Gulf Construction Online - Saudi Arabia, UAE lead GCC project market

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Saudi Arabia topped the project announcement chart with a 43 per cent share, while UAE had a 22 per cent contribution.

Saudi Arabia, UAE lead GCC project market

01 February 2022

The GCC construction market is estimated at $1.6 trillion, with over 21,000 active projects as of Q3 2021, mainly driven by Saudi Arabia and the UAE which dominated the project development scene, according to BNC Projects Journal.

As per the latest Project Journal, Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue to lead project development. The kingdom topped the project announcement chart with a 43 per cent share in 2021, followed by the UAE with a 22 per cent contribution.

However, in terms of on-the-ground activity, as measured by project awards and completions, the UAE led with close to a 40 per cent share on both parameters, followed by Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait construction activity skyrocketed in Q4 as new plans worth $9.9 billion were revealed, making it the best quarter in the last two years, stated BNC Projects Journal in its “2022 - The Green Year” report.

Kuwait led announcements in Q4 with a 28 per cent share of the regional launches. The country also saw project awards worth $1.8 billion, and delivered projects worth $12 billion in the quarter. Backed by the activities in Q4, project announcements expanded around sixfold YoY to $11.3 billion and annual project awards crossed the $4 billion mark, which is the equivalent of 17 per cent YoY growth.

The BNC GCC Energy Projects Index grew by five per cent YoY with $62.1 billion worth of new schemes announced in 2021. Energy project awards also registered 37 per cent YoY growth, it stated.

The growth in the energy sector has offset the decline in the urban sector which has been contracting as per the BNC Urban Index.

“The energy revolution doesn’t just cover energy generation, it also covers energy transportation and energy utilisation, making it a movement that permeates almost every domain. Green energy leaders will be tomorrow’s leaders across more than just the energy domain,” remarked Avin Gidwani, the CEO of Industry Networks.

“We’re calling 2022, ‘The Green Year’ due to the leadership that the region and particularly the UAE is demonstrating towards achieving a net zero carbon economy. These green initiatives are going to be the primary driver of major projects and development in the decades ahead,” he added.