BUSINESS-

A Saudi-Palestinian Business Council in the works: The Federation of Saudi Chambers agreed with the Palestinian embassy in Saudi Arabia to form a Saudi-Palestinian Business Council in a bid to boost trade flow between the two countries and enable Palestinian businesses to promote their products in the Kingdom, state news agency SPA reports.

ENERGY-

PowerChina gets Saudi solar farms contract: Chinese state-owned PowerChina has secured the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the 1.25 GW Al Masaa and 500 MW Al Henakiyah 2 solar projects – previously reported to have 1.1GW and 400 MW of capacity respectively, according to a statement published Wednesday. The contract includes the design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operation and maintenance of the photovoltaic power plants and supporting facilities.

About the projects: The solar plants – awarded to French state-owned electricity giant EDF Renewables in December – are expected to generate 4.4 bn KWh of clean electricity annually to power approximately 550k local households and reduce CO2 emissions by 2.88 mn metric tons.

HOSPITALITY-

#1- Makkah set to be home to the world’s largest Courtyard by Marriott: Marriott International partnered with BinDawood subsidiaries Al Qimmah Hospitality and Amwaj Real Estate to build its largest Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Makkah, according to a press release. The hotel will feature a little under 2.2k rooms and is slated to open in 2026.

#2- Baan Holding Group was awarded a SAR 436 mn project by a subsidiary of AlmutlaqRealEstate Investment Company to provide catering and accommodation services at its Modern Village residential complex in Neom, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The six-year partnership with the Sustainable Services Company is set to run until the end of 2030.

INFRASTRUCTURE-

UK-based architecture firm Able Partners is designing a 75-meter pedestrian footbridge on Riyadh’s Highway 65, dubbed Dune Bridge, according to a press release. The bridge’s name is inspired by the region’s dunes, and it aims to connect the city’s eastern and western sides.

MINING-

ElementUSA + Ma’aden partners to reduce mining waste: Florida-based ElementUSA and Ma’aden signed an MoU to deploy ElementUSA’s technology to extract valuable critical minerals and rare earth metals from various waste streams including red mud and phosphogypsum, according to a press release.

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