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  Entries now open for MEED Projects Awards 2026

  21 April 2026

  Enter the awards

  The MEED Projects Awards in association with Mashreq 2026 have officially opened for entries, inviting companies, developers, contractors and project teams to submit their projects for the region’s most prestigious construction awards.

  For over 15 years, the MEED Projects Awards have celebrated the Middle East and North Africa’s most ambitious and transformative projects, recognising technical excellence, innovation, sustainability and delivery impact. Past editions have highlighted landmark developments that set new benchmarks for the region’s built environment, including internationally recognised projects such as Burj Khalifa and Louvre Abu Dhabi.

  “The MEED Projects Awards are the gold standard for recognising outstanding achievements in construction across Mena, showcasing the region’s technical and design excellence while bringing the industry together to celebrate and connect over the very best projects of the year,” said Ed James, head of content and research at MEED.

  “As a long-standing partner of the MEED Projects Awards, Mashreq is proud to support a programme that is recognised for its independence, credibility and industry impact. These awards celebrate projects that set benchmarks for excellence and contribute meaningfully to the region’s development,” said Arun Mathur, executive vice-president and global head of contracting finance at Mashreq.

  Winners are chosen through a rigorous, independent judging process, led by a panel of more than 50 senior industry experts representing developers, contractors, engineers and project specialists. The awards celebrate projects across a wide range of sectors, including Building, Transport, Energy, Water, Healthcare, Education, Hospitality, Culture, Industrial, Power, Small Projects and Developments.

  Being shortlisted or winning a MEED Projects Award places a project among the region’s elite, offering regional recognition, global exposure and industry credibility.

  Submissions are now open, with full category details and entry guidelines available on the official entry platform.

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  MEED Editorial
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  Egypt to build Olympic Village project on Red Sea

  21 April 2026

  Egypt has moved to back a major new sports development on the Red Sea coast, officially assigning a 225-acre plot for a planned Olympic Village in the Red Sea Governorate.

  The site is located opposite the resort destination of El-Gouna, giving the project access to an established tourism corridor.

  The development is intended to strengthen Egypt’s ambition to become a hub for international sports tourism, with facilities designed to support large-scale regional and global championships.

  Plans include stadiums and purpose-built arenas designed to meet Olympic-level requirements, enabling the complex to accommodate multiple sports and event formats.

  To support visiting delegations and spectators, the Olympic Village is expected to include on-site hospitality facilities, including a hotel.

  The project is intended to operate as an integrated, self-contained destination capable of staging regional and international tournaments, while also leveraging the Red Sea’s year-round appeal for camps, friendlies and seasonal training programmes.

  According to UK analytics firm GlobalData, Egypt’s residential construction sector is expected to grow by 8.3% from 2026 to 2029, supported by investments in the housing sector and the government’s focus on addressing the country’s growing housing deficit amid a rising population.

  The commercial construction sector is expected to register real-term growth of 6.6% in 2026-29, supported by a rebound in the tourism and hospitality markets and an improvement in investment in office buildings and wholesale and retail trade activities.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Algeria launches oil and gas licensing round

  21 April 2026

  Algeria has launched a new bid round offering seven exploration blocks to international companies.

  The round was launched by the National Agency for the Valorisation of Hydrocarbon Resources (Alnaft), which manages and regulates the upstream oil and gas sector in the country.

  The blocks are located in the regions of Ouargla, Illizi, Touggourt and El-Bayadh. Both oil and gas assets are included.

  The blocks on offer are:

  • Est Bordj Omar Driss 1
  • Illizi Centre 1
  • El-M’Zaid Nord
  • El-Borma 2
  • El-Hadjira 3
  • El-Benoud Est
  • Touggourt Sud

  Technical evaluation of bids will cover exploration, development and production optimisation plans.

  All bids – except those for Est Bordj Omar Driss 1– will also be assessed against financial criteria, including the bidder’s participation rate in financing upstream operations.

  Successful bidders will access the assets through contracts with Sonatrach, either via production service agreements or participation agreements, depending on the block.

  Algeria is currently seeing an uptick in demand for its gas exports due to the disruption to exports from Qatar and the UAE in the wake of the US and Israel’s attack on Iran on 28 February.

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

  Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

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

  > AGENDA: Gulf economies under fire > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift > MARKET FOCUS: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift > LEGAL: Redefining the region’s arbitration landscape > QATAR LNG: Qatar’s new $8bn investment heats up global LNG race > INTERVIEW: Leyla Abdimomunova, National Development Division, PIF > LEADERSHIP: Shaping the future of passenger rail in the Middle East

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Nakheel awards $143m Dubai Islands infrastructure deal

  20 April 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Dubai-based developer Nakheel, now part of Dubai Holding, has awarded a AED527m ($143m) contract for the construction of the primary infrastructure and utilities works on Island B at the Dubai Islands development.

  The contract was awarded to local firm Al-Nasr Contracting Company.

  The scope covers the construction of roads, water networks, electrical and telecommunications networks, drainage and sewerage systems, and integration with the district cooling plant network at Island A.

  In October last year, Nakheel awarded Al-Nasr Contracting Company a AED169m ($46m) contract for the construction of the internal roads and utilities for the Bay Villas development at Dubai Islands.

