Engineering the Ground Beneath
Mena’s Mega Projects
- Event Dates: 14-15 October 2026
- Workshop: 13 October 2026
- Fairmont Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Strategic Host Partner
Brought to you by
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2 DAYS. 18 CPD POINTS. REAL INDUSTRY INSIGHT.
Join IGIC KSA 2026 and earn 18 CPD points while exploring the latest developments, project challenges and innovations shaping geotechnical and ground engineering across Saudi Arabia and the wider region.
Conference Overview
IGIC 2026 Objectives
- Support the delivery of MENA’s mega and giga projects by bridging the gap between design and limitations arising from challenging ground conditions, enabling timely on-site execution
Event In Numbers
Delegates
Speakers
Partners and Exhibitors
Countries Represented
Technical Advisory Committee
GeoStruXer, Adjunct FacultAmerican University of Bahrain,
Bahrain
Germany
Saudi Arabia
Keynote Speakers
Geotechnical Manager
Cerema
Professor
University of Coimbra
Geotechnical Engineer
SRK Consulting
Professor, Department of Energy Resources Engineering College of Engineering
Seoul National University / Vice President for Asia, ISRM
Thompson Centre for Engineering Leadership & Innovation Western University
Founder Director
BUET-JIDPUS
Associate Director
Rock Mechanics
Abstract Submission is Now Open
PUBLISH YOUR PAPER
If your work / research focuses on geotechnical engineering in the MENA region, we invite you to submit Abstract for consideration.
Accepted papers will be published in the Journal of Geotechnical Innovation under Emirates Scholar, the official publishing partner of IGIC 2026.
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Current and Upcoming Mega Projects in MENA
NEOM (Saudi Arabia)
- Type: Integrated zero-carbon smart city (large land development + tunnelling + coastal infrastructure)
- Owner: Public Investment Fund / NEOM Company
- Value: ~$500 billion+ (giga-project portfolio)
Main Contractors / - Consultants: AECOM, Foster + Partners, top tunnelling & infrastructure EPCs; lot packages by Shibh Al Jazira, FCC, Hyundai/Samsung/Archirodon
- Stage: Multi-phase ongoing; major earthworks, infrastructure, tunnels under execution and to be tendered
- Geotechnical relevance: Large cut/fill works, fractured rock/karst ground, groundwater, coastal reclamation, deep foundations
King Salman International Airport (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: King Salman International Airport Development Company / PIF
Value: ~$30 billion (transport mega-hub)
Main Contractors - Consultants: Foster + Partners (masterplan), Bechtel/Parsons on various works
Stage: Construction started; ongoing large-scale earthworks and foundation packages - Geotechnical relevance: Massive earthworks, runway subgrade, groundwater, soil improvement for airport pavements
Red Sea Project & Amaala - Red Sea Global (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: Red Sea Global
Value: ~$40 billion tourism giga-project
Main Contractors. - Consultants: Multiple marine, coastal and infrastructure EPC firms (contracting phases awarded ~$11.6 bn+)
- Stage: Ongoing multi-phase execution
- Geotechnical relevance: Coastal reclamation, dredging, beach stabilization, pile foundations, reclaimed land support
Qiddiya Entertainment and Sports City (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: Qiddiya Investment Company / PIF
- Value: ~$9.8 billion
Main Contractors / - Consultants: Multiple (design and civil works contractors ongoing)
- Stage: Under construction (Phase 1 nearing completion)
- Geotechnical relevance: Large ground improvement, deep foundations, roadway and cut-slope stabilization
Expo 2030 Riyadh Infrastructure Programme (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: Expo 2030 Riyadh Company
Value: ~$7.8 billion
Main Contractor / - Consultant: Bechtel appointed as Project Management Consultant
- Stage: Planning & early works
- Geotechnical relevance: Ground and utility infrastructure, master utilities tunnels, drainage
Rua Al Madinah Urban Development (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: Rua Al Madinah Holding Co. (PIF affiliate)
- Value: ~$37 billion
Consultants / - Contractors: Multi-disciplinary international consultants (design stage)
- Stage: Early construction/ongoing planning
- Geotechnical relevance: Large urban utilities, earthworks, groundwater
Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels (DSST) (United Arab Emirates)
- Owner: Dubai Municipality
Value: ~AED 80 billion (~USD 22 billion) - Consultants: Parsons (PMC for DSST)
- Stage: Tender / phased packages being procured
- Geotechnical relevance: Deep tunnelling, subsurface drainage, large diameters, variable soil conditions
Tasreef Stormwater Drainage Project (United Arab Emirates)
- Owner: Dubai Government
- Value: ~AED 30 billion (~USD 8+ billion)
- Stage:Construction commenced 2025
- Geotechnical relevance: Coastal reclamation, dredging, beach stabilization, pile foundations, reclaimed land support
Dubai Metro Blue Line Extensions (United Arab Emirates)
- Owner: Roads & Transport Authority (RTA)
- Value: Multi-billion (30 km new line segments, 15.5 km underground)
- Consultants: Parsons & AtkinsRéalis (PMC)
- Stage:Tender/extended bid stages
- Geotechnical relevance: Major urban tunnelling and station excavation
NEOM Backbone Infrastructure – Tunnels and Cut-and-Cover Sections (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: NEOM Company
- Value: ~$2.8 billion (tunnelling packages)
- Main Contractors: Shibh Al Jazira / FCC / Hyundai / Samsung / Archirodon for different packages
- Stage: Awarded / under excavation
- Geotechnical relevance: Hard rock tunnelling, cut-and-cover, ground support
Rua Al Madinah – Medina Central Infrastructure (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: Rua Al Madinah Holding
- Value: $37+ billion
- Stage: Ongoing development
- Geotechnical relevance: Regional water supply / drainage, road structures
King Salman Park & Entertainment District (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: King Salman Park Foundation
- Value: ~$23 billion
- Consultants: Omrania + Henning Larsen (design)
- Stage: Construction ongoing
- Geotechnical relevance: Parks earthworks, utilities, foundation and landscape stabilization
Soudah Peaks Mountain Resort Development (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: Soudah Development Company (PIF)
- Value: ~$7.7 billion
- Stage: Phased under development
- Geotechnical relevance: Mountain site stability, slope stability, rock engineering
ROSHN Integrated Communities (Saudi Arabia)
- Owner: ROSHN Group (PIF)
- Value: Multi-billion residential / mixed-use complexes
- Stage: Ongoing developments
- Geotechnical relevance: Ground improvement, foundations, utilities
Arabian Canal Mega Infrastructure – (United Arab Emirates)
- Owner: Limitless (concept)
- Value: ~$11 billion (concept estimate)
- Stage: Planning / conceptual — not fully active
- Geotechnical relevance: Massive earthworks, desert excavation, water control and hydro-geotechnics
Conference Themes
Ground improvement at scale: Engineering buildable soils across MENA’s most challenging terrains
- Ground improvement for sabkha, collapsible, and weak deposits
- Performance-driven solutions: Stone columns versus controlled modulus columns (CMC)
- Groundwater control, technology, and QA/QC
Tunnelling and trenchless technologies below the Surface: Engineering resilient underground infrastructure in Saudi Arabia’s most complex ground conditions
- Tunnel stability and foundation support challenges for karst and fractured rock
- Face stability, groundwater ingress, and specialised ground improvement for sabkha soil
- Seismic considerations: Site-specific seismic assessment and flexible lining design
Mastering rock mechanics for Saudi Arabia’s hard-rock mega and giga projects
- Rock mechanics challenges in extreme topography and giga-scale developments
- Advanced subsurface mapping and rock mass characterisation
- Slope stability, rockfall risk, and digital monitoring
Geotechnical engineering for the mining industry: managing ground risk in Saudi Arabia’s mining sector
- Tailings dams: Design, stability, monitoring, and risk management
- Slope stability design for mining works: Open pits, highwalls, waste dumps, and stockpiles
- Tunnelling and underground excavation design in mining
- Seismicity, groundwater, extreme weather, and geochemical interaction risks
Ground improvement & geo-environmental protection: From sabkha stabilisation to containment systems
- Geosynthetics as structural systems
- Roads, pavements, and subgrade stabilisation
- Sabkha stabilisation and moisture migration control
