Saudi Arabia spearheading $1.6 trillion GCC construction market


The GCC construction market is estimated at $1.6 trillion with more than 21,000 active projects as of Q3 mainly driven by Saudi Arabia which was behind more than half of the new project announcements totalling $24.7 billion, said a report.

The GCC construction market is estimated at $1.6 trillion, with over 21,000 active projects as of Q3 2021, according to a new report by BNC Projects Journal.
 
Projects worth $24.7 billion have been announced across the GCC region during the third quarter with Saudi Arabia leading the way contributing half of the total announcements in Q3 and doubling the project completions when compared to Q2.
 
The GCC registered $16.5 billion worth of new awards in Q3 with the UAE and Saudi Arabia contributing 46% and 32% respectively. Urban construction leads amongst the sectors with a 62% share.
 
The utilities sector topped the ranks as it contributed 52% to the total announcements followed by the urban construction sector with a 28% share, stated the report.
 
According to BNC, the Saudi Project Index grew 2% over the last quarter to 112.1, indicating a healthy and developing project market, while the UAE continues to record a 37-38% QoQ hike in project announcements for consecutive quarters.
 
The project announcements in Qatar till Q3 2021 recorded a 54% hike over last year, stated the report.
 
"The Dubai Expo is a boon not just for the city but for the entire region as it creates a defining event to reverse the Covid-expat-exodus," remarked Avin Gidwani, CEO of Industry Networks.
 
"Driven by the UAE with a 45% share, project completions in Q3 adds $27 billion worth of finished developments in the GCC followed by Saudi Arabia with a 26% contribution. The urban construction sector again surfaces as the leader with 55% of the total project delivery in the region," he noted.
 
"Project awards and project completions in the GCC till Q3 is still 39% and 47% below 2020 respectively," he added.
 
Noticeably, project announcements till Q3 2021 in the GCC have performed extremely well as they are already 20% above the performance in the whole of 2020. However, project awards and project completions till Q3 2021 are lagging behind.
 
"Even with the massive uptick in economic activity there will be a lag of several months before construction activity picks up and you're going to have to bid some of this time in longer traffic jams to work, patiently pondering your plans for the exponential growth that is hiding on the horizon," added Gidwani.