  In August, MEED reported that Nakheel had awarded a AED2.6bn ($708m) contract to Abu Dhabi-based Fibrex Contracting to build the Bay Villas project at Dubai Islands. The contract includes the construction of 636 villas.

  The Dubai Islands development consists of five islands spanning 18.6 square kilometres. It features more than 59 kilometres (km) of waterfront and 20km of beaches, as well as parks, golf courses, promenades and cycling paths.

  The offshore island project gained renewed momentum in 2022, when Nakheel unveiled a new masterplan and rebranded it as Dubai Islands.

  The reclaimed islands were originally part of the Palm Deira project, which was partially completed before being put on hold in 2008.

  ---

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

  Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

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

  > AGENDA: Gulf economies under fire > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift > MARKET FOCUS: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift > LEGAL: Redefining the region’s arbitration landscape > QATAR LNG: Qatar’s new $8bn investment heats up global LNG race > INTERVIEW: Leyla Abdimomunova, National Development Division, PIF > LEADERSHIP: Shaping the future of passenger rail in the Middle East

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

   

  

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16476987/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Borouge International appoints chief financial officer

  20 April 2026

  Newly formed chemicals giant Borouge Group International AG (Borouge International) has appointed Patrick Jany as chief financial officer (CFO). He will take office from 1 May, until which time Daniel Turnheim will continue to serve as interim CFO.

  Jany joins Borouge International with more than three decades of international finance leadership across industrial, logistics and chemical businesses. “With 20 years’ CFO experience in publicly listed companies, he brings deep financial expertise and a disciplined approach to capital management,” Borouge International said in a statement.

  Most recently, Jany served as executive vice-president and CFO of Danish shipping company A P Moller-Maersk, where he joined the executive board in 2020 and played a central role in strengthening financial discipline, portfolio management and value creation during a period of major strategic transformation.

  Prior to Maersk, he spent 25 years at Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant AG, holding a range of senior finance, general management and corporate development roles across Europe, Asia and the Americas, eventually becoming group CFO. Earlier in his career, he held finance leadership roles at Sandoz AG, Clariant’s predecessor.

  Jany holds a Master of Business Administration degree from ESCP Business School.

  “As CFO, he will be part of a strong management team, leading and shaping Borouge International into a global industrial leader with scale, reach and financial discipline, supporting its long-term growth ambitions,” the company said in its statement.

  Chemicals giant

  Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc Group) overseas investment arm XRG and Austrian energy major OMV completed the creation of Borouge International, a global chemicals giant with the fourth-largest polyolefins production capacity in the world, on 31 March.

  The new entity was formed by the merger of Adnoc Group and OMV’s respective shareholdings in Abu Dhabi chemicals producer Borouge and Austria-based Borealis, as well as the acquisition of Canada-based Nova Chemicals.

  Adnoc and OMV started the transaction to merge their interests in Borouge and Borealis, as well as acquire Nova Chemicals, in March last year. In July, Adnoc announced it would transfer its stake in Borouge International to XRG upon completion of the transaction.

  Borouge International is headquartered and tax-domiciled in Austria, with regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The new company will operate corporate hubs across North America, Europe and Asia, with innovation centres in the UAE, Austria, Canada, Finland and Sweden.

  Financial prospects

  Borouge International will benefit from a superior resilient margin profile and well over $500m in identified earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (ebitda) run-rate synergies per annum, with 75% expected to be realised within the first three years, XRG said at the time of creation of the entity.

  “The company’s global reach, combined with long-term shareholders and a robust capital structure, will deliver resilience throughout the business cycle and an enhanced ability to drive consistent performance and sustainable value for shareholders,” XRG said in its statement.

  The new company has also secured credit ratings of A (Negative) / Baa1 (Stable) / A- (Stable) ratings from S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, respectively, “confirming its robust financial position and capital structure and ability to access a range of long-term financing options”.

  “XRG and OMV are committed to maintaining investment-grade credit ratings for Borouge International,” they said.

  Additionally, Adnoc and OMV plan to tender an offer to convert Borouge Plc shares to Borouge International AG shares, thereby “creating a simplified structure that will enable value creation from the new global growth platform”.

  The tender offer is expected to take place in 2027, subject to market conditions and approval by the UAE Capital Market Authority, with its timing “aligning with the new company’s future equity raise, to maximise value for all shareholders”.

  Until then, Borouge International will be privately held, and Borouge Plc shares will remain listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The recently received credit ratings factor in the impact and flexibility on timing of both the future equity raise and the planned acquisition of Borouge 4 at cost by Borouge International.

  Borouge International also recently announced a dividend payment of $1.32bn for 2025, “reflecting the company’s strong operational performance and record sales”.

  The final shareholder-approved dividend payment for 2025 amounts to $658m (8.1 fils per share), bringing the total 2025 dividend to approximately $1.32bn (16.2 fils per share). The dividend will be paid on or around 7 May to all shareholders of record as of 17 April.

  Including this dividend, Borouge Plc will have distributed $4.89bn in dividends since listing, one of the largest payout levels on the ADX over this period.

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  Indrajit Sen