After years of planning, Saudi Arabia’s gigaprojects are producing major contract awards. The most recent was in early January when Italian contractor WeBuild signed a $4.7bn deal to construct three dams at Neom’s Trojena mountain resort in Saudi Arabia.

Like most in the kingdom, the project is large and technically challenging. It also has an aggressive delivery schedule as the lake – and the surrounding resort and ski slopes – must be ready for the Asian Winter Games in 2029. 

The project will also have to be completed at the same time as the rest of the growing volume of work in the kingdom. 

According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the Saudi market enjoyed its best year on record in 2023 with $95bn of contract awards across all sectors. A net project value of $181bn of deals at the tender stage means more contract awards are anticipated in 2024.

With the challenges facing the kingdom’s construction sector amplified this year, the latest issue of MEED Business Review considers how the development firms tasked with delivering Riyadh’s five official gigaprojects – and the raft of other large masterplanned projects – are rethinking their delivery methods. 

This month's exclusive 14-page market report highlights Qatar, where a post-World-Cup repositioning is forcing a shift in Doha's spending to focus on oil, gas and utilities schemes. Doha is now reinvesting in the mainstay of the Qatari economy, awarding hydrocarbons projects worth more than $47bn between 2021 and 2023.

MEED's latest issue is also packed with insight and analysis. The team examines the challenges facing Kuwait's new emir, Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah; considers what impact the 2024 US presidential elections could have on the Middle East region; and assesses the effect that the ongoing harassment of commercial ships in the Red Sea is having on global logistics.

In MEED's 2024 Water Developer Ranking, we discover how Acwa Power is continuing to dominate the GCC water sector and look at the exceptional growth under way around the Middle East and North Africa region as governments focus on projects to tackle water security. 

February's issue also takes an in-depth look at how construction work is picking up pace on Saudi Arabia's stadiums as the kingdom gears up to host international sporting events such as the 2034 football World Cup, as well as the 2030 World Expo. Furthermore, CEO of Saudi Arabia's Boutique Group, Mark DeCocinis, reveals how the hospitality company is turning the kingdom's palaces into luxury hotels.

In addition, this issue also considers the role of South Korean companies in the region's oil and gas sector, examines how a power shift in Kuwait could spark an oil projects boom, and takes an in-depth look at the upwards climb of the Gulf projects market following a record-breaking year for contract awards in 2023, with a total of $254bn-worth of deals signed.

We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the February 2024 issue of MEED Business Review. 

Must-read sections in the February 2024 issue of MEED Business Review include:

> AGENDA: Rethinking how Saudi projects are delivered

> LEADERSHIP: Constructing a sustainable future

> INTERVIEW: Sustainable design is key to cutting carbon emissions

> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Kuwait's Emir Mishal faces familiar set of challenges

> CURRENT AFFAIRS: US elections set to disappoint region

> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Red Sea attacks squeeze global logistics

> INTERVIEW: Opening Saudi Arabia’s palaces to the world

> ANNUAL CONTRACTS: Record-breaking $254bn of contract awards in 2023

> SAUDI STADIUMS: Construction of Saudi stadiums gathers pace

> SOUTH KOREA: South Korean firms stage Mena oil and gas comeback

> KUWAIT: Kuwait power shift could spark oil boom

> QATAR MARKET FOCUS:
> COMMENT: Qatar adapts to post-Fifa market
> GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: Qatar's return to economic normality
> BANKS: Qatar's banks adjust to new circumstances
> OIL & GAS: Qatar enters period of oil and gas consolidation
> POWER & WATER: Qatar power and water projects to take off
> CONSTRUCTION: Qatar construction enters reboot mode
> SPORT: Qatar’s sporting vision transcends World Cup
> DATABANK: Macroeconomic data

> MEED COMMENTS: 
> Chinese New Year for Middle East projects
> Aramco maintains offshore spending momentum
> Kuwait’s cabinet needs to move fast
> Jordan water project enters critical phase

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market continues upward climb

> DECEMBER 2023 CONTRACTS: Region records largest-ever annual contract awards value

> MARKET SNAPSHOT: Saudi's stadium and expo projects

> OPINION: Lebanon’s pain captured in a call from Beirut

> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts