Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will soon have a website for contractors with news on construction companies and projects in the region, said a senior official from the Federation of the GCC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FGCCI).
The Dammam-based FGCCI, which groups most of the private sector firms in the region, will launch the site as part of its 'Gulf Economic Gate' website, said Abdul Rahim Naqi, FGCCI Secretary General, in a statement to Zawya ahead of an April 16 contractors' conference in Doha.
The new website will seek approval during the event before its launch within the next few weeks.
Naqi added that the project is part of the overall plans to develop the GCC contracting sector and also includes a second product involving a GCC directory, which will list the contracting firms.
He did not give further details but FGCCI sources said the new website will feature news related to contracting companies, names of key firms, projects, developments in the construction sector and markets in the region.
"This is an initial plan as the website will be expanded and developed at a later stage...it will be part of the Gulf interactive Economic Gate (website)," a FGCCI source told Zawya.
The existing website, www.fgcc.net, is currently a major source of news for the GCC's private sector, which includes the federation's activities, news from the member chambers', investment opportunities in the region, conferences and other events.
The April 16 conference will cover problems facing the GCC contracting sector and new projects.
"The meeting will also focus on the latest developments in mega projects such as the Qatar-Bahrain Causeway, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and rail networks in the region," said Naqi
"Despite the challenges besetting the GCC contracting sector, it remains a major component of the domestic economy as the market was estimated at around USD 137 billion in 2013, up by 22 percent from 2012," he added.
"We have made positive forecasts for the contracting sector in the GCC on the basis of 5 to 6 percent annual growth in the GDP [of the member states], which we project will reach nearly USD 3.6 trillion in 2016 from around USD 2.4 trillion in 2011."
© Zawya 2014
