Chinese New Year for Middle East projects

Chinese New Year for Middle East projects

Chinese construction companies have made a strong start to the year in the Middle East with a range of major contractor awards across various sectors.According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, Chinese contractors won nearly $2bn of work during the first two weeks of 2024. The most active market was Algeria, where China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and local contractor Cosider Travaux Publics won a contract to build a 575-kilometre (km) railway line.Chinese companies also won a series of contracts with Sonelgaz Energie Renouvelables, a subsidiary of Algeria’s state-owned utility, to deliver solar photovoltaic (PV) plants.Another major deal in the Maghreb was secured by Sichuan Road & Bridge in Tunisia to construct a 2.1-kilometre (km) viaduct linking Tunis and Bizerte. The Equipment, Housing & Land Planning Ministry, awarded the $197.5m contract.In the GCC the most high-profile award was the contract to build the Jeddah Central stadium project in Saudi Arabia, which was won by Beijing-headquartered China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) with local contractor Sama Construction for Trading & Contracting.Chinese contractors also won work on real estate projects in Oman and the UAE. China Nuclear Industry 22nd Construction Company secured a $168m contract from Damac for the construction of villas in Dubai, and China Communications Construction Company