Index remains flat ahead of Eid break

02 November 2010

Lack of movement reflects some projects being initiated and others being cancelled

Contract awards 9 November 2010

Biggest contract: $450m

Awarded to SNC-Lavalin for work on the Great Man Made River project in Libya

$616m: Value of major contract awards

5: Number of contracts awarded

The total value of projects planned or under way in the Gulf remained steady at about $2.93 trillion in the seven days to 9 November, according to MEED’s Gulf Projects Index, which tracks trends in the region’s major projects markets.

The lack of significant movement continues the overall trend in the regional projects market since the summer. It also comes a week before the Eid break.

Project updates 9 November 2010
 Project NameProject Status
Saudi ArabiaJubail Industrial City Polyacetal FactoryDesign
OmanRas al-Hadd Airport: Package IIIPrequalification
Saudi ArabiaTabuk Power Plant Expansion (Phase VII)Construction
OmanRedevelopment of Salalah International AirportConstruction
Oman220 kV Sur Grid StationConstruction
For further information visit www.meed.com/meedprojects

The projects index shows that while 12 new projects have been initiated and four revived over the past seven days, six projects worth $1.85bn were either cancelled or put on hold during the period.

The GCC, which accounts for about 78 per cent of the overall Gulf projects market, also remained flat at about $2.3 trillion. Qatar and Oman each had three new projects initiated, worth a total of $835m. The total value of projects planned or under way for these countries grew by 0.24 per cent and 0.05 per cent respectively.

Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE all witnessed a decline in the value of projects planned or under way on the previous week. The decline in the UAE can be attributed to the completion of a $500m project at Dubai Sports City and the decision to put the $817m Boris Becker Beach Resort and Tennis Academy on Ras-al Khaimah’s Al-Marjan Island development on hold.

Upcoming tender deadlines
 ClientContractSubmission date
UAETourism Development & Investment CompanyLouvre museum14-Nov
Saudi ArabiaSaudi AramcoShaybah co-generation plant22-Nov
OmanThe WaveKempinski Hotel1-Dec
Saudi ArabiaSWCC & MarafiqYanbu power and water desalination plant11-Dec
UAECentre of Waste Management - Abu DhabiIntegrated waste management project23-Dec
For further information visit www.meed.com/tenders

Saudi Arabia witnessed the largest increase during the week, with an index increase of 0.3 per cent. Part of the reason for the rise is the new $70m tower project in Jeddah.

Outside the GCC, Iran recorded a 0.2 per cent decrease, while Iraq’s project market recorded little change. The overall projects index is still positive, with the Gulf achieving a 9 per cent year-on-year increase.

Iraq remains the region’s fastest growing market, with a 122 per cent year-on-year increase.

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