The value of construction contracts awarded in the United Arab Emirates fell by 85 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year, said a report.

Contract awards worth $14.4 billion were made during the fourth quarter of 2008, down from $98.1 billion during the same period in 2007 as the global credit crisis rendered project financing a struggle, London-based weekly Middle East Economic Digest (Meed) said on Wednesday.

Around $23.2 billion worth of projects have been put on hold, almost 10 per cent of the $249.7 billion of projects under construction in the UAE, Meed reported.

Projects hit by delays include Nakheel Properties' Palm Deira project in Dubai, Dubai Waterfront, Dubailand, and the Trump International Hotel & Tower, it added.

In total, $191.8 billion of contract awards were made in 2008, a 60 per cent drop from the $482.5 billion of awards made in 2007.

Oil prices at about a quarter of their peak in July and a global financial credit crisis have put the brakes on expansion projects across the Gulf Arab region.-Reuters