Currently some $2.7 trillion worth of projects are planned or under way in the GCC, laying the foundations for the long-term, sustainable development of the region that will support the ambitions of the Gulf’s future generations, said leading industry experts.

A leading business information source in the region, Meed said it aims to support these ambitions by recognising and celebrating the best achievements of the region’s projects industry through its annual quality awards for projects being hosted in association with Dubai's Mashreq bank.

Now in its fifth year, the Meed Quality Awards for Projects have established themselves as the leading stamp of quality and achievement for companies operating in the GCC projects sector.  

A hunt is now on to find the Gulf’s Project of the Year, said Meed in a statement.

The last date for sending the project entries is December 17 and the winners will be announced at the Meed Construction Leadership Summit to be held from May 26 to 27 in Dubai, UAE.

“These awards not only recognise the construction element of project delivery but also consider the value and quality of a project throughout its entire life cycle, from the design concept through to engineering and construction and its wider contribution to society and to the environment,” remarked Richard Thompson, the editorial director at Meed.

Previous winners of the coveted Meed Quality Project of the Year include the Burj Khalifa (UAE, 2011), Pearl GTL project (Qatar, 2012), Concourse A – Dubai International Airport (UAE, 2013), and Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (Bapco) Install Refinery Wastewater Treatment Plant Project (Bahrain, 2014).

The judging process evaluates and recognises the key organisations behind successful project completion across the GCC – including contractors, engineers, architects, consultants, developers and project owners.

"We are delighted to partner with Meed for the third year to recognise the highest quality projects in the region," said Julio Armando de Quesada, the group head (Corporate Banking) at Mashreq.

Last year, UAE-based projects won the most number of regional awards with four, including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) Integrated Gas Development Project, nominated by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco), winning Industrial Project of the Year; and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (Dewa) Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park Phase One Project, nominated by First Solar, taking home the Power Project of the Year trophy.

This trend of success for UAE projects is expected to continue as the amount of work in the Emirates increases. In the first 10 months of the year, 961 projects totalling $46.7 billion, have been awarded in the UAE, making it the largest projects market in the Middle East, according to Meed Projects.

Notable projects completed this year and eligible for entry into the awards include: Takreer’s new $10-billion 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery at Ruwais; Mubadala’s $1.5-billion Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi; the $1.5-billion Shuwiehat 3 Independent Power Project (IPP); the $550-million Yas Mall by Aldar on Yas Island; and the $460-million JW Marriott Marquis hotel in Dubai.

Saudi Arabia emerged triumphant with three regional awards, including the King Fahad National Library Project, nominated by Saudi Binladin Group & Gerber Architekten, which scooped the 2014 Social Project of the Year award; while the National Water Company’s Riyadh Water Supply Project won in the 2014 Water and Water Reuse Project of the Year category.

Mars' chocolate factory project, nominated by Hyder Consulting Middle East, won the 2014 Small Project of the Year award.

As oil prices continue to tumble, there is pressure on the kingdom to cut oil production in order to maintain higher oil prices, said experts.

Riyadh however appears reluctant to take this approach, preferring instead to maintain its share of global production. On the projects side, new contractors will be invited to work in the kingdom to take pressure off existing, overloaded players.

The move is part of a broader initiative in the kingdom to open up the economy to foreign investment and participation.

In 2014, the kingdom is expected to award nearly $44 billion worth of projects, owing in large part to the Riyadh Metro project. That scheme, valued at about $22.5 billion, accounted for one quarter of the GCC’s total projects contract awards and about one half of Saudi Arabia’s total.

Qatar’s Baytna - the country's First Passivhaus Project, jointly owned by Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), Barwa Real Estate Group (BRE) and Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), and nominated by ETA Star Engineering & Contracting, received the 2014 Award for Innovation.

For Qatar’s project market, the outlook from now to 2020 is extremely strong. Although much of this has been attributed to its successful bid to stage the Fifa 2022 football World Cup, the reality is that the projects planned and under way are more about meeting the country’s National Vision 2030 than hosting the international sporting event, the experts added.

The combination of these two drivers leads to an active projects market estimated by regional projects tracker Meed Projects to be worth $285 billion.

Significant investments have gone into Qatar’s transportation and shipping infrastructure, including the construction of the New Doha International Airport [now Hamad International], the New Doha Port and several megacities such as Lusail and Msheireb. Additionally, the railway network project, estimated at $35 billion, entails plans to extend shipping railways by 325 km, and to connect Qatar’s rail networks to those of the other GCC countries.

The 2014 Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year award was won by United Real Estate Company’s Salalah Gardens Mall Project in Oman.

While this year is set to be the most active for oil and gas contractors in Oman, 2015 will see several large schemes move ahead. With an estimated $2.4 billion of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deals awarded in the year to date, 2014 has been the most active year for projects in Oman since 2006.

The most important project in Oman is the $16 billion Khazzan tight gas project being carried out by UK oil major BP.

The government is planning to develop infrastructure across the sultanate and also bolster Oman’s status as a luxury destination with several five-star hotel projects under way. The number of hotels rose from 224 to 282 in the five years to 2013, increasing the number of rooms by 37 per cent.

In 2013 the value added to the economy by the tourism sector increased by 45 per cent to RO709 million ($1.8 billion) and the government is aiming to increase this further and welcome four million tourists by 2015.

In Bahrain, the government is embarking on a major capital spending programme that includes transport projects, investment in utilities, the construction of low-cost housing, and a series of energy schemes intended to generate income for the country. GDP (gross domestic product) growth is forecast to be a healthy 3.5-4 per cent this year, led by expansion in the non-oil sector.

In addition to winning the top award, Bapco’s Install Refinery Wastewater Treatment Plant Project also received the Sustainable Project of the Year trophy; while the Ministry of Works’ North Manama Causeway Project, nominated by Hyder Consulting Middle East, won the CH2M Hill Transport Project of the Year award.

Consumer sentiment is said to be strong, with high footfall in shopping malls, and the private-sector employment rises.

Kuwait's Avenues Project owned by the Mabanee Company, was awarded the 2013 GCC Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year. This year, the country is expected to compete strongly as the projects market has $3.7 billion-worth of new orders placed so far in 2014, mostly in the transport and social infrastructure sectors.

It has been a steady 2014 for contractors as work continues on existing projects and new work is awarded on major schemes. For existing work, there are currently $19 billion of contracts in the execution phase, with just over $3 billion set for completion this year.

The awards programme will recognise projects completed between January 2013 and December 2014 across several categories, including Oil and Gas Project of the Year, Industrial Project of the Year, Power and Water Project of the Year, Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year, Transport Project of the Year, Social Infrastructure Project of the Year, Building Project of the Year, Sustainable Project of the Year, Award for Innovation and Small Project of the Year.-TradeArabia News Service