The Gulf Projects Index stayed flat during the last week of Ramadan, which ended on 17 July.

Iran’s projects market expanded by 0.6 per cent, following the signing of the nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries, which could lead to sanctions being lifted. Tehran is now planning to spend billions of dollars on upgrading its outdated oil and gas infrastructure.

For Iran’s projects market, the impact is expected to be gradual. It is still down 14.8 per cent year-on-year, and 44 per cent below its all-time high of $349bn in April 2010, before the last round of sanctions was imposed.

Oman’s projects market saw the biggest rise, with the value of projects planned or under way increasing by 1.5 per cent or $2.5bn. Investment in the power and water sector made up the bulk of the growth, while cultural schemes also contributed to the increase.

The Omani market has grown 13.3 per cent year-on-year to $168bn, an all-time high, as the sultanate invests in vital infrastructure and economic diversification.

The growth in Iran and Oman did not pull up the index overall, as larger projects markets showed no change or fell.

The biggest loss was in Qatar, where the value of schemes was down 1.2 per cent, or $3.6bn, as it prioritises those projects necessary to host the Fifa World Cup in 2022.

Kuwait recorded a 0.3 per cent rise in the value of its projects market, as Kuwait Petroleum Company considers plans for a 900-kilometre undersea gas pipeline that could be worth $900m.

Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest projects market, continued to show signs of slowing growth, as it expanded by 0.1 per cent. The award of more than $1bn of residential construction contracts in Dhahran kept the market moving, but the cancellation of a $200m rail contract has cast doubt over major schemes progressing.

The UAE recorded a 0.1 per cent fall in the value of its projects market. Steady progress on real estate schemes worth billions of dollars did not compensate for project completions as the pipeline begins to thin out.