Real Estate Dubai ad portals exploring IPOs as real estate rises Dubai-based classified ad portals Dubizzle and Property Finder are both said to be exploring the idea of selling shares to the public in an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Dubizzle is preparing to meet with potential investors and could raise at least $500 million in a possible IPO, the […] April 28, 2025
Real Estate Value of Abu Dhabi property deals up by a third in Q1 Abu Dhabi recorded strong real estate activity in the first quarter of 2025 as property deal value grew by around a third annually to AED25 billion ($7 billion) across 6,896 transactions. The value of sales and purchases rose 27 percent to AED15.5 billion, while the volume grew by 11 percent to 3,819, according to the […] April 28, 2025
Transport Morocco launches 430km high-speed train project Morocco has started construction of the Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed rail line in the capital city of Rabat. This phase will add 430 kilometres of high-speed rail connecting Kenitra (an industrial centre on the coast in north-western Morocco) to the country’s economic hub, Casablanca, and further south to the historic city of Marrakech, serving the airports of […] April 28, 2025
Construction Jeddah’s residential canal project takes shape Construction work on Marafy, a residential canal-waterfront project in Saudi Arabia’s second city, Jeddah, is gathering pace. Driven by Roshn Group, the property developer unit of the government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the development will have capacity to house more than 130,000 people. Though no cost for the Marafy project has been made public, in […] April 25, 2025
Analysis Construction Quake lends urgency to Istanbul rebuild programme Istanbul, Turkey’s economic hub, has received a timely reminder that it is at the centre of a high-risk earthquake zone, having been rattled by a tremor of magnitude 6.2 on Wednesday. The hope is that the quake will jolt the city authorities into action to speed up a slow-moving building renewal scheme. Damage from the […] April 24, 2025
Opinion Infrastructure DP World port deal will be transformative for DRC The UAE is building economic corridors linking Africa to the world April 24, 2025
Construction RAK sets out $272m plan for ‘our version of Central Park’ Ras Al Khaimah is preparing an AED1 billion ($272 million) mixed-use masterplan to link two of its most prominent waterfront developments – Al Hamra and Al Marjan Island. The project is being led by Marjan, the master developer of freehold properties in the northern emirate, and will have its official launch later this year. “What […] April 24, 2025
Giga-projects Aiman Al Mudaifer named permanent CEO of Neom Neom is to appoint Aiman Al Mudaifer as its permanent chief executive, more than five months after he took on the role of acting CEO. Al Mudaifer has worked for the Public Investment Fund, the $925 billion sovereign wealth fund backing Neom, since 2018. He took over the CEO’s post at Neom, one of the […] April 23, 2025
Infrastructure Morocco to borrow for World Cup rail and airport projects Morocco is planning to seek loans to fund multi-billion dollar rail and airport projects as it prepares to co-host the Fifa World Cup in 2030, according to a minister. The projects include a high speed train network linking the commercial capital of Casablanca on the Atlantic with Marrakesh and a new civilian airport in Casablanca, […] April 22, 2025
Construction Bangladeshis dominate foreign labour in Oman Nearly 1.8 million foreigners work in Oman and more than a third of them are from Bangladesh, a major source of labour for oil-rich Gulf nations, according to official data. Around 637,000 Bangladeshis work in the sultanate, accounting for nearly 35 percent of the total expatriate labour force, reports the April bulletin of the National […] April 22, 2025
EXCLUSIVE Real Estate Dubai Investments plans IPO before year end, says CEO Dubai Investments is preparing to sell shares in four subsidiaries to the public and may list one of them before the year end, its CEO Khalid bin Kalban has told AGBI. The government-backed company manages AED22.1 billion ($6 billion) of assets in the UAE and beyond, in sectors including real estate, construction and building materials […] April 22, 2025
Real Estate Property market in Oman cools Oman’s real estate market slowed in February, as total deal value fell 8 percent year-on-year to OR362 million ($941 million), the state-run Oman News Agency reported. The figure dropped from OR395 million in February 2024, the news agency said, citing data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Despite the overall market cooling, transaction […] April 21, 2025
