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The outlook for the construction sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is positive, with several projects and infrastructure developments worth trillions of dollars still in the pipeline or under construction, according to a new report.
Approximately 6,722 active projects valued at more than $3.1 trillion have been planned or are underway in the Gulf, the GCC Construction Outlook 2019 report by MEED, showed.
The projects are part of the region’s economic visions, including Dubai’s Expo 2020 and Saudi Arabia’s futuristic mega-city called Neom. Other exciting projects to look forward to are Oman’s Duqm Port, Kuwait’s Silk City and Bahrain Bay, the report said.
The report noted that 2018 was a challenging year for the construction sector, although construction and transport projects contracts worth $22.4 billion were still awarded in the first half of 2019.
It said that the GCC can also expect increases in government spending on infrastructure to implement the region’s economic diversification strategies.
The UAE emerged as the best-performing construction market in the region during the first half of 2019, which recorded about $10.9 billion of construction and transport contract awards. As of 2019, the UAE had $177.89 billion worth of projects in the execution phase.
“The GCC has long been associated with the delivery of world-class, world-scale mega-projects,” Richard Thompson, editorial director at MEED said.
“But over the past two or three years, we have seen the emergence of not just mega-projects, but giga projects [as well], as governments lay down the foundations of long-term strategic visions aimed at transforming the region,” he said.
“It is no simple task to create these modern marvels,” said Thompson.
“The GCC projects sector is being challenged by cutbacks in government spending and a reduction in the number of private sector project sponsors. The focus now is not merely about delivering these huge schemes. It is about finding innovative ways to deliver them better, more efficiently and with minimal time, cost and materials waste.”
(Writing by Gerard Aoun, editing by Cleofe Maceda)
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