New figures released by Ventures Onsite show an increase in contract awards across the region, in every country except Saudi Arabia.
It said that Qatar will award projects worth US$26.2bn compared with US$9.4bn last year while Kuwait is expected to award US$3.45bn, almost 10 times in 2013.
In the UAE, projects worth US$15.18bn will be awarded, almost five times the contracts awarded in 2013, while in Oman infrastructure awards are expected to reach US$7.4bn — up US$5.5bn in 2013. Meanwhile Bahrain, which awarded US$382mn last year, is expected to award US$3.4bn for projects.
Saudi Arabia’s forecast award of US$29.34bn, the highest in the region, however, represents a decrease year on year. Last year’s total awards of US$33.6bn included the US$22.5bn Riyadh Metro project, the report stated.
Infrastructure projects reportedly make up 16 per cent of the total construction value of GCC projects, and rail projects like the Riyadh Metro are the main beneficiary. According to Ventures Onsite, it is estimated the rail sector is worth US$200bn as the six countries aim for an integrated GCC-wide network by 2018.
Technical Review
12 August
