Gulf projects' value exceeds Dhs6.17 trillion despite slowdown

Of this, $489.39bn (Dhs1797.58bn) worth of projects are currently under construction, $81.45bn (Dhs299.1bn) worth of projects are in the tendering phase, $125.12bn (Dhs459.58bn) worth of projects are in design phase while $265.25bn (Dhs974.29bn) worth of projects are in the initial planning and concept phase. However, nearly 43% or $723.61bn (2657.89bn) worth of projects - the largest category of projects - are still on hold, the report shows.

"Despite the economic slowdown caused by the global financial crisis in 2008-09, the Gulf region still remains one of the largest construction market in the world after China where several large-scale projects are still on track," said Ben D'Souza, Chief Operating Officer of BNC Network, said.

"This reflects the governments' determination to continue to invest in expanding their infrastructure that will help spur economic growth at a time when Europe and the US economies are struggling amid crisis after crisis."

BNC Network is the region's largest online project intelligence provider tracking about 55,786 projects worth $2.65 trillion. It updates information on over 150 projects every day and has added 191 new projects in the Middle East over the last seven days. Over 60,000 construction industry professionals including property developers, architects, consultants, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers receive regular project intelligence bulletins.

The company has 98,072 construction related companies on its database and over 21,501 unique construction products listed.

The UAE is still the largest construction project market - with value of projects totalling $690.2bn that includes $429.23bn worth of projects on hold. Saudi Arabia is the second largest construction market where the total value of projects have exceeded $451.09bn, including $100.96bn worth of projects that are on hold.

This is followed by Kuwait where total value of projects reached $195.99bn including $61.47bn worth of projects are currently on hold or cancelled. Qatar, which has won the bids to host World Cup Football 2022, ranks fourth among the six countries with total value of projects exceeding $171bn of which $69.14bn worth of projects are on hold.

Among some of the large projects, the Dhs40bn UAE National Railway, a Dhs35bn Jeddah Metro project will dominate the infrastructure sector while massive investment in power and desalination projects are also going to play a key role in the region's overall development.

Airport development projects to the tune of Dhs100bn are at various stages of development, including the Dhs28bn Concourse 4 project and expansion of Terminal 2 in Dubai are crucial for Dubai's growth while Abu Dhabi Airports Company has recently awarded a Dhs10.8bn tender to a Turkish-UAE joint venture, Arabtec-TAV to build the Midfield Terminal Complex - part of the Dhs25bn Abu Dhabi International Airport redevelopment plan.

Qatar is planning to open the first phase of its Dhs18.3bn New Doha International Airport terminal later this year, while works are progressing well to build a new airport terminal in Jeddah.

"The Gulf countries are investing the oil windfall in expanding their infrastructure wisely that will help them meet the future growth requirements for a long period," D'Souza says.

"With continued investment in infrastructure, that has helped the construction sector busy, the governments here are creating the right environment for further foreign direct investment and growth."