The UAE grabbed nearly 57 percent of the awarded contracts in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the first half of 2025, a local Arabic language newspaper report said.

The value of awarded contracts in the GCC totaled around $104.8 billion in the first half of this year, down from $138 billion in the first half of 2024, the semi-official daily Alittihad said, citing a report by Sharjah-based BNC Network.

Contracts awarded in the UAE, the second largest Arab economy, totaled nearly $59.6 billion in the first half of this year, higher than the value of $53.6 billion in the first half of last year, the report said.

“While there has been a general slowdown in the project market in the region this year, the UAE managed to achieve growth,” the paper quoted BNC Network’s CEO Avin Gidwani as saying.

Gidwani said contracts awarded in the UAE this year covered mainly real estate, oil and gas, transport, industry and utilities.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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