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  • Simplex secures $13 million to propel Saudi expansion

    Simplex, a rising startup in the field of CNC machine manufacturing, secures $13 million as part of Saudi efforts to support and localise advanced industries within the Kingdom. Simplex will use the fund to open a huge factory, which is set to be built on a 20,000 square meter site in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and will be dedicated to producing advanced CNC machines. Simplex signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia's National Industrial Development Centre to establish the company's first factory within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

  • Saudi Arabian team to standardise use of seawater in concrete production

    A team led by Saudi Arabian developer Neom has announced plans to research new forms of concrete, including ones that incorporate seawater, plastics, fine sand and construction waste. The NovusCrete consortium will look for ways to reduce the environmental impact of concrete, and also to cut costs and increase its lifespan and ease of recycling. Other members of the team include the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, the Saudi Investment Recycling Company, Swiss chemicals producer Sika and US-based concrete researcher ClimateCrete. They will also work alongside the American Concrete Institute, which has established a committee for the use of seawater in concrete.

       

  • Qatar approves memorandum on nuclear safety cooperation with Saudi Arabia

    The Qatari Cabinet has approved a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in nuclear safety and radiation protection between its Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission. This decision was made during the Cabinet’s regular meeting yesterday morning, chaired by Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to the Qatar News Agency (QNA). In 2006, the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decided to conduct a joint study on the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including electricity generation and water desalination. The six GCC countries agreed to carry out an initial feasibility study, followed by a detailed assessment and an implementation plan. The results of the detailed study, completed in 2010, confirmed the technical and economic feasibility of establishing a joint nuclear power plant.

  • KBR Scores Contract to Support Saudi Energy Future

    Global engineering specialist KBR Inc. has booked a contract to support a sustainable production of energy resources in Saudi Arabia. KBR said in a media release it will contribute to the delivery of Aramco’s Master Expansion Program and increase gas handling capacity at key regional locations. The agreement will see KBR assist efforts to increase and maintain the maximum sustainable capacity across the Shaybah field's four Gas-Oil Separation Plants (GOSPs) through 2028. It said it will also support the operation of power plant and well injection facilities. The project prioritizes sustainability by integrating carbon-free energy alternatives, carbon capture, and gas reinjection to reduce emissions, optimizing existing equipment and GOSP plot space, and evaluating a greenfield facility to enhance resource efficiency while supporting Saudi Aramco’s 2060 net-zero goals, KBR said.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Construction Boom: $71.5 Billion in Projects Awarded in 2024

    Saudi Arabia’s construction sector is experiencing a significant surge.  The Kingdom awarded a staggering 314 public projects in 2024. These projects total approximately 267.8 billion Saudi riyals ($71.5 billion USD). This marks the highest annual project value since the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.  The Saudi Contractors Authority (SCA) released these impressive figures.  The SCA represents a majority of construction firms within the Gulf Kingdom. April witnessed the highest project value, reaching SAR57.4 billion ($15.3 billion). January followed with projects worth SAR36.8 billion ($9.8 billion). In December, the government awarded 11 projects totaling about SAR10.5 billion ($2.8 billion). One project from December will complete in 2025, two in 2026, six in 2027, and two in 2030.

  • Saudi Arabia launches water and sanitation projects worth USD 1.2 billion

    Among the key projects, the Saudi Water Authority (SWA) will implement SAR 1.3 billion (about USD 346 million) in infrastructure upgrades, including technology replacements at Shuqaiq 1 desalination plant, as well as new security systems and water transport systems. The National Water Company (NWC) is investing SAR 607 million (about USD 162 million) in 20 water and sanitation projects in the Jazan region, improving supply networks and implementing advanced wastewater treatment plants. Additionally, SAR 48 million (about USD 13 million) will be allocated to three projects by the National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification.

  • Opinion: How Donald Trump Should Deal With Saudi Arabia

    Trump and MBS are prepared to pick up where they left off. The two view each other as force multipliers for their respective agendas. Trump looks at the Saudi crown prince and sees a high net-worth individual who could throw a gargantuan amount of petrodollars into the American economy. In Trump, MBS spots a transactional businessman who couldn't care less about high-browed concepts like the rules-based international order. Both men are also nationalists to the core. MBS can relate to Trump's "Make America Great Again" mantra because he is following the same playbook in the kingdom. MBS wants to make his country stronger and wealthier than ever before, best exemplified by his Vision 2030 economic campaign to diversify Saudi Arabia from an oil-pumping machine into a center of banking, finance, and sports.

  • Saudi Arabia: Stricter Exit Visa Rules Implemented for Resident Permits

    Holders of a resident permit who are applying for an exit visa must now have at least 30 days of validity on their resident permit; whereas previously such foreign nationals could apply for an exit visa up until the last day of their resident permit. As a result of this change, resident permit holders whose resident permit has a remaining validity period of less than 30 days must first renew their resident permit before they can apply for an exit visa. This new rule only applies to standard resident permits, as premium resident permits are not subject to any exit visa requirement.

  • Saudi seeks foreign capital to build global, competitive industries

    Saudi Arabia’s main objective in attracting foreign investment is to unlock its labor force to develop goods and services that can compete globally, marking a shift for a kingdom known as a source of long-term capital for western companies.The kingdom has flipped the non-oil sector’s contribution to GDP to slightly over half the economy for the first time, up from 46% before the plan was announced in 2016. “The job is not done,” he said. “It’s on track. It’s gaining momentum.” Key to sustaining this progress is attracting foreign companies and capital. That track record so far has been mixed. Saudi Arabia aims to bring in $100 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) annually by 2030, or 5.7% of GDP. FDI inflows for the first nine months of 2024 totaled $14.5 billion, just over halfway to the government’s $29 billion target for the year, according to the General Authority for Statistics.

  • Early days of Trump 2.0 signal major Middle East policy shift to transactional diplomacy

    Just eleven days into his second presidency, Donald Trump has returned to a “completely inverted” Middle East, where his signature America First policy faces new regional complexities, from Gaza’s humanitarian crisis to shifting alliances in Syria. Trump’s early moves signal a three-fold strategy: ending current conflicts in Palestine and Lebanon, confronting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and deepening US-Gulf economic integration, according to analysts familiar with the administration’s approach. “For America First to be effective, the globe has to be stable. Wars and flashpoints come in the way of trade and commerce—the last thing Trump wants,” said Abishur Prakash, founder of The Geopolitical Business Inc. “For the Middle East, this means a new kind of US involvement, to stamp out the fires and restore regional and global stability.”