Petrochemicals China to build new industrial city in Iraq China will build an industrial city in the Karbala governorate to develop Iraq’s petrochemical sector, the official Iraq News Agency reported. Sepco Electric Power Construction Corporation, a subsidiary of state-run PowerChina, signed an agreement with Iraq’s ministry of industry and minerals to build four petrochemical plants within the Karbala Industrial City, according to Iraqi News, […] April 21, 2025
Real Estate Istanbul needs more houses as Turkey’s largest city grows Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, will need 122,000 new homes every year to support its growing population, a PwC report has said. The city will need 1.22 million houses over the next 10 years with the population expected to rise by 3 percent to 16.2 million by 2034, Hurriyet Daily newspaper reported, citing PwC Turkey. The […] April 21, 2025
Infrastructure More suitors vie for Abu Dhabi’s district cooling business KKR and I Squared Capital are among global asset managers bidding for a district cooling business owned by Abu Dhabi’s Multiply Group, part of a $1.5 trillion empire overseen by one of the UAE’s most powerful sheikhs. District cooling plants, which deliver chilled water via insulated pipes to cool offices, industrial and residential buildings, have […] April 21, 2025
Construction Diriyah awards opera house contract to Saudi-Chinese JV Diriyah Company has awarded a more than SAR5 billion ($1.4 billion) construction contract to a Saudi-Chinese joint venture to build the Royal Diriyah Opera House and surrounding assets. The joint venture partners include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting and Midmac Construction, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The opera house will be Diriyah’s flagship performing […] April 17, 2025
Real Estate Turkish property sales jump may temper on market turmoil Turkish property sales rose by 20 percent in the first quarter, but recent political unrest and economic uncertainty from mid-March onwards may weigh on the market. The number of property transactions rose to 335,786 in the three months to March 31 compared with the same period last year, according to data issued this week by […] April 16, 2025
Real Estate Majid Al Futtaim unit to invest $5bn in Riyadh project Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Properties is set to develop a SAR17.5 billion ($4.7 billion) mixed-use project in Riyadh as part of its strategy to expand its regional real estate footprint. The project will cover 850,000 sq m, Arabic news portal Al Arabia reported, quoting CEO Ahmed El Shamy. He said engineering designs are in progress, […] April 16, 2025
Giga-projects Red Sea giga-project launches new island despite PIF budget cuts Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global has launched its first island development on the $23.6 billion Red Sea giga-project. The opening comes despite the $925 billion Public Investment Fund ordering deep spending cuts across more than 100 of its companies, as AGBI reported last month. Some budgets have been cut by as much as 60 percent, sources said, […] April 16, 2025
Real Estate Egypt and Saudi Arabia plan joint real estate fund Saudi Arabia and Egypt are planning to create a joint fund to carry out real estate projects in the two countries, an Egyptian official has revealed. Egypt, which is locked in an IMF-recommended programme to stimulate its economy, also wants Saudi investors for new projects in central Cairo, in line with a plan to be […] April 14, 2025
Infrastructure Egypt hires US company to modernise locomotives Egyptian National Railways has awarded three contracts worth more than $235 million to US company Progress Rail to modernise its rail locomotive fleet. The contracts include the modernisation of 1,000 diesel-electric locomotives valued at $185 million and a 15-year agreement to supply parts for 141 locomotives worth $42 million, the US Embassy in Egypt said […] April 14, 2025
Analysis Construction Global trade war prompts Gulf construction reassessment The global trade tensions triggered by Donald Trump’s tariff hikes is sending shockwaves through the Gulf’s construction sector, leading Saudi Arabia and the UAE to rethink sourcing materials and supply chain networks. The risk of costs accelerating has risen, but over the longer term prices could temper, providing a cost opportunity for the GCC, industry […] April 14, 2025
