Top 10 construction contracts in the Middle East in August 2022

Some of the top contracts in August included FM deals, offshore production projects, EPC deals, and project management contracts

Now standing at the starting line of the “ber” months, it’s no surprise that construction in the region has kicked off with a bang, with major contracts from major companies being awarded left and right.

Despite this, the concluding month of summer still managed to display its impressive lineup of awarded contracts. From billion dollars worth of offshore production contracts to challenge multi-million dollar EPC contracts, August did not fall short on its digits, showcasing the industry’s steady rise post-pandemic.

As such, Construction Week Middle East runs down the top 10 construction contracts of the month, with companies such as Faithful+Gould and Edrafor debuting on our list to contest other bigger contract awards in August.

Please note that this list is not a ranking.

Middle East’s top construction contracts in August are:

1. Dar Al Omran: AlShahd 3

Scope of work: Infrastructure and engineering solutions

Nobles Properties awarded Dar al Omran its latest tender to design and supervise the infrastructure work for its recently launched AlShahd 3 development. Wael Qassem, managing director of Nobles Jordan, signed the agreement with Dar Al Omran’s managing director, Hani Nazzal.

Nobles directed the engineering consultant to provide infrastructure and engineering solutions for AlShahd 3 which lies off the Airport Road behind the Middle East University. The assignment consists of a road network, water and electricity systems, and pavements.

2. Khansaheb Interiors: Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa

Scope of work: Full refurbishment

Khansaheb Interiors has been awarded a contract to carry out a full refurbishment of 105 guestrooms, 10 suites, reception, restaurants, bar/lounges, meeting rooms, various public areas, and Courtyard of Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa, Dubai.

The scope also includes the replacement of furniture, fittings, and equipment (FFE) and a project-wide MEP upgrade package. Project works have already begun and are expected to be completed by early 2023.

3. Faithful+Gould: Masdar City Square (MC2)

Scope of work: Project management consultancy

Faithful+Gould, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, has been awarded the project management consultancy (PMC) services contract by Masdar City, to support the development of the Masdar City Square (MC2) project, which will include Abu Dhabi’s first net zero energy office building on completion.

The development will underpin the core values of Masdar City via its commitment to net-zero, technology usage, and wellbeing, by nurturing an expanded community of businesses operating in harmony with the environment.

4. ADNOC Drilling: Eight offshore rigs

Scope of work: Oil exploration and extraction

$3.4bn

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced two contracts totaling more than $3.4bn have been awarded to ADNOC Drilling to hire eight jack-up offshore rigs.

The contracts, valued at $1.5bn and $1.9bn respectively, awarded by ADNOC Offshore, will support the expansion of the company’s crude oil production capacity to five million barrels per day (mmbpd) by 2030 and enable gas self-sufficiency for the UAE.

The jack-up rigs will be hired along with manpower and equipment to support drilling operations across ADNOC’s offshore fields, which account for about half of the company’s production capacity.

5. Doosan Enerbility: Shuaibah 3

Scope of work: EPC contract

$640mn

South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility has won the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for Shuaibah 3 Independent Water Project in Saudi Arabia, reports said.

The $640mn desalination project is developed by a special purpose vehicle (Shuaibah Three Water Desalination Company) launched by Saudi utility developer Acwa Power and Water & Electricity Holding Company (Baddiel), which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s PIF sovereign wealth fund.

The Shuaibah 3 IWP aims to establish the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination facility in Shuaibah, located 110km south of Jeddah.

6. Hill International: 2 Aldar Properties projects

Scope of work: Project management support

Hill International has been chosen by UAE’s Aldar Properties to provide project management support for two landmark projects in Abu Dhabi.

The projects are Phase 1 The Grove Project and Phase 2 of the Al-Reeman residences and Reeman Living.

The Grove Project encompasses the Grove Heart, Louvre Apartments, and the Dunes Villas. Located in Abu Dhabi City in the Saadiyat Cultural District, the Grove is within easy reach of several notable attractions, including the Abu Dhabi Louvre, Guggenheim, and Sheikh Zayed National Museum. 

7. Depa Interiors: Red Sea project

Scope of work: Interior solutions

$29.9mn

Depa PLC, the leading global interior solutions group, announces a project award worth approximately $29.9mn.

Depa Interiors, Depa’s Middle East key business unit which specializes in the provision of interior solutions to the hospitality, residential, commercial, transport, and civil infrastructure sectors, secured a  hospitality package within a development in the Red Sea region of Saudi Arabia. This is the second significant hospitality project awarded to the company within this development.

8. QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and Samsung C&T: IC Solar Power Project

Scope of work: EPC contracts

QatarEnergy has awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for its industrial city solar power project (IC Solar), which includes two large-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants to generate 875MW of renewable electricity.

As part of the EPC contract award, a deal has been signed between QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and Samsung C&T, which has been selected as the contractor to execute the project.

9. Farnek: Security contracts

Scope of work: Green facilities management

$11.54mn

Leading UAE smart and green facilities management (FM) firm Farnek has underscored its security credentials with a host of new and retained contract wins, worth over $11.54mn in the last 12 months.

The company has seen success in security contracts across a diverse range of sectors, including energy, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, education, residential, events and exhibitions, construction, and government, where they will mobilize 420 members to locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Umm Al Quwain to provide a range of security services including guarding, maintenance, control and monitoring, inspections, and site reporting amongst others. 

10. Edrafor Emirates: Bloom Living

Scope of work: Enabling works

Leading real estate development company, Bloom Holding, has announced the appointment of Edrafor Emirates LLC as the first contractor for enabling works of its fully integrated residential community, Bloom Living.

The contractor will commence enabling works in September ahead of the launch of the community’s second phase, marking a major milestone in the development of Bloom Living. The signing comes in just five months after the successful launch of Cordoba, the first phase of the $2.5bn (AED9bn) community, which sold out within a remarkable four hours of its release onto the market earlier this year in March 2022.