Related Articles

• 
  Preferred bidders emerge for Zatca residential PPP

  2 September 2026

  

   

  Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca), through the National Centre for Privatisation and PPP (NCP), has selected preferred bidders for the development of residential buildings at various land ports across the kingdom.

  The project covers developments across nine land ports, separated into two packages.

  Local firm Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Company has been picked as the preferred bidder for the first package that includes Al-Batha, Salwa, Al-Raqi, Jadidat Arar, Al-Wadiah and the Empty Quarter sites.

  Bahrain-headquartered Lamar Holding is the preferred bidder for the second package, which includes land ports at Al-Hadithah, Halat Ammar, and Al-Durrah.

  The project will be implemented as a public-private partnership (PPP) on a design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer basis, with a contract duration of 23 years, including the construction period.

  The contract covers the construction and management of new residential buildings and associated facilities at the land ports, as well as the rehabilitation of existing facilities.

  The project is the latest scheme in the kingdom’s PPP pipeline. In January, Saudi Arabia launched a national privatisation strategy aimed at mobilising $64bn in private sector capital by 2030.

  Building on the privatisation programme first introduced in 2018, the strategy focuses on unlocking state-owned assets for private investment and privatising selected government services.

  In a statement, NCP said the strategy comprises 147 opportunities drawn from a broader pipeline of more than 500 projects across 18 sectors.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19244076/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Egypt signs PPA for 1GW Ras Shokeir wind farm

  2 September 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  A joint venture of the local Hassan Allam Utilities Energy and Infinity Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) for the development of the 1GW Ras Shokeir wind project in Egypt.

  The project is located in Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate, within the Gulf of Suez wind corridor. It will cover approximately 143 square kilometres.

  The PPA has a 25-year term. The project will supply electricity to Egypt’s national grid.

  Ras Shokeir is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 1.2 million Egyptian homes. It is also expected to avoid more than 1.36 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

  The PPA was signed by EETC chairperson Mona Rizk and Infinity Power co-founder and CEO Nayer Fouad, representing the Infinity Power-Hassan Allam consortium.

  The signing brings the project closer to development as Egypt seeks to expand its renewable energy capacity. Egypt has set a target for renewable energy to make up 42% of the electricity mix by 2030 and 65% by 2040.

  This includes the 500MW Amunet 2 wind project, which is being developed by UAE-headquartered Amea Power following the commissioning of the first Amunet wind project in June 2025.

  Hassan Allam Utilities Energy and Infinity Power are also developing Egypt’s $560m West Minya solar plant, which will combine 1,000MWac of solar photovoltaic capacity with a 600MWh battery energy storage system.

  In June, MEED reported that a joint venture of Hassan Allam Construction and India’s Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy had won the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19242701/main1603.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Bahrain receives bids for Hawar desalination plant

  1 September 2026

  Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) has received three bids for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to develop a new brackish-water reverse osmosis desalination plant on Hawar Island.

  The tender was opened on 31 August. The plant is designed to produce 300 cubic metres of potable water a day.

  The bidders and their prices are:

  • International Agencies Company (Bahrain): BD371,800 ($989,000)
  • Bokhowa Contracting & Trading Group (Bahrain): BD411,400 ($1.09m)
  • Almoayyed Contracting (Bahrain): BD646,393 ($1.72m)

  All three bids were accepted at opening. Bokhowa’s bid was accepted with a condition.

  EWA’s Planning and Studies department issued the tender under a selected local GCC invitation.

  As MEED understands, the project is separate from a larger seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant also planned for Hawar Island.

  In January, MEED reported that Malaysia-based Sparco Engineering submitted the lowest bid of BD3.23m ($8.6m) for an EPC contract to build a new SWRO desalination plant on Hawar Island.

  The contract covers the construction of the new Hawar SWRO desalination plant, designed to produce 1 million imperial gallons a day of potable water.

  EWA received 10 bids for the project. The bids submitted by Sparco Engineering and Redaa Developing were “accepted with conditions”, the authority said at the time.

  The Hawar Islands form an archipelago of 16 desert islands and islets located approximately 26 kilometres southeast of Ras Al-Bar in Bahrain. The largest island, Hawar, is about 17km long and hosts an eco-resort.

  The Hawar desalination plant project will connect with two related contracts: one covering the construction of the offshore seawater intake and outfall systems, and another involving the construction of two ground storage tanks and the installation of water transmission pumps.

  Hawar water packages 

  MEED previously reported that UAE-based Noble Development had submitted the lowest bid for a contract to construct a seawater intake and outfall system to serve a new desalination plant on the island.

  However, no contract has been awarded yet, and it is understood that it may be retendered.

  A third package linked with the SWRO project was tendered last November, with Greece-headquartered Ergotem submitting the lowest bid of $1.92m.

  This contract covers the construction of two steel ground storage tanks with a capacity of 1 million gallons each, pumping stations, motors, pipelines and associated facilities.

