UAE leads GCC project market in Q2 despite dip, outlook remains bright for 2025

Khaleej Times

2 days ago

The GCC project market is expected to gain renewed momentum in the second half of 2025, led by sustained activities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
According to the latest data from MEED Projects and Kamco Invest, the UAE emerged as the region's top project market in the second quarter of the year, overtaking Saudi Arabia, despite a year-on-year drop in awarded contracts.
The UAE recorded $14 billion worth of contract awards in Q2-2025, down from $26.4 billion in the same period last year — a 47 per cent decline. However, its share of the GCC project market rose to 49.2 per cent from 38.9 per cent in Q2-2024, highlighting the resilience and attractiveness of the UAE's diversified project portfolio.
'The UAE's ability to retain its lead in the region despite a sector-wide slowdown reflects its strategic investment push, policy reforms, and continued focus on economic diversification,' said Mohamed Ali Omar, associate at Kamco Invest.
In contrast, Saudi Arabia posted a sharp 72.5 per cent year-on-year drop in Q2 contract awards, reaching $9.8 billion compared to $35.6 billion in Q2-2024. Overall, the GCC recorded a steep 58 per cent drop in Q2 contract awards, with total awards falling to $28.4 billion from $67.7 billion a year earlier — the lowest quarterly figure in 14 quarters.
The decline was broad-based, with five of six GCC nations posting lower project awards in the second quarter. The slowdown comes after two years of record spending on mega oil and gas developments and over $1 trillion in gigaprojects. According to Junaid Ansari, head of Investment Strategy and Research at Kamco Invest, 'The slowdown is a cyclical correction after an extended period of robust activity. We expect a revival in the second half as several high-value projects enter the execution phase.'
In terms of first-half 2025 performance, UAE contracts totalled $44.4 billion, down 12.1 per cent from $50.6 billion in H1-2024. The largest hit was in the construction sector, which saw a 61.6 per cent drop to $4.9 billion. Yet, the gas sector proved to be a bright spot, with $5.3 billion in awards, accounting for 37.6 per cent of the UAE's Q2 total.
Among the standout deals was a $400 million three-year LNG supply agreement between Adnoc Gas and Germany's SEFE. Separately, Adnoc Gas announced a $5 billion investment in its Rich Gas Development Scheme, with the first $2.8 billion tranche awarded to UK-based Wood for the Habshan facility. Petrofac and Kent were also awarded major packages for Das Island and Asab-Bu Hasa facilities, respectively.
The industrial and chemical sectors in the UAE also showed signs of growth. The industrial sector saw a 35.8 per cent year-on-year rise in Q2 awards, while the chemical sector rebounded with $150 million in new contracts after no awards in the year-ago quarter.
Looking ahead, Saudi Arabia's pipeline includes mega projects such as the $80 billion CARE nuclear power reactor and a $10 billion battery energy storage system. These projects are currently in the bidding or FEED (front-end engineering design) stages and are expected to boost contract activity later in the year.
As of mid-2025, the GCC's pre-execution pipeline of contracts is valued at approximately $1.73 trillion. Of this, Saudi Arabia accounts for over 50 per cent at $873.2 billion, followed by the UAE at $417.9 billion, or 24.2 per cent. Kuwait ranks fourth with $114.8 billion, or 6.6 per cent of the regional total.
Segment-wise, the pipeline includes $586 billion in the design stage, $625.5 billion in the study phase, $133.9 billion in pre-qualification, $106.3 billion in bidding, $162.6 billion in bid evaluation, and $115.2 billion in FEED.