Something in the air

Good morning, wonderful people. If you’ve ever sat on a runway waiting for a slot that never seems to come, you’ll find some of the reasons why in today’s Lede. The Gulf is building airports for hundreds of mns of passengers, but the sky above them is shared. We look at where that airspace gets tight, who pays when it backs up, and the region’s early steps toward managing it as one network.

Speaking of holding patterns: DP World now expects to open its USD 250 mn Jeddah Logistics Park in 1Q 2027, DP World GCC CEO Ahmad Al Hassan said at a roundtable, Seatrade Maritime reports. That’s the third opening date for the 415k sqm warehousing and distribution hub around Jeddah Islamic Port, which was originally slated for 2Q 2025 and later pegged for 2Q 2026. No reason was given for the latest change, and Al Hassan said DP World hasn’t suspended any of its major regional projects during the conflict.

Others are using the wait to go shopping: NMDC Group is weighing three to five acquisition targets to make up for the war-induced slump, and hopes to announce its first takeover in December, NMDC Group CEO Yasser Zaghloul told Bloomberg. The slowdown makes this a good moment for M&A that could boost growth, he said. The Abu Dhabi-based marine and energy services firm is one of Adnoc’s main contractors, and its 9M revenue growth slowed to 4% on Strait of Hormuz disruptions, down from 10% last year and nearly 60% in 2024. Zaghloul expects growth to return to 20% or more once the conflict ends and projects and trade resume.

And it’s Pipeline day: our weekly check on the Gulf’s megaprojects, covering what’s moved, what’s been awarded, and what’s still waiting since last week.