- Liners, barriers, and drainage layers for environmental protection
Proactive geohazard management for Saudi Arabia’s mega & giga projects
- Geotechnical hazards: Soil- and groundwater-related risks affecting stability and deformation
- Geological hazards: Faults, karst, weak or weathered rock, stratigraphic variability, and seismic sources
- LiDAR, InSAR, drones, and remote sensing for ground movement and instability detection
- Probabilistic and performance-based geohazard risk assessment
- Mitigation of landslides, rockfall, sinkholes, collapsible soils, and coastal hazards
Digital, AI & machine learning applications in geotechnical engineering
- AI/ML-enabled interpretation of site investigation, geophysical, and monitoring data
- Data-driven prediction of ground behaviour and failure mechanisms
- Digital twins and integrated geotechnical models
- AI-based early warning systems for geohazards, mining, and tunnelling
- Decision-support systems for risk-informed geotechnical engineering
Forensic geotechnical engineering and contractual risk management
- Forensic investigation and root-cause analysis of geotechnical failures
- Back-analysis using field evidence, monitoring data, and numerical modelling
- Ground model uncertainty, design assumptions, and construction sequence impacts
- Geotechnical risk allocation and contractual responsibilities
- Dispute avoidance, expert review, and lessons learned
What’s New?
Exclusive mining geotechnics workshop
A dedicated, deep-dive workshop focused on geotechnical challenges in Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding mining sector, covering seismic risk, flooding, geochemical stability, and ground control.
New Saudi-focused technical tracks
Introduction of highly targeted sessions addressing Saudi-specific ground conditions, including hard and fractured rock, karst terrain, sabkha soils, groundwater management, geohazards, and complex tunnelling environments.
Expanded coverage of giga-project geotechnics
Practical insights drawn from mega and giga projects across Saudi Arabia, linking design innovation with execution realities under fast-tracked delivery models.
Stronger emphasis on technology, digitalisation & monitoring
Greater focus on AI, digital twins, geo-mapping, real-time monitoring, and automation technologies shaping modern geotechnical practice in Saudi Arabia and MENA.
Broader stakeholder & cross-sector engagement
Enhanced participation from project owners, mining operators, infrastructure developers, consultants, contractors, and technology providers, — enabling deeper collaboration across the geotechnical value chain.
Exclusive mining geotechnics workshop
A dedicated, deep-dive workshop focused on geotechnical challenges in Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding mining sector, covering seismic risk, flooding, geochemical stability, and ground control.
New Saudi-focused technical tracks
Introduction of highly targeted sessions addressing Saudi-specific ground conditions, including hard and fractured rock, karst terrain, sabkha soils, groundwater management, geohazards, and complex tunnelling environments
Expanded coverage of giga-project geotechnics
Practical insights drawn from mega and giga projects across Saudi Arabia, linking design innovation with execution realities under fast-tracked delivery models
Stronger emphasis on technology, digitalisation & monitoring
Greater focus on AI, digital twins, geo-mapping, real-time monitoring, and automation technologies shaping modern geotechnical practice in Saudi Arabia and MENA
Broader stakeholder & cross-sector engagement
Enhanced participation from project owners, mining operators, infrastructure developers, consultants, contractors, and technology providers, — enabling deeper collaboration across the geotechnical value chain.
Sponsors
Testimonials
Registration Closes in
Registration
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Primary Delegate
$25
- Government Authorities, Academia, Consultants, Research Institutions, Main Contractors, Developers
Workshop
|
$999
- Workshop A: PLAXIS 3D for Pile and Piled-Raft Foundations
- Workshop B: De-Risking the Mine
Vendor Delegate
$999
- Geotechnical Contractors, Manufacturers of Machinery & Equipment and other Solution Providers
VENUE & ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation
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