Meed | Gulf projects index halts its decline

Gulf projects index halts its decline

24 September 2024

The Gulf Projects Index crept upwards by 0.1% in the four weeks from 16 August to 13 September, stabilising its performance after it dipped by 1.6% in August, breaking a 16-month growth streak.

The levelling off of the index above the $4tn-mark locks in the recent gains in the value of project activity in the region, which has grown by 23.7% over the past two years from a base of $3.3tn at the start of 2022.

The expansion of the projects market has been driven by activity in the GCC, where the value of active schemes has risen by 30.6%, from $2.6tn in 2022 to an estimated total of $3.4tn.

UAE strength

The index was leant buoyancy principally by the expansion of the UAE projects market, which rose by 1.6%, or $12.7bn – though it remains down on its Q2 value.

The UAE’s increase was led by the launch by public energy company Taqa of an estimated $5bn scheme to develop new gas-fired power plants at Al-Dhafra and Al-Nouf with a combined power production capacity of 5,000MW.

The Qatari and Omani projects markets also grew by 1.3% and 0.7%, or $3.0bn and $1.6bn, respectively, alongside a marginal increase for Bahrain, which added 0.3% or $0.2bn.

The remaining Gulf markets contracted, led by Iran and Iraq, which witnessed declines of 2.5% and 1.1%, or $6.9bn or $4.4bn, respectively. Iran lost its value amid budget revisions on the National Iranian Oil Company’s Kish gas field development, while Iraq shed value on its Zubair field development, which is being developed by a consortium led by Italy’s Eni. Saudi Arabia also exhibited a slight 0.1% decline, shedding $2.2bn, while Kuwait lost 0.5%, or $1bn.

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John Bambridge