Contract awards spiked in the Middle East during August thanks to a busy month for Oman. The sultanate awarded a $5.9bn of deals, mostly related to the much-anticipated Duqm refinery project. This took the total value of contract awards in August to $15bn, nearly double the $7.9bn seen in July.

August contract awards by country
Country	Award ($m)
Bahrain	270
Egypt	1,818
Iran	1,878
Iraq	30
Jordan	30
Kuwait	886
Lebanon	580
Oman	5,850
Qatar	415
Saudi Arabia	425
UAE	2852

Oman’s Duqm Refinery & Petrochemical Industries Corporation awarded the three main engineering, procurement and construction contracts for its 230,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) Duqm refinery, the largest single-phase project undertaken in the sultanate. Together the awards totalled $5.7bn, making Oman the most active market in August.

In contrast to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar recorded a drop in the value of deals let in August compared with the previous month. The kingdom signed $425m of contracts, down from $1.5bn in July. Kuwait inked $886m of deals, compared with $1.3bn the month before, while Qatar signed $415m of contracts in August, compared with $896m in July.

The UAE market stayed flat, with $2.9bn of deals in August, similar to the value awarded in July.

Outside the GCC, Egypt and Iran contributed to the spike in the value of contracts let in August, with Egypt signing $1.8bn of deals and Iran $1.9bn. The largest contract inked in Egypt was the $1.2bn deal awarded to a consortium of Chinese firms to build a light rail transit in 10^th of Ramadan City. The biggest deal in Iran, and the only one awarded in the country in August, was the $1.9bn contract given to a team of South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction and Iran’s Oil Design Construction Company to upgrade the 110,000-b/d Tabriz refinery in northern Iran.

Looking ahead, the Qatar crisis seems set to continue for the indefinite future; UK consultancy Mace says Qatar’s construction sector has yet to feel the full impact of the blockade.

Data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects indicates there are $45.8bn of projects in the region at the main contract bid stage, with another $808bn under study.

Contract awards as reported on www.meed.com
Country	Project	Contractor	Client	Estimated value ($m)
UAE	Construction of 1,296 villas at the Al-Yufrah 2 area at the Akoya Oxygen project in Dubai	Arabtec Construction	Damac Properties	171
UAE	Construction of interchanges serving the Expo 2020 site in Dubai: package 2	China State Construction Engineering Corporation	Roads & Transport Authority	165
UAE	Construction of interchanges serving the Expo 2020 site in Dubai: package 3	Al-Naboodah Contracting Company	Roads & Transport Authority	163
UAE	Construction of interchanges serving the Expo 2020 site in Dubai: package 4	Wade Adams Contracting	Roads & Transport Authority	172
Iraq	Supply and install a substation at the 3,000MW Rumaila power plant in Iraq’s Basra region	ABB	Shamara Holding Group	30
Oman	Develop oil processing facilities at the Duqm refinery	Daewoo and Tecnicas Reunidas	Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Corporation	na
Oman	Construct facilities, utilities tankage and buildings at the Duqm refinery	Petrofac and Samsung Engineering	Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Corporation	2,000
Oman	Build eight storage tanks in Ras Markaz and a product export terminal and an 80km interconnecting pipeline to Duqm	Saipem	Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Corporation	na
UAE	Work on a $98.8m mall development in the Dubai South area	Arabtec Holding	Joint venture of Emaar Properties and Dubai World Trade Centre	na
Egypt	Develop, finance, build, own and operate three photovoltaic solar facilities with a total capacity of 165.5MW	Acwa Power	Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company	na
Iran	Upgrade the 110,000 barrel-a-day Tabriz refinery in northern Iran	SK Engineering & Construction	Projects Link Contracting Company	1,600
UAE	Construct an 11-storey building that will include 287 residential units at the Marassi Shores Residences	Dadabhai Construction	Eagle Hills	na
UAE	Mechanical, engineering and plumbing works for the Fairmont Abu Dhabi Hotel and Serviced Apartments project in Abu Dhabi	Drake & Scull International	National Investments Corporation	63.4
Egypt	Build a light railway transit (LRT) in 10th of Ramadan City	Main contractors: AVIC International and China Railway Group	National Authority for Tunnels	1,240
Egypt	Work on 300 housing units at the Hyde Park New Cairo residential project	Including Hassan Allam Construction, Misr Engineering Development Company (MEDCOM), Modern Construction Company (MCC), Hirmas, and Concrete Plus for Engineering and Construction	Hyde Park Properties for Development Company	90
Oman	Provide and install the components for the planned 50MW wind project in the Dhofar governorate	Consortium of GE and TSK	Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar)	na
UAE	Marine works and the construction of a new quay wall as well as a service harbour building at Fujairah port	Overseas AST	Abu Dhabi Ports	na
UAE	Build the first phase of the Wasl1 development, including four residential towers made up of 746 freehold units	Kele Contracting	Wasl Asset Management	na
Qatar	Dredging and construction work on the redevelopment of the Old Doha Port	Joint venture of DEME and Jan de Nul	Transport & Communication Ministry	119

