Special report: GCC project market - Squeezed on all sides

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The GCC project market is showing few signs of slowing down and most contractors are bracing themselves for further price pressures. The first comprehensive survey of regional price fluctuations reveals the extent to which profit lines are being squeezed.

Index of stories in this special report: GCC project market - Squeezed on all sides

• Introduction: Expecting a surge 
  The surge in demand for skills and materials, particularly in the UAE, saw the cost of construction rise by 40-60 per cent in the 18 months leading up to December 2004.

• Nakheel: Time to deliver 
  Nakheel has become one of the world's largest property magnates. But with little of its portfolio completed, the next 18 months will make or break the Dubai-based developer.

• MAF Investments: A true pan-Arab developer 
  At its current rate of project execution, in a few years' time MAF will have made its mark in most Arab countries.

• Rikaz: Heading for the waterfront 
  Private developers are set to play a bigger role in Saudi Arabia's real estate sector, as a recent government report indicates a surge in demand for new housing units.

• Progress report: Shaikh Zayed mosque 
  Abu Dhabi's Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan II mosque project has suffered repeated delays, but work on the landmark scheme is beginning to gather steam.

• Mushrif: Feet firmly on the ground 
  Kuwait is experiencing an unprecedented construction boom. Mushrif is one of many local firms cashing in.

• Morocco: Tourists welcome 
  Morocco is halfway through its nine-year programme to increase tourist numbers to 10 million by the end of the decade. Developers are pulling out all the stops to provide the necessary infrastructure.

• Morocco's tourism plans: The new Cote d'Azur 
  Plan Azur, part of Vision 2010, will see the development of six new coastal resorts. MEED reports on its progress.

• Merowe dam: Dragon on the Nile 
  Chinese contractors are well under way on the Merowe dam, one of the biggest projects under construction in the Middle East.

• Iran: Bye-bye boomtown 
  With domestic cement capacity set to far exceed consumption as Iran enjoys a period of rapid development, the sector is pausing for breath.