Analysis Construction Leaders of The Line share vision of a brave new world Its managers and designers say it is the human society of the future, but others might see in it a dystopian vision of life shielded in a glass box from an uninhabitable world. Leading figures behind the Neom city The Line – the boldest of Saudi Arabia’s $1.25 trillion giga-projects – made a coordinated pitch […] November 15, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Building more homes a better strategy for Kuwait, say experts Kuwait has tightened property ownership restrictions on non-GCC nationals in an attempt to make real estate more affordable for locals, but industry watchers say building more homes would be the better strategy. The small, oil-rich emirate has already imposed strict standards on nationals of countries from outside the Gulf who wanted to purchase domestic real […] November 15, 2024
Analysis Giga-projects Saudi giga-projects are going local with new focus A nationalist sensitivity towards the leadership and aims of Saudi Arabia’s massive giga-projects is slowly taking hold, as foreign CEOs are swapped out for locals and the government makes a stronger push on housing for Saudi citizens. Last month, the King Abdullah Financial District replaced its Indian CEO Guatam Sashiittal with Mohammed Alsudairy – head […] November 14, 2024
Construction Banks vying to fund Roshn’s Saudi expansion Saudi real estate developer Roshn, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is reporting strong interest from banks eager to finance its projects, and demand is so high that some lenders have been turned away, according to a senior executive. In contrast to this momentum, Saudi Arabia’s other giga-projects face financing constraints, with resources […] November 14, 2024
Giga-projects Neom’s Trojena to launch first apartment sales in new year The Saudi winter resort of Trojena will begin putting its first residential apartments and villas on the market within a few months, a senior official said on Wednesday, after its parent company Neom announced a new CEO in an effort to reinvigorate the giga-project. “2025 is very exciting for us at Trojena, we’re hoping early […] November 14, 2024
Construction Former CEO sues Roshn for $100m over ‘unpaid bonuses’ The former CEO of Roshn, David Grover, is suing the Saudi property developer for more than $100 million, claiming unpaid bonuses and wrongful termination. Grover, who lost the initial stage of his case against the state-owned company in October, has appealed to a higher court in Riyadh, the Financial Times reports. Grover alleges that Roshn […] November 13, 2024
Construction US hardwood all the rage as UAE imports rise The UAE’s imports of US hardwood have spiked dramatically in the first three quarters of this year amid the construction boom in the emirates and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, as well as GCC consumers’ current preference for oak and walnut finishes. The value of American hardwood lumber sold in the UAE rose from approximately $9.5 million […] November 13, 2024
Video length: 06:30 VIDEO Real Estate Minister trumpets Saudi Arabia’s $168bn housing push Real estate transactions in Saudi Arabia have totalled $168 billion so far this year, the Saudi minister of municipalities and housing, Majed Al Hogail, told a real estate forum in Riyadh this week. Speaking at the Cityscape exhibition, which is trying to promote Riyadh-centred giga-projects, the minister said that Saudi Arabia is pushing to finish […] November 13, 2024
Infrastructure Saudi Arabia announces winning bidders for water pipeline State-backed Saudi Water Partnership Company expects commercial operations at its Jubail-Buraydah independent water pipeline project to start in the first quarter of 2029. The plan follows its announcement about the preferred and reserve bidders for the water project. A Saudi consortium, comprising Al Jomaih Energy & Water Company, Nesma Company and Buhur for Investment Company, […] November 13, 2024
Video length: 06:30 VIDEO Giga-projects Neom replaces CEO in bid to move past negative headlines Saudi megacity Neom has replaced its CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr in an apparent effort to boost the kingdom’s highest-profile giga-project after a string of delays. Aiman Al Mudaifer has been appointed “acting CEO of the company”, Neom said in a statement on Tuesday. “Al Mudaifer assumes the leadership of Neom following Nadhmi Al Nasr’s departure.” […] November 12, 2024
Construction Emaar revenue surges 30% on strong property sales Revenues of Emaar Properties, Dubai’s largest listed real estate company, rose 30 percent year on year in the first nine months of 2024, driven by growth in property sales. The top line reached AED23.8 billion ($6.5 billion), up from AED18.4 billion a year earlier. Property sales hit AED50 billion in the first nine months of […] November 12, 2024
