MENA contract awards recover slightly to $13.9 billion in June
Kuwait secures $640 million in June projects; UAE leads MENA with $7.4 billion in contracts; Saudi Arabia’s project spending slows to $2.3 billion; Oman awards $489 million in contracts, including key gas pipeline; Bahrain signs single $14 million contract for Qalali Health Centre
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region witnessed a slight uptick in contract awards in June 2025, with the total value of signed deals reaching $13.9 billion, compared to $12.6 billion in May, according to MEED magazine.
Despite this modest recovery, overall contract activity remains well below expectations for 2024, which had seen record projected awards totaling $347 billion.
In its latest update, MEED reported that the value of contracts awarded in the second quarter of 2025 reached $41 billion—down significantly from $73 billion recorded during the same period in 2024.
The magazine attributed the decline to reduced spending on megaprojects in Saudi Arabia, as well as a broader slowdown in project activity across the GCC, reports Al-Rai daily.
In Kuwait, the total value of awarded contracts in June reached $640 million. The largest of these was a $173 million deal signed by the Ministry of Electricity and Water to supply and install 400-kilovolt overhead transmission lines in the regions of Khairan, Wafra, and Sulaibiya.
The UAE outperformed its regional peers in June, signing contracts worth $7.4 billion—approaching 2024’s record pace. The bulk of the activity came from the gas sector. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) awarded $5 billion in contracts for the first phase of a major gas field development.
Saudi Arabia, traditionally the region’s biggest projects market, registered only $2.3 billion in contract awards in June, a slight decrease from May’s $2.7 billion.
The country’s largest contract was worth $485 million and was awarded by a consortium of the Saudi Water Partnership Company and the National Center for Privatization. The contract for the Jubail 4 Independent Water Project (IWP) went to Power China.
Oman saw contract awards totaling $489 million. Notably, Egyptian contractor Petrojet was awarded a major engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract valued at approximately $273 million.
The project, implemented in collaboration with OQ Gas Networks, involves the construction of a 193-kilometer, 42-inch pipeline connecting the wilayats of Fahud and Sohar. The pipeline will serve as a key component of Oman’s national energy infrastructure.
Bahrain concluded one contract award in June, worth $14 million. The Ministry of Works awarded the deal to local company Mohammed Jalal and Sons to develop the Qalali Health Centre in Muharraq.
