After two weeks of gains, the political turmoil in the region again had a negative impact on the projects market, as the Gulf Projects Index slipped 0.2 per cent to $2.58 trillion for the week up to 24 May.

The political unrest in Bahrain resulted in the value of its market declining by 3.8 per cent as uncertainty causes many projects to stall. The biggest project to be put on hold is the estimated $1.3bn Durrat Marina real-estate project in Manama. The stalling of the $500m Durrat Khaleej residential project and the $400m Bahrain Investment Wharf business park projects also contributed to the drop in the country’s projects sector.

Saudi Arabia was the only other country in the Gulf to record a decrease in the value of its projects market. The region’s biggest projects market shrank by 0.6 per cent as three projects on the Saudi Minerals Railway, worth a total of $2bn, were completed. The shelving of a $1.5bn real-estate development in Jeddah also contributed to the drop.

Qatar and Kuwait recorded the biggest increase in the value of their projects markets, recording growth of 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.

In Kuwait, $800m of new projects were added to its index. The largest of these was a $224m infrastructure package for the project to upgrade Gamal Abdul Nasser Street.

As a result of the drop in the value of Bahrain’s and Saudi Arabia’s markets, the GCC Projects Index, fell by 0.2 per cent.

Outside the GCC, Iraq was unable to build on its impressive 16 per cent growth last week as its projects market remained flat.

The Iranian projects market also stood still. Iraq maintains its position as the region’s fastest-growing market, recording a 36 per cent year-on-year increase.