David Welch, regional president of Europe, Africa and the Middle East at Bechtel, said that despite a tightening market, there are areas of opportunity in the Middle East.

Oil exporting economies are having a much harder time, although in countries with major events approaching, such as the World Cup in Qatar and World Expo in Dubai, he said there has been no indication of a slowdown.

Saudi Arabia also offers opportunities, he said, particularly in power generation and infrastructure projects.

Governments in the region are fiscally conservative, he said, which does mean that sometimes they over react, But, they are slowing for understandable reasons, he added.

“Probably the clients – the owners– think that in this market they might be able to get a better bargain. Second, there’s some uncertainty. They would not have predicted this [oil price fall] two years ago, but that uncertainty is also related to what is going on around them in the world.”

However, he warned that if governments do overreact and slow project plans down, those goals, such as meeting the needs of citizens or having facilities completed in time for world events, will not be reached.

David Welch spoke to MEED during the MEED Construction Leadership Summit in Dubai