The value of MEED’s fourth quarter 2014 top 100 projects index was not dented by the fall in oil prices, reaching its highest point in nine quarters.

The collapse in oil prices from summer last year has left doubts about prospects for the region’s projects sector in 2015, but for those schemes already under way or far down the line in their planning there was little sign of a slow-down in the final quarter of the year.

The index tracks the 100 biggest contracts by value across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, and the 1.8 per cent rise in the fourth quarter to $286.4bn was the index’s highest value since launch in 2012.

The 10 biggest contracts by value have remained unchanged since the third quarter of 2013, and within the full list it is schemes in Saudi Arabia (totalling $95.7bn) and the transport sector ($94.2bn) that continue to dominate the index. This is due chiefly to metro and rail projects in the kingdom.

There were $15.5bn of contracts entering the top 100, with new awards including dredging and tunnelling work on the New Suez Canal in Egypt. A government-backed scheme to increase Egypt’s revenues from the canal, the new waterway will be a 34-kilometre parallel lane to the existing Suez Canal so that more ships can pass and reduce waiting times.

The outlook for the projects index this year is uncertain. Those projects already under way are unlikely to be placed on hold, provided funding is in place. But as these are completed, there could be a lull in major new contract awards entering the index, as clients stretch award timelines or put developments on hold due to tighter budgetary constraints following the fall in oil price. This could result in a dip in value for the index during 2015.