Contract awards as reported on meedprojects.com
Country	Project	Industry	Contract value ($m)
UAE	Dubai RTA - Expo 2020 Development : Expo Interchange (Contract No. R1048/4)	Transport	172
Qatar	ASHGHAL - East Industrial Road Between Al Muntazah Street and West Corridor	Transport	200
UAE	DIFC - Temporary Roads and Carparking	Transport	10
UAE	Al Zahia - Al Lilac Development	Construction	180
Kuwait	National Guard - Multistory Car Park at Al Tahreer Camp	Transport	18
Saudi Arabia	NWC - South Dhahran Sewage Treatment Plant	Water	71
Bahrain	Diyar Al Muharraq / Eagle Hills - Marassi Shore Residences	Construction	270
UAE	Borouge - Polyethylene Unit PE-3 Revamp Project (PO/000637)	Chemical	120
Qatar	Qatar Ministry Of Transport - Marine Public Transport Ferry Terminal	Transport	119
UAE	Private Developer - Mirdif : Shopping Mall (Plot No. 2514369)	Construction	10
Iran	Tabriz Oil Refining Co - Tabriz Refinery Upgrade	Oil	1,878
UAE	Damac Properties - Akoya Oxygen: 1296 Villas	Construction	171
UAE	Private Developer - The Villages : Residential Building (Plot RB-32)	Construction	12
Egypt	EETC - 500/220 kV Substation at Abu El Matamir	Power	80
Egypt	NAT - Light Rail Transit : LRT Line (66 kms)	Transport	1,240
Oman	RAECO / Masdar - Harweel Wind Farm	Power	100
UAE	Meydan - Jumeirah Beach Residence : Corinthia?at Meydan Beach	Construction	160
UAE	Nakheel Corporation - Deira Island: Sewage Treatment Plant (DMS 145569)	Water	24
Egypt	EETC - 220 KV Al Narges Substation	Power	18
Egypt	EETC - North Hurgada Substation & El Qusair OHTL Interconnection	Power	43
UAE	DWTC / Emaar Properties - Project Star : Phase 1	Construction	98
UAE	Emaar Properties - Dubai Creek Harbour: District Cooling Plant - DCP 02	Water	40
UAE	ARADA - Nasma Residences : Phase 1	Construction	40
Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia Ministry of Defense & Aviation - Rehabilitation of Jetties	Transport	101
UAE	Al Qudra Holding - Commercial and Residential Towers (Plot No C31-C32)	Construction	40
Oman	Daleel Petroleum Company - Well Hookups and Flowlines in Daleel Field	Oil	80
Oman	Duqm Refinery - Duqm Refinery: Offsite Facilities (EPC 3)	Oil	900
Qatar	Private Developer : Energy City - Office Building On ECQ Plot C10 Lusail	Construction	15
UAE	DMW - Al-Dhafra Air Base (MW-AF-128 & 129)	Transport	180
UAE	Gulf Paradise Real Estate - Saadiyat Island : Mixed Use Development (Plot no.C2)	Construction	30
Qatar	Qatar University - New Student Affairs Building	Construction	70
UAE	ICD - One Zaabeel	Construction	800
Egypt	APA - Multi-Storey Garage	Transport	16
Saudi Arabia	AFMS - Expansion of Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Armed Forces Hospital	Construction	43
UAE	Horizon Terminals- Jebel Ali Jet Fuel Pipeline: Package 3	Oil	50
UAE	Nakheel - 132/11kV Seif Deira Substation	Power	25
UAE	Dubai RTA - Expo 2020 Development : Expo Interchange (Contract No. R1048/3)	Transport	163
Oman	Duqm Refinery - Duqm Refinery: Offsite & Utilities (EPC 2)	Oil	2,000
Oman	Oman Charitable Organization - Financial Building at Al Seeb (Phase 6)	Construction	20
Jordan	WAJ - Extension of Waleh Dam	Water	30
Egypt	EETC - Solar PV Plant (3) in Benban	Power	152
UAE	Private Developer - JVC : Residential Building (Plot No: JVC10SMRP200)	Construction	10
UAE	Fujairah Port - Service Harbour Marine Works and Buildings	Transport	100
Kuwait	Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation - Seera Complex (1/2015-2016)	Construction	88
Saudi Arabia	Armed Forces Medical Services - Rehabilitation of Arm Forces Hospital	Construction	25
Egypt	EETC - Over Head Transmission Lines (500KV)	Power	80
Kuwait	KAPP / Kuwait Municipality - Kabd Municipal Solid Waste Project	Power	780
Oman	Duqm Refinery - Duqm Refinery: Process Unit (EPC 1)	Oil	2,750
Egypt	EETC - 500/220 kV Substation at Samanoud	Power	80
UAE	Nakheel - Diera Islands : 132kV South Deira Island A Substation	Power	25
UAE	Private Developer - Khalidia Palace Hotel at Al Muraqqabat (Plot No. 1240578)	Construction	56
Saudi Arabia	SEC - 380/110/13.8kV Jeddah University BSP (Rfx no:4000055645)	Power	70
Iraq	Shamara Group - Rumaila Power Plant : 400kV Air Insulated Switchgear Substation	Power	30
UAE	Eshraq Properties - Al Reem Island : Marina Rise Tower	Construction	39
Egypt	CEPC - Upgradation of Cairo North Combined Cycle Power Station : Module I	Power	109
UAE	Lulu Group - Y Tower	Construction	55
Saudi Arabia	NWC -Water Transmission Lines for Waad Al Shamal Development Project-Lot 4	Water	80
Saudi Arabia	Namariq Arabian Services Co. Ltd - Yanbu Industrial City : Namariq RCY Residency	Construction	35
UAE	MOID - Al Muntazi Residential Complex : 247 Villas	Construction	74
UAE	Dubai RTA - Improvement of Al Awir Road & International City Accesses (R1005/2)	Transport	52
Lebanon	CDR - Bisri Dam	Water	580
UAE	Al Garhoud Real Estate Company - Hotel Building (Plot Number : 3460762)	Construction	116
Qatar	Private Developer - Villas Compound (27 Villas)	Construction	11
Total	The full value for 63 projects across the Mena region		15,034
Data from meedprojects.com as of 4 September For more information, visit MEED Projects http://www.meedprojects.com/home