  The main desalination plant contractor will be required to ensure that the plant’s design and construction align technically and operationally with these two projects so that all three components function together as one integrated system.

  As MEED understands, this contract is also yet to reach the award stage.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19232344/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Gas processing takes centre stage in Mena region

  1 September 2026

  

   

  National oil companies (NOCs) in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region are accelerating investment in gas processing and associated downstream infrastructure as demand rises and governments prioritise lower-carbon energy growth.

  Rising regional gas consumption is being driven by rapid population growth, greater household electrification, expanding industrial bases and demand from gas-intensive downstream segments such as petrochemicals, fertilisers and metals. 

  Power generation and water desalination are also key sources of demand, while new industrial zones are adding further baseload requirements.

  The push is not only about producing more gas, but also about treating it. As fields mature, a larger share of supply is sour, tight or associated gas that requires more complex processing, sulphur recovery and liquids handling.

  At the same time, NOCs are targeting higher-value outputs such as ethane, liquefied petroleum gas and condensates, to feed chemicals and export markets. 

  This makes fractionation and the recovery of natural gas liquids (NGL) central to project economics. Emissions constraints further elevate the importance of efficient plants, flare reduction schemes and integrated gas-gathering networks.

  Investment accelerates

  The multibillion-dollar projects planned and under way in the region illustrate the scale of investment flowing into gas processing infrastructure. 

  Saudi Aramco is advancing gas and liquids infrastructure linked to its $100bn Jafurah unconventional gas development, in addition to expansions to strengthen the kingdom’s Master Gas System transmission network.

  In the UAE, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) continues to expand sour gas processing and downstream-
  linked gas treatment capacity to support domestic power needs and industrial growth. Meanwhile, debottlenecking and compression and pipeline projects improve system resilience. 

  QatarEnergy, already a global leader in liquefied natural gas (LNG), is expanding upstream gas handling, condensate and NGL infrastructure as part of its North Field expansion programme. The programme will also increase feedstock supplies for local industry. 

  In Oman, majority state-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and its partners are similarly focused on gas processing, compression and network upgrades to sustain supplies to power generation, industrial users and LNG.

  
  Saudi Aramco is expanding gas-processing and NGL infrastructure as domestic demand grows

  ---

  Leading spender

  The Mena region has seen significant spending on gas processing projects so far in 2026, with year-to-date capital expenditure (capex) exceeding levels recorded in any year since at least 2015.

  Adnoc Gas, the natural gas processing business of Adnoc Group, has been the biggest spender this year, following final investment decisions (FIDs) on the second and third phases of its Rich Gas Development (RGD) programme, worth a total of $8.2bn. The FIDs are part of the company’s previously committed $28bn capex budget for 2026-30.

  The second phase of the RGD programme relates to the construction of a new gas processing train at the Habshan gas processing complex, while the third phase covers an NGL fractionation train at the Ruwais gas processing facility.

  In its Q2 2026 financial results, Adnoc Gas said China-based Wison Engineering had secured the $3.9bn EPC contract for phase two of the RGD, while Italian contractor Tecnimont was selected for the $4.3bn phase three contract.

  Wison Engineering said the EPC contract for RGD phase two is the largest in its history. The Hong Kong-listed company said the $3.9bn EPC contract, together with an associated 220kV switch station, brings the total contract value to approximately $4.04bn. The scope includes gas pipelines, separation and condensate stabilisation units, acid gas removal units and core deep NGL recovery units, as well as the switch station.

  Tecnimont’s parent company, Maire, said its scope of work on the RGD phase three project includes EPC activities for the fifth NGL fractionation unit, which will separate the various hydrocarbon components, in addition to treatment and sweetening systems to remove impurities and ensure product quality.

  The contract scope also includes a regeneration gas treatment unit, a propane refrigeration system, ancillary systems and storage facilities. Once completed in 2030, the plant will have an output capacity of 23,000 tonnes a day, or about
  8 million tonnes a year, Milan-headquartered Maire said.

  Adnoc Gas also reiterated its $5bn capex for the first phase of the RGD scheme, which is under construction. The company awarded $5bn in engineering, procurement and construction management contracts in three tranches for phase one of the RGD in June 2025, marking its largest-ever capital investment in a single project.

  Across all three phases, Adnoc Gas has made a total investment of $13.2bn in the RGD programme.

  Capacity expansion

  Saudi Aramco spent $7.7bn on EPC contract awards on the Fadhili gas processing plant expansion in 2024. The project is set to increase the Fadhili gas plant’s processing capacity from 2.5 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) to up to 4 billion cf/d through the addition of three processing trains, each with a capacity of 500 million cf/d.

  Following its significant capex on the Fadhili expansion, the Saudi energy giant is moving ahead with contract awards this year for various EPC packages under a wider project to boost gas compression capacity at the Shedgum and Uthmaniyah processing plants in the Eastern Province.

