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Construction

Construction news, real estate, property, and infrastructure news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis on the construction market.

Construction overview

Construction news

Delegates attend the Saudi-Egyptian Investment Forum in Cairo on Monday

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 […]

The three contracts worth $235 million were signed between US-based Progress Rail and state-owned Egyptian National Railways

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 […]

Visitors to the Cityscape Global construction fair in Saudi Arabia. Supplier competition could bring down construction costs in the medium term, despite current inflationary pressures

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 […]

Dubai sewerage sewage Construction materials loading in a large sewer line and tunnel in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Dubai takes step forward on $22bn sewage tunnel network

Dubai Municipality has issued a request for proposals for the first two contracts of the $22 billion Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels (DSST) project, according to a Dubai utilities official. The project aims to modernise Dubai’s sewerage system and has an estimated initial capital expenditure of AED30 billion ($8 billion) and a total lifecycle cost of […]

Middle East buyers account for a greater proportion of foreign interest in UK property, but overall interest is falling

Middle East buyers’ share of UK property demand grows

Prospective buyers from the Arabian Gulf and the wider Middle East are taking up a larger share of total international interest in UK real estate, the property broker Hamptons has found.  However, total overseas demand for property in the British Isles appears to be falling, Hamptons said. International applicants as a share of the total […]

Egypt’s minister of planning, economic development and international cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, signs new development projects with France

Egypt secures France and EU funds to build infrastructure

Egypt has signed agreements with France and the European Union (EU) worth €262 million ($290 million) to support its infrastructure projects. The agreements were signed this week during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Egypt, local media reported. Cairo signed €132 million financing and grant agreements with the EU and the French Development […]

Construction in Dubai. Two-thirds of the 176,737 homes bought in the emirate last year were off plan

Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan

A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […]

A construction site in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is preparing to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup

Oil price raises $1 trillion question for Saudi Arabia

Questions are being raised about the long-term future of Saudi Arabia’s trillion-dollar infrastructure strategy as oil prices hit a four-year low and global stock markets tumble, according to economists. For the world’s second-largest oil producer, much depends on the trajectory of crude prices. The price of Brent crude has fallen by about 13 percent to […]

Observers say property is becoming more affordable in Oman

Oman mortgages surged last year on falling property prices

The value of mortgage transactions in Oman surged by almost half last year as declining property prices and marginally lower interest rates pulled in first time and other buyers, including from the UAE and around the Gulf. The total value of mortgages – from a total of 20,680 agreements – rose 46 percent to OR […]

Satish Sanpal: 'Luck might place you at the foot of the ladder, but without hard work you won’t climb very far'

60 seconds with Satish Sanpal, chairman of ANAX Holding

Satish Sanpal established ANAX Holding in Dubai in 2018 as a diversified investment entity. Today, ANAX Holding operates across multiple sectors, including real estate development, hospitality and financial services. ANAX Developments, one of its key subsidiaries, has emerged as a prominent real estate developer in Dubai, delivering high-demand projects across the city. What one piece […]

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A luxury villa at the Palm Jumeirah. In February 3,679 villas were sold in Dubai

Dubai villa sales double in February

Dubai villa sales, many of which were off-plan, doubled in February this year compared to the same month in 2024, helping to drive rapid growth in the emirate’s property market, according to a market survey. February property sales in Dubai totalled $14 billion – a 40 percent increase on February last year, according to real […]

Review deals latest blow to Sidara’s takeover of John Wood

UAE construction consultancy Sidara is facing another setback in its planned takeover of British oil services firm John Wood Group, which this week said it had to restate its financial results and probably suspend its shares after a review found information had been withheld from auditors. Dubai-based Sidara, formerly Dar Global, was in discussions last […]

Rising property prices in Turkey and the allure of golden visa programmes are driving many Turks to buy homes abroad

Golden visa lure draws Turks to Dubai real estate

An increasing number of Turkish citizens are investing in real estate overseas, with Dubai and Greece emerging as top destinations, according to a news report. Last year, Turks spent more than $2.5 billion, up 21 percent year on year, in foreign property purchases, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing central bank data. In January 2025 alone, […]

Person, Worker, Gate

Next phase of Jordan-Iraq power link due by late July

The second phase of a Jordan-Iraq electricity interconnection project is set for completion by the end of July, a news report has said. Almost 95 percent of the project’s civil works have been finalised, with installation of electrical equipment and essential testing remaining, Jordan News Agency reported citing Sufyan Batayneh, director general of the state-run […]

Turkey's transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said the government is close to securing funding for the railway

Turkey to tender rail project under Development Road plan

Turkey plans to float a tender for a new rail project that is part of the Development Road Project, a new freight link planned between Asia and Europe, according to a news report. The tender will be issued in the coming months, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu. Ankara is […]

Aldar's headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The real-estate developer says Abu Dhabi's foreign buyers are mainly from the UK, Russia, China and India

Foreign buyers fuel Abu Dhabi real estate growth

Increased interest from international buyers is helping to fuel the growth of Abu Dhabi’s real estate market. Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s largest real estate developer, reported a sales increase of 20 percent in 2024, with much of this growth down to foreign buyers, the company’s CEO says . Aldar’s value of sales to foreigners residing […]

A family strolls in Dubai Marina, developed by Emaar. The company's shares are up 5.5% on the DFM this year

Emaar’s overseas units struggle to match home gains

Dubai real estate developer Emaar Properties is doing well at home but its international operations – notably in India – are more chequered. Last year, Emaar posted a near 50 percent increase in earnings to AED5 billion ($1.4 billion). Its shares on the Dubai Financial Market are up 5.5 percent so far this year. By […]

Modon was appointed master developer for the Ras El Hekma mega development in 2024. The industrial zone is expected to generate 20,000 jobs

Modon to build industrial zone near Egypt’s Ras El Hekma

A joint venture between Abu Dhabi-listed Modon Holding and Egypt’s Elsewedy Industrial Development is planning to build a new industrial zone near the $35-billion Ras El Hekma megaproject. The two companies have signed a letter of intent for the project, state-run news agency Wam reported. The 10 million sq m new industrial zone, located south […]

Mubadala and California State Teachers’ Retirement System have invested $215m between them into 3650 Capital

Mubadala puts more money in US commercial lender

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company has increased its investment in 3650 Capital, a US commercial real estate lender. The UAE sovereign fund and California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), a pension fund, two existing investors, have invested $215 million to allow the US lender to broaden its investment products, 3650 Capital said in a statement. […]

Many workers in Saudi Arabia are seeking a return to more structured corporate environments, even if it means sacrificing salary and benefits, one expert says

Saudi jobs growth ‘likely to halve’ as PIF reins in spending

Employment growth in Saudi Arabia will halve by 2026 as the kingdom reins in spending and focuses on delivering Vision 2030 projects, recruitment and real estate specialists are saying. Growth in recruitment for jobs in the Saudi economy, after hitting a high of nearly 10 percent in 2022, will slow to 3 percent by 2026, […]

Tabreed's possible bid comes after it was awarded the concession last year to provide district cooling to Dubai's Palm Jebel Ali

Tabreed explores buying Multiply’s cooling business

National Central Cooling Company, also known as Tabreed, is exploring a bid for Multiply Group’s district cooling business that could be worth at least $1 billion, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Dubai-listed Tabreed is working with Citi on the potential offer for Multiply’s PAL Cooling Holding (PCH), said the two sources. […]