The 2023 MEED Projects Awards, in association with Mashreq, has announced this year’s 20 winning and 12 highly commended projects. 

The overall Middle East and North Africa (Mena) winner and MEED Project Award of the Year for 2023 is the Grand Egyptian Museum – an architectural testament to the antiquities of the ages, as submitted by Hill International, EHAF, Orascom Construction and Arab Consulting Engineers. 

The design of the Grand Egyptian Museum blends modern building technology and the aesthetics of ancient Egypt. It is a fitting showcase for the country’s priceless history and its scale will make it a beacon for tourists and scholars alike. The project promises to be a boon for Egypt with clear socioeconomic benefits. 

We have witnessed the Mena region’s outstanding commitment to pioneering projects, showcasing unparalleled innovation and delivering technical prowess in the MEED Project Awards entries this year

A total of 19 other projects across a range of sectors won overall regional honours at the 13th edition of the awards, which was held at a gala ceremony at the Address Dubai Marina on 22 November.

Other Mena winners include One Za’abeel Tower in Dubai, which was named Building Project of the Year; the Shura Bridge and Causeways in Saudi Arabia, awarded Road Project of the Year; and the Etihad Rail phase two freight package, which was the Transport Project of the Year.

Meanwhile, the award for Healthcare Project of the Year went to King Hamad American Mission Hospital in Bahrain; the Leisure Project of the Year was SeaWorld Yas Island in Abu Dhabi; and the title of Hotel Project of the Year went to Saudi Arabia’s Six Senses Southern Dunes. 

Judging process

The announcement of the overall winners in 20 categories followed an extensive submission and judging process by an independent panel of more than 40 judges from different industries. More than 100 Mena projects were selected as National Winners for the awards earlier in the year and these schemes were then put forward to compete for the title of best regional project in each category. 

“We have witnessed the Mena region’s outstanding commitment to pioneering projects, showcasing unparalleled innovation and delivering technical prowess in the MEED Project Awards entries this year,” said Sonia Kerrigan, group commercial director at MEED.

“The remarkable set of winners reflects the incredible volume of outstanding projects in the region and the exceptional quality of the entries. It underscores the market’s resilience, and it fills us at MEED with immense pride to be able to honour the design, engineering and construction excellence of these extraordinary projects.” 

Reflecting on this year’s award recipients, Arun Mathur, Mashreq’s executive vice president and global head of contracting finance, said: “Despite having attended numerous editions of this event, each and every time I am awed and inspired by the accomplishments within the regional projects industry and the unwavering drive for innovation as demonstrated by the projects. 

“The event is a truly incredible gathering of industry excellence and every national and Mena winner deserves to be duly proud of their efforts to further raise the standard of the region’s infrastructure and built environment, and Mashreq is once again honoured to support the MEED Projects Awards.” 

The complete list of the winners and finalists for the 2023 MEED Projects Awards, in association with Mashreq, is available on the awards website here.