85,000 cars from the road.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14566785/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • 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.”

    Sources expect that the Haliburton project could boost the production of the Al-Dhara field and neighbouring PL6 field to 130,000 b/d.

    The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope of work on the project is understood to include:

    • Drilling of wells
    • Construction of platforms
    • Laying of pipelines
    • Construction of a condensate refinery
    • Installation of storage tanks
    • Installation of early production facilities
    • Installation of gas treatment units
    • Construction of a degassing station
    • Construction of other associated facilities

    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.

    The oil field in central Libya has suffered from years of poor maintenance and was sabotaged by Islamic State militants in 2015.

    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
    Wil Crisp