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Saudi Arabia Introduces Largest Set of Projects to Develop Water, Environmental Infrastructure

Saudi Arabia deploys unremitting efforts to develop the water network and raise its operational efficiency. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia deploys unremitting efforts to develop the water network and raise its operational efficiency. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Introduces Largest Set of Projects to Develop Water, Environmental Infrastructure

Saudi Arabia deploys unremitting efforts to develop the water network and raise its operational efficiency. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia deploys unremitting efforts to develop the water network and raise its operational efficiency. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia intends to offer and award more than 1.4 thousand projects with a total value exceeding 108 billion riyals ($28.8 billion), in the water distribution sector, in continuation of plans and programs to develop water and environmental infrastructure.

The National Water Company said on Wednesday that Eng. Abdul Rahman Al-Fadhli, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors, led a meeting with senior executives to determine the preparations for the implementation of these major national projects.

Eng. Nemer Al-Shebel, CEO at the National Water Company, said that the new projects were an extension of the unlimited support provided by the government, in line with the objectives of the National Water Strategy and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in the environmental, water, economic and development fields.

The projects cover 13 administrative regions of the Kingdom, including 353 projects allocated to the western sector, with a value exceeding 38.96 billion riyals ($10.3 billion), 240 projects in the central sector (Riyadh region), with a value surpassing 14.19 billion riyals ($3.7 billion).

The National Water Company has allocated 215 projects to the northern sector, including, Al-Qassim, Hail, Al-Jawf, and Northern Borders, with a value exceeding 12.95 billion riyals ($3.4 billion), and 328 projects for the southern sector, which includes Asir, Jazan, Najran, and Al-Baha regions, with a total value of 15.3 billion riyals ($4 billion).

The company intends to earmark 162 projects worth 7.7 billion riyals ($2 billion) for the northwestern sector, which includes Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah region and Tabuk.

The Eastern Province has been allocated 117 projects, with a value exceeding 16.17 billion riyals ($4.2 billion), in addition to 14 projects supporting various sectors, with a value of more than 2.72 billion riyals ($720 million).

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World Food Prices Rose in March as Iran War Lifted Energy Costs, FAO Says

A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
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World Food Prices Rose in March as Iran War Lifted Energy Costs, FAO Says

A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)
A farmer carries harvested rice at a paddy field in Samahani, Aceh province on April 2, 2026. (AFP)

World food prices climbed in March, due largely to higher energy costs linked to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said on ‌Friday.

The FAO ‌Food Price Index, ‌which ⁠measures changes in ⁠a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4% from its revised February level.

"Price rises ⁠since the conflict ‌began ‌have been modest, driven mainly by ‌higher oil prices and ‌cushioned by ample global cereal supplies," FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said in ‌a statement.

But if the conflict lasts over 40 days ⁠and ⁠input costs remain high, farmers may reduce inputs, plant less, or switch crops, leading to lower future yields and affecting food supply and prices for the rest of this year and next, he said.

Business

Turkish Inflation Near 2% Monthly in March, Below Forecasts

A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
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Turkish Inflation Near 2% Monthly in March, Below Forecasts

A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)
A full moon rises behind Galata Tower, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP)

Turkish consumer price inflation was 1.94% month-on-month in March, while the annual figure fell to 30.87%, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed ‌on Friday.

In ‌a Reuters ‌poll, ⁠monthly inflation was ⁠forecast to be 2.32%, with the annual rate seen at 31.4%, driven by ⁠a rise in ‌fuel prices ‌and weather-related pressures ‌on food inflation.

In ‌February, consumer prices rose 2.96% month-on-month and 31.53% year-on-year, broadly in ‌line with estimates and reinforcing expectations that ⁠the ⁠disinflation process may be stalling.

The data also showed the domestic producer index rose 2.30% month-on-month in March for an annual increase of 28.08%.

Business

Oil Prices Surge While Asian Share Prices Rise Moderately

FILE - Workers walk in an area at a degassing station in Zubair oil field, whose operations have being reduced due to the Mideast war triggered by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, near Basra, Iraq, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
FILE - Workers walk in an area at a degassing station in Zubair oil field, whose operations have being reduced due to the Mideast war triggered by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, near Basra, Iraq, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
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Oil Prices Surge While Asian Share Prices Rise Moderately

FILE - Workers walk in an area at a degassing station in Zubair oil field, whose operations have being reduced due to the Mideast war triggered by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, near Basra, Iraq, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
FILE - Workers walk in an area at a degassing station in Zubair oil field, whose operations have being reduced due to the Mideast war triggered by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, near Basra, Iraq, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

Oil prices continued to surge on worries of a prolonged Iran war but the Asian markets that were open Friday rose moderately in cautious trading, while others were closed for the Good Friday holidays.

Benchmark US crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel, The Associated Press said.

“A more extended conflict raises the threat to physical infrastructure, extends disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, and will entail a longer post-war recovery period, with price impacts spilling over later into the year,” according to a report from BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.

The US only relies on the Arabian Gulf for a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market.

The situation is very different in Asia. Japan, for example, relies on access to the Strait of Hormuz for much of the nation’s oil import needs and would need to rely on alternative routes. But some analysts say Japan and other nations are counting on an agreement with Iran to allow transports.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% in Friday morning trading to 52,938.62. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1% to 5,344.41. The Shanghai Composite sank 0.5% to 3,899.57. Trading was closed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia and India.

Wall Street, where trading is closed Friday, finished its first winning week since the start of the Iran war, although trading started out with a decline driven by a surge in oil prices.

That came after US President Donald Trump late Wednesday vowed the US will continue to attack Iran and failed to offer a clear timetable for ending the conflict in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 rose 7.37 points, or 0.1%, to 6,582.69. Several days of solid gains this week helped the benchmark index notch a 3.4% gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.07 points, or 0.1%, to 46,504.67. The Nasdaq composite rose 38.23 points, or 0.2%, to 21,879.18. Both indexes also notched weekly gains.

Treasury yields remained relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to to 4.30% from 4.32%.

In currency trading, the US dollar edged up to 159.66 Japanese yen from 159.53 yen. The euro cost $1.1535, inching down from $1.1537.