GCC construction on recovery path; $2.4trln active projects

Despite the drop in announcements and contract awards, project completions were steady in 2020 at $196.4 billion (Dh 721 billion), almost the same as of 2019, with the second half delivering 68 per cent of the total completions in 2020, according to BNC Projects Journal, released by Industry Networks.

The UAE led the urban project completions with 50 per cent share, while Saudi Arabia drove energy project completions with 33 per cent contribution. Qatar came across as a top contributor in the transport sector with 39 per cent share, followed by the UAE with 23 per cent share.

The UAE contributed 39 per cent, 32 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, towards total project announcements, project awards and project completions in the GCC.

“Identifying 21 reasons to be optimistic about 2021 was a challenge we set out for ourselves and as we worked on the list we realised that there are many powerful positives that businesses should consider in their mid-to-long term plans for construction in the Middle East,” said Avin Gidwani, CEO of Industry Networks.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic impact, new scheme announcements and project awards during 2020 saw a disproportionate drop. In 2019, GCC registered a four per cent year-on-year growth in project announcements, however, the construction market witnessed a trend reversal with the figures dropping as much as 67 per cent year-on-year in 2020. GCC project awards also declined, falling by as much as 35 per cent in 2020.

“We are cautiously optimistic about construction in 2021 as the pandemic continues to cause economic upheaval even as vaccines and treatments are rolled out to return the region and the world to normalcy,” Gidwani said