Project Development and Finance

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Dubai skyline view from the Marasi marina in city Business bay downtown area in the UAE

The Middle East’s rapidly advancing space sector has seen a slew of landmark achievements in the last few years.

By Alexander Hendry

In 2014, the UAE established the UAE Space Agency to oversee and grow its space sector, and it has since successfully completed numerous projects. In July 2020, it became the fifth country in the world to launch a probe to Mars, and in December 2022, the UAE-built Rashid Rover was launched on a path to the moon. Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri was the first person from the UAE in space, and Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi will soon embark on a six-month mission to the International Space Station. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre has launched four satellites, and UAE-based satellite company Yahsat currently manages a fleet of five satellites and provides services in more than 150 countries. In 2022, the UAE established an US$817 million fund to support its space sector, including the development of a constellation of advanced radar imaging satellites.

Sand dunes

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is home to 14 of the 33 most water scarce countries globally, with six times less water availability than the worldwide average and less than 2 percent of the world’s renewable water supply. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states – Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman – all rank in the top 10 most water scarce countries. The water crisis in the region is exacerbated by exploding…

Riyadh Building_dreamstime_12712018Saudi Arabia’s recently announced plans to privatise several key industries in the Kingdom has once again brought the Kingdom’s privatisation agenda back into the spotlight. The announcements form part of the countries transformational initiatives as part of The 2016-2020 National Transformation Plan (NTP) to improve public sector efficiency and boost non-oil revenues in the region, and will reportedly include airports, municipalities, hospitals and education.

Privatisation covers many types of transactions but typically includes the divestiture, whether by sale or lease,…

Egypt Electricity In 2015, Egypt issued its unified Electricity Law no. (87), paving the way for market liberalisation of its power generation and distribution services. A few months on from its introduction, what are some of the key takeaways?

The Electricity Law has promised to reform the electricity market and allow for private sector participation (both locals and foreign entities) by introducing a simple licensing regime. With a transitional timeframe of 8 years granted, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), which…

PPPNew PPP Regulations

Further to the publication of the new PPP law in August 2014, the corresponding executive regulations were published in the official gazette on 29 March 2015.

The new regulations provide developers with additional information and clarification on key procurement matters such as prequalification, bid submission requirements, bid bond requirements, bid evaluation procedures, selection of and negotiation with the preferred bidder, and award of the project. Such clarifications should provide developers with greater certainty as to the…

The financial close of the 1500 MW and 105 MIGD Az Zour North independent water and power project (IWPP) in January 2014 served as the trailblazer for the start of the public-private partnership (PPP) programme in Kuwait, representing the first project under the new PPP Law. The development of the Kuwaiti PPP projects market hinges on the publication of the executive regulations to the new PPP law which was published in August 2014. The Director General of the Partnerships Technical…

IWPsThe majority of the world’s desalination plants are located in the Middle East and we are likely to see a further increase given the region’s increasing water consumption and general water scarcity. GCC demand for desalinate water has increased at a rate of 9-11 percent in recent years according to Frost & Sullivan. By 2020, it is expected that the Middle East will add an additional 39 million cubic metres per day of desalination capacity since 2010, which indicates…

The Middle East and North Africa region is on the cusp of a new energy revolution. US$50 billion has been set aside for investment in solar power projects by 2020, as MENA governments seek to maximise the long term value of their hydrocarbon resources by utilising solar energy to meet growing domestic consumption. Whilst these ambitious targets present a significant opportunity for potential sponsors of solar power projects in the region, there are a number of key considerations which sponsors…

Whilst project bonds have for some time been a popular source of financing for projects in the US, they have historically been slow to gain momentum in other parts of the world, including the Middle East.

A number of explanations have been advanced for this – in the Middle East, the deep pool of bank market liquidity for Middle East projects, supplemented by funding from export credit agencies and development banks, has generally been sufficient to meet financing…

Abu Dhabi Metro and Rail procurementAbu Dhabi’s Department of Transport has recently announced that it is pressing ahead with the procurement of the first phase of its metro and light rail project, representing not only a significant step in the development of the Emirate’s critical infrastructure, but also marking a renewed confidence and welcome return of the infrastructure development market in Abu Dhabi after several years of relatively subdued activity.

What’s planned?

The first phase will comprise a metro line, two light rail lines and…