Iraq’s projects market index gained 0.7 per cent on the week ending 5 February on the back of a $2.8bn upward adjustment to the budget of the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP), owned by the South Oil Company.

Iraq’s positive performance helped the overall index avoid a decline, by growing a marginal $345m – hardly a hundredth of a per cent – compared with the previous week’s index.

The indices of Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran and Oman also grew marginally, whereas the indices of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE retreated.

Bahrain’s growth hinged mainly on a new captive power project launched by the Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) worth an estimated $100m. A $330m road project between the Northern Regional Road’s crossroad 58 and 82 buoyed Kuwait’s index, offsetting the completion of $33m-worth of projects in its oil and construction sectors, and another project, a multipurpose hall at the Defence Ministry, being put on hold.

In Iran, a new captive power plant for the Damavand Petrochemical Complex in Tehran, estimated to carry a project value worth $750m, was countered by the completion of the $700m North Yaran oil field development in Khuzestan province, leaving Iran with a net project value gain of about $50m.

Residential construction projects worth $300m were annonuced in Oman. New projects worth an estimated $120m did not prevent Qatar from shedding points on the index due to the completion of more than $200m-worth of projects, as well as some downward budget adjustment on two packages under the Lusail City masterplan and Hamad International airport expansion.

Nearly $1bn-worth of projects in Saudi Arabia were completed, with only one new project in the construction sector – valued at an estimated $80m – inducted into its market during the week.

In the UAE, 14 projects with a cumulative value of $1.09bn were completed, whereas 17 new projects carrying an estimated budget of $1.42bn have been announced. The largest of the new projects is the $300m package 9 for the Jewel of the Creek Development.