Construction RAK Properties revenue up 30% on new project launches RAK Properties reported a 30 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to AED891 million ($242.6 million) in the first nine months of 2024. The top line growth was supported by Mina Al Arab’s project portfolio expansion across residential, commercial and hospitality projects. Net profit rose to AED133.4 million in the first nine months, up 21 percent, […] November 10, 2024
Analysis Tax Buoyant property market puts billions in Dubai’s coffers Dubai authorities have recorded a five-fold surge in the sums they earn from fees related to real estate transactions over the past five years to almost $4 billion, as the emirate’s property market grows stronger and prices rise sharply, AGBI has calculated. The transfer fee, payable to the Dubai Land Department (DLD) upon a sale, […] November 8, 2024
Real Estate Kingdom Holding’s profit rises 36% to $319m Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), founded by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and the developer behind what will be the tallest tower in the world, said nine-month 2024 net profit jumped 36 percent to SAR1.2 billion ($319.4 million) from SAR856 million a year ago. The higher profit was driven by an increase in the share […] November 7, 2024
Real Estate Real-estate growth pushes IHC revenue up by 49% Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC) said revenue surged 49 percent year on year for the first nine months of 2024 to AED64 billion ($17.4 billion), supported by the real estate and construction segment. The segment’s growth was driven by an increase in Aldar’s revenue from strong property development sales, higher income from acquisitions […] November 7, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Business of Sport Roshn seeks contractors for Riyadh World Cup stadium Saudi real estate developer Roshn is inviting expressions of interest from international and local contractors for its 45,000-seat football stadium in Riyadh. Iain McBride, Roshn’s head of commercial, said the Public Investment Fund subsidiary was actively seeking partners “very early in the process” to help “de-risk” the project. “What we don’t want is to design, […] November 6, 2024
Energy Saudi Electricity Q3 profit rises as revenue jumps 18% Saudi Electricity Company, 75 percent-owned by the sovereign Public Investment Fund, reported an 18 percent year-on-year growth in net profit to SAR6.9 billion ($1.84 billion). Revenue jumped 18 percent to SAR28.3 billion from SAR23.8 billion a year ago driven by an increase in electricity production revenue. There was also continued growth in the subscriber base and […] November 6, 2024
Infrastructure Suez Canal Economic Zone plans $3bn investment Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ) plans to invest $3 billion on infrastructure over the next few years to attract new investors, chairman Waleid Gamal El-Dein said. “We have been able to attract more than $6.3 billion of investments in various sectors and logistics and ports,” he told Reuters, expecting the number of projects to […] November 6, 2024
Infrastructure Muscat maps out its future development plans Muscat is set to approve a plan that will create a central 55km spine where much of the future development of the Omani capital city will take place. The city is predicted to double in size by 2040. The Greater Muscat Structure Plan, awaiting approval at cabinet level, provides a map of where future growth […] November 6, 2024
Economy Saudi Arabia’s deficit rises again as oil output cuts bite Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit was SAR58 billion ($15.5 billion) in the first nine months of 2024, rising by SAR30 billion in the third quarter alone and confirming predictions of a funding crunch for the country’s giga-projects. The finance ministry said in October that it expects to post an overall deficit of SAR118 billion this year […] November 5, 2024
Telecoms First Saudi Arabia-to-Egypt subsea cable announced Mobily and Telecom Egypt have signed an agreement to lay the first subsea cable between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the companies announced in a joint press statement on Monday. The new cable will connect the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh with the Saudi city of Duba. Egypt already has landing points for 18 […] November 5, 2024
Construction Huge demand for workers’ accommodation in RAK Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is adding 40,000 rooms for blue-collar worker accommodation in the next five years, fuelled by the multi-billion dollar Wynn Resorts casino development and thriving construction sector. More than 10,000 rooms have been “fast-tracked” in the last nine months alone, according to Ramy Jallad, group CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone […] November 4, 2024
