All eyes are on the Middle East’s property market after a dramatic reversal in fortunes over the past two years.

In mid-November, investors flocked to Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena for the launch of Burj Binghatti Jacob & Co Residences, the world’s tallest residential building.

It was the clearest sign yet of a dramatic return to form for Dubai’s real estate sector.

Developments in Abu Dhabi continue to sell strongly, and in Bahrain, developers attending Cityscape in November said they were expecting good years ahead.

The biggest market, Saudi Arabia, may have seen its residential market cool in recent months due to higher interest rates, but commercial property continues to perform well and the overall outlook for real estate remains positive.

In the January issue of MEED Business Review, MEED editor Colin Foreman analyses why real estate in the region is here to stay, despite the ups and downs of the property cycle.

This month, we also reveal the region’s top 100 megaprojects – which, combined, account for $1.4tn in project value. Of this, more than $570bn is made up of project components that have moved beyond the study stage and are actively moving through the design, main contract bidding and execution phases.

The Top 100 ranking and analysis on increasing activity on oil and gas schemes and economic diversification initiatives, particularly in Saudi Arabia, can be accessed here. 

Our 15-page special report on Oman, meanwhile, finds that budget discipline has allowed Muscat to hugely improve the sultanate’s fiscal standing.

Most significantly over the past 12 months, Oman has garnered the interest of investors for its potential as a hydrogen generation and transmission hub, with planned hydrogen schemes in the sultanate valued at almost $80bn.

Must-read sections in the January 2023 edition of MEED Business Review include:

> AGENDA: Dubai real estate returns

> RIYADH 2KM-TALL TOWER: Saudi tower tops GCC list of megatall structures

> ACQUISITION: Alec acquires Abu Dhabi contractor Target

> BIG INTERVIEW: Awaidha Murshed Ali al-Marar, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy

> OPINION: Energy challenges cloud 2023 outlook

> MEED COMMENTS: 
    > Middle East rail sector has best year since 2013
    > Riyadh doubles down on Beijing relationship​​​​​​

> SAUDI BUDGET: Riyadh increases expenditure as projects take centre stage

> TOP 100 PROJECTS: Saudi Arabia ramps up project activity

> INTERVIEW: Harssha Shetty, CEO of Oman steel manufacturer Jindal Shadeed Group

> ENERGY TRANSITION: Hydrogen’s energy transition role is precarious

> TENDER INFLATION: Saudi construction faces rising costs amid optimism

> MEED INDEX: UAE leads the region in MEED’s Digital Transformation Index

> FOOD SECURITY: UAE food suppliers face global issues

> OMAN MARKET FOCUS: Oman restores the faith of investors

> MARKET SNAPSHOT: The region’s growing hydrogen economy

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market ends 2022 on positive note

> NOVEMBER 2022 CONTRACTS: Awards fall off sharply in November

> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts