As Neom morphs from a desert dream into a strategic market in its own right, contract awards on the futuristic Saudi gigaproject are soaring.

The Line and other developments at Neom awarded $13.6bn of contracts in 2022, more than established markets such as Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The total for 2023 is expected to be even higher.

MEED's latest issue takes an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities presented by Neom.

Although work on site is still in the early stages, it is already the world’s largest piling project, with more than 4,500 piles reaching down to a depth of 57 metres driven so far, which at times has meant 60 piles installed a day. MEED editor Colin Foreman visited the site recently and reports on the progress here. 

Delivering such a large volume of work is a major challenge for the construction industry, and the issues involved, particularly securing resources, have been well documented. 

However, there has been little discussion regarding the unique potential that this magnitude presents.

David Heron, Neom's director of industrialised design and construction, tells MEED why Neom offers the chance to fix a broken construction industry.

The May 2023 issue of MEED Business Review also includes an 18-page special report on the UAE, and finds Abu Dhabi on a winning spree of economic projection- and recession-defying growth.

For the second year running, the UAE is headed for robust economic growth against a backdrop of far gloomier global and regional average growth projections. 

Our upstream report on oil developers, meanwhile, reveals who the top 10 national Mena oil companies are and how much they plan to spend on capacity-building. It also highlights why, for international oil firms, there is no place like Iraq.

We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the May 2023 issue of MEED Business Review. 

Must-read sections in the May 2023 edition of MEED Business Review include:

> AGENDA: Neom becomes real-world building project

> THE LINE SITE REPORT: World’s largest piling project shifts to The Line’s marina

> NEOM INTERVIEW: Neom to fix construction

> CHINA: Belt and Road woes could benefit the Gulf

> CREDIT SUISSE FALLOUT: GCC banks navigate demise of Credit Suisse

> OIL DEVELOPERS REPORT: 
Capacity building spurs regional upstream spending
No place like Iraq for international oil firms

> UAE MARKET FOCUS: UAE growth defies the global gloom

> MEED COMMENTS: 
Trojena dams face countdown to make it snow
Dubai returns to the iconic with Candy towers project
Mena countries’ generation priorities diverge
Cashing in on decarbonisation in Saudi 

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market underwhelms in April

> MARCH 2023 CONTRACTS: Region enjoys promising upswing

> INTERVIEW: Carbon Engineering in regional carbon capture talks

> INTERVIEW: Stadiums can be contractor busters

> LEADERSHIP: Shaping future cities by learning from the past

> MARKET SNAPSHOT: Top Mena contractors

> OPINION: A century of errors for the Middle East

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