The Gulf Projects Index saw an expansion of 0.4 per cent in the week ending 1 October, with the UAE leading the gains.

The UAE projects sector grew 4.5 per cent, after plans for the $32bn expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport were approved by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

The scheme is the biggest airport project in the world and includes a new terminal for Emirates Airline that will have the capacity to handle 120-130 million passengers a year, making it the biggest terminal building in the world.

Over the week, 56 new schemes were announced in the UAE, with a total value of $42.4bn.

While the UAE was the biggest gainer, Kuwait saw the biggest decline of 9 per cent in its projects market, as a multibillion-dollar housing project located in the Al-Ahmadi governorate was put on hold.

Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest projects market, also contracted, dropping by 0.4 per cent as several large schemes were completed, including the $1.5bn Yanbu Export Refinery.

Iraq saw a week of stabilisation, with its projects market staying flat at $433bn. The country has seen $85.7bn wiped off its projects market since the jihadist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria swept through it in early June, seizing control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-most populous city.

Bahrain and Oman, the Gulf’s smallest projects markets, also saw little movement. Both finished the week with an expansion of 0.1 per cent. Qatar also grew by 0.1 per cent, with a large number of small-scale construction projects pushing the market up.

Iran saw an expansion of 1.1 per cent over the week, but remains down by 3.2 per cent year-on-year.