The Gulf Projects Index grew by $16.5bn in the week ending 29 May, hitting a total of $3.386 trillion and closing in on its all-time high that was set in November last year.

The index peaked at $3.401 trillion on 25 November 2014 before slipping to less than $3.190 trillion in January 2015 as the collapse in global oil prices saw several major downstream oil and gas projects cancelled across the Middle East.

Over the week, all the GCC states recorded expansions except Qatar. The countries that saw the biggest gains were Bahrain, the index’s smallest projects market, and the UAE, the index’s second-biggest projects market after Saudi Arabia.

The UAE saw an expansion of 1.8 per cent over the week, reaching $804bn, as it added 27 schemes worth a total of $2.46bn.

Bahrain saw a 2.1 per cent expansion in its projects market, with the value of active schemes hitting a total of $68.3bn.

Year-on-year, Bahrain is the region’s best performing projects market and has seen a 16.9 per cent expansion over the past 12 months.

Iraq is the region’s worst performing market. It has seen a fall of 20.2 per cent over the past 12 months due to the ongoing battle with the jihadist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), which controls large swathes of the country.

Amid fierce fighting between government troops and Isis over recent days, Iraq’s projects market continued its decline, contracting by 0.3 per cent over the week to reach $413.8bn.

Iran also recorded a decrease in value over the week, dropping by 0.5 per cent, as US-led talks about international sanctions and the country’s nuclear programme continue.