The total value of major projects planned or under way in the Gulf on 7 September stood at $2.92 trillion – virtually unchanged on the previous week – according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

By value, the largest investments across the gulf were in Iraq, which saw added to the MEED Projects database during the week: The $270m Al-Muthana cement plant; and a $50m licence for oil and gas exploration in the Atrush block. These two projects pushed the Iraq index up by 0.1 per cent, ensuring that it remains the Gulf’s fastest-growing market with 125.8 per cent growth year-on-year.

The GCC projects market remained largely unchanged in the first week of September, with $2.28 trillion of projects planned or under way and few new projects launching. Kuwait’s projects market grew by 0.1 per cent. Schemes include Kuwait Oil Company’s $200m boat harbour and infrastructure works project and the Electricity & Water Ministry’s $200m Funaitess transformer station.

Bahrain was the Gulf’s second-biggest performer, with a $50m Askar Waste-to-Energy Plant launched by the Finance Ministry. Growth was also present in the UAE, where the $408m Harmony Towers at Dubai’s Dubiotech development pushed the index marginally up.

Qatar dipped 0.43 per cent, as the Qatar General Water & Electricity Corporation (Kahramaa)’s Phase VIII OHL package was completed and no new projects were added to the database.

Despite this, there were several major Qatari awards. Local developer Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company awarded two major deals – a $687m contract to build the second phase of the new Doha Convention Centre (see page 10) and a $337.8m contract to design and build an underground car park.