  The two plants currently receive about 870 million cf/d and 1.2 billion cf/d of Khuff raw gas, respectively. Through the multibillion-dollar project, Aramco aims to increase their compression and processing capacity and build new pipelines to improve gas transportation.

  Aramco has divided the scope of work on the Shedgum and Uthmaniyah gas compression project into nine EPC packages. It awarded the Uthmaniyah gas compression plant package to locally based Saipem Nasser Saeed Al-Hajri Contracting Company (SNSH), a joint venture of Italian contractor Saipem and local contractor Nasser Saeed Al-Hajri & Partners Company for Contracting.

  The SNSH contract is estimated at $1.24bn, with EPC works on the package scheduled to start in August. Separately, Milan-headquartered Saipem said its share of the contract is worth €900m ($1.04bn), with the EPC works scheduled to run for 42 months.

  Earlier this year, Aramco also awarded the package related to early works and site preparation to local firm Al-Shalawi International Company Trading & Contracting.

  The Shedgum and Uthmaniyah gas compression project will support Aramco’s target of increasing gas production and processing capacity by 80% by 2030, from a 2021 baseline.

  In Oman, PDO also moved ahead this year with a project to expand the Birba gas station in Dhofar Governorate. Known as the Budour-Northeast Birba integrated project, it will add units to enable the station to process additional volumes of sour gas.

  PDO awarded the EPC works on the project to Egypt’s Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries (Enppi), with the contract valued at $355m.

  Future pipeline

  Looking ahead, the Mena region has a gas processing pipeline worth at least $10.5bn, with planned projects in Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Libya and Algeria at various stages of development.

  Aramco is expected to award the EPC contract for the other main component of the Shedgum and Uthmaniyah gas compression project, the Shedgum gas compression package, later this year, after several weeks of discussions with bidders.

  The project operator is also in advanced negotiations with frontrunners for the project’s two main pipeline packages and is expected to issue the EPC contracts in the third quarter of this year.

  Meanwhile, state energy conglomerate OQ Group is planning to build an NGL facility at Saih Nihayda in central Oman that will extract condensates and transport them to Duqm on the sultanate’s Arabian Sea coast for fractionation and export.

  OQ plans to deliver the project using a front-end engineering and design-to-EPC model and is in the process of evaluating the proposals it has received from shortlisted contractors. A main contract award is expected by the end of this year.

  Adnoc Gas is expected to re-emerge as a top spender on gas processing when it takes a FID on its estimated $8bn Bab gas cap development project.

  The project aims to build a gas processing plant and associated pipeline networks and ancillary units in the Bab area, about 170 kilometres from the city of Abu Dhabi. The planned facility will process up to 1.85 billion cf/d of additional raw gas once Adnoc Gas’ parent company, Adnoc Group, starts production from the onshore Bab gas cap reservoirs.

  Adnoc Gas has divided the EPC scope on the Bab gas cap development project into four main packages, which are in different stages of tendering.

  Regional gas processing capex is likely to remain robust through the remainder of the decade as NOCs seek to meet growing domestic demand, support industrial development and improve the efficiency of their gas networks.

  Further awards are expected for gas treatment trains, sulphur units, NGL recovery, gas compression and pipeline infrastructure, particularly where projects support petrochemical integration, reduce flaring and increase domestic gas supplies.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19230897/main.gif

  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Lowest bidder emerges for Bahrain reclamation consultancy

  1 September 2026

  Bahrain’s Ministry of Works has received five bids for an engineering and quantity surveying consultancy contract related to the Salman Industrial City and Bahrain Logistics Zone reclamation works project.

  According to results published by the Bahrain Tender Board, Kuwaiti firm Dar SSH International Engineering Consultants submitted the lowest offer at BD778,580 ($2.07m).

  The other bidders and their prices are:

  • Aecom – $2.2m (US) 
  • Ansari Engineering Services – $2.3m (local)  
  • Millet Engineering Bureau – $2.4m (local)
  • Ayesa – $2.8m (Spain)

  The consultancy tender was issued on 14 July, with submissions closing on 30 August.

  The project comprises the reclamation of about 1.13 million square metres (sq m) of land using roughly 9.67 million cubic metres of fill, together with rock revetment edge protection works at a site along Avenue 13 near Khalifa Bin Salman Port.

  The consultancy scope covers pre- and post-contract engineering and quantity surveying services for the reclamation package.

  After the reclamation works are completed, the site will be handed over to the Bahrain Ministry of Industry & Commerce.

  According to GlobalData, Bahrain’s construction industry output is expected to grow by 3.4% in real terms this year, supported by developments in commercial and energy and utilities projects, as well as increased foreign direct investment.

  The infrastructure construction sector is expected to grow by 6% in 2024 and to register average annual growth of 4% in 2025-28, driven by the government’s efforts to upgrade the country’s transport infrastructure.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19229897/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal