The Gulf Projects Index rose by 0.4 percent in the week ending 4 September, to reach $3.45 trillion. This marks the third week of record highs since the index’s level reached $3.4 tiillion on 25 November 2014.

Growth was led by Kuwait, which gained 3.1 per cent, followed by Iran and the UAE, which rose 1.6 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

Kuwait’s gains resulted mainly from the revival of a $7bn olefins scheme. Two small utility and gas projects were also inducted into Kuwait’s market, although the budget for the rehabilitation of the Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah Road has been revised downward to $167m from $350m.

In Iran, three new projects including the $3bn petrochemical plant by the Indian Oil Company and the $903m urea plant, a joint venture of the governments of Iran and India, were added to the projects list over the week. The third new project, although small at $35m, is nevertheless essential since it aims to generate 48MW of renewable energy from wind.

Twenty-two new projects valued at an estimated $2bn, led by the $642m Midtown Project by Dubai-based Deyaar, entered the UAE projects market in the week. Several projects were also revived, including the $345m Al-Bateen Wharf in Abu Dhabi and the Langham Place in Dubai’s Business Bay area.

The introduction of new projects, mostly residential and leisure, worth close to $300m in the region’s smallest projects market provided Bahrain with a major boost that equated to a 0.6 growth compared to the previous week’s index level.

The $2.1bn infrastructure package for the planned Bismaya mixed-use project In Iraq has been put on hold over the week, resulting in the country’s projects market falling 0.6 per cent. The budget for its high-speed railway connecting Karbala and Najaf line was also revised downward by $500m, which contributed to Iraq being the weakest performer of the eight countries tracked by the Gulf Projects Index.