The uprisings across the region will have a positive impact on the construction sector in the long term, said Laurie Voyer, chief executive officer of UAE-based Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) at GCC Infrastructure & Finance conference.

He said that the increased need for social infrastructure such as housing, power and water would benefit the construction sector. Voyer said that the sector was recovering from the downturn and added that HLG had won $1.4bn in regional contracts so far in 2011.