Big projects in the GCC countries decreased by 19.7% due to slowing economies in Qatar and the UAE

In the UAE, the gas and oil sectors experienced significant project award growth, making it the second-largest projects market in the GCC, with 31.6% of total awards.

Overall, GCC project awards decreased by 19.7% in Q2 2024, but Saudi Arabia saw a 9.9% increase. In a recent report for all GCC states, the IMF lowered real GDP growth forecasts due to regional insecurity and reduced oil production, leading to a decline in contract awards.

In Qatar, the sharp 98.5% decline in project awards to $162 million from $10.5 billion the previous year heavily impacted the overall growth of GCC contract awards in the second quarter. This drop followed a strong performance in 2023, buoyed by a $10 billion LNG project for the North Field South development.

In Kuwait, project awards increased by 33%, totaling $2.3 billion. This growth was seen in the gas, power, and transport sectors. Contracts in the gas sector increased by 17.3% to $14 billion, while the power and transport sectors grew by 9.7% and 27.3%, respectively, reaching $9.8 billion.

Kamco Invest also stated that the total value of planned or pipeline projects in the GCC is $3.5 trillion as of July 2. Saudi Arabia has the largest share of ongoing or upcoming projects at $1.87 trillion, followed by the UAE with $856.9 billion and Oman with $245.5 billion. Excluding ongoing contracts, upcoming GCC projects total $1.43 trillion, with Saudi Arabia leading at 51.6% ($737.2 million), followed by the UAE at 20.4% ($291.4 million) in the MENA region.