S04 TRME Annual Construction 2022 Metaverse Feature_Layout 1 01/08/2022 15:23 Page 16
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Annual Construction Review
Middle East construction industry shows resilience Photo Credit : Ain Al Maha
There are still plenty of reasons to be bullish about the Middle East’s construction market, despite supply chain disruptions, mounting costs and an unsettled global economy, finds Martin Clark.
Residential communities such as Jubail Island's Ain Al Maha contribute to growing opportunities in the sector.
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TRONG PUBLIC INVESTMENT programmes continue to drive work in the sector, with a number of flagship mega projects catching the eye, while soaring energy prices in recent times have provided further uplift to the major Gulf economies. That is good news for the contractors and suppliers in an industry that is expanding fast, and one that is faced with a growing number of other threats, from environmental and sustainability concerns to the impact of new technology. Many of the Gulf’s leading construction firms are choosing to turn these challenges into opportunities, in a period marked by rapid change and innovation. Fortunately, it is an industry underpinned
by some of the world’s grandest mega projects — typically mixeduse developments covering hundreds of thousands of square metres, launched with a broad socioeconomic agenda. The greatest of them all is NEOM in Saudi Arabia, a futuristic new eco city estimated to be worth US$500bn, with the first phase of construction set to be completed in 2025. The UK’s Buro Happold was appointed as the NEOM programme manager, with US construction giant Bechtel landing a contract to build key transport infrastructure — it has been involved in other highprofile Saudi projects, including Jubail Industrial City and the Riyadh metro. Most recently, NEOM awarded some of the largestever drill and blast tunneling
Technical Review Middle East - Annual Construction Review 2022
contracts for work on the region’s infrastructure, covering over 28 km in length, to cater for highspeed and freight rail services. The work was picked up by two joint venture groups — the first comprising FCC Construction SA, China State Construction Engineering Corporation and Shibh AlJazira Contracting Company Joint Venture and the second consisting of Samsung C&T Corporation, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd and Saudi Archirodon Company Ltd. Other Saudi mega projects underway include the Red Sea tourism project, Qiddiya entertainment city, and Amaala, another ultraluxury tourism scheme on the north — western Red Sea coast. www.technicalreview.me
