It's boom time for construction and infrastructure sector in the GCC as the region prepares to award projects worth $286 billion over the next four years, said a new report ahead of a major construction event in Abu Dhabi.

The Arabian World Construction Summit 2012, a premier annual event for the region’s construction projects industry, will be held at the Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and Spa from May 20 to 23.

According to the report, of these GCC projects, the lion's share will be allocated for infrastructure (including roads, bridges, rail, sewerage, wastewater and marine) estimated at $187.2 billion.

Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia leads the tally with over $119 billion projects to be awarded before 2016, followed by the UAE with $75 billion.

Elsewhere in the GCC, Oman is expected to award more than $30 billion, followed by Qatar with $26 billion, Kuwait with more than $25 billion projects up for tender, and Bahrain with $10 billion, the report added.

Commenting on the report, Edmund O'Sullivan, chairman of Meed Events, the organisers of the summit, said, 'There is cause for optimism in the infrastructure and construction sector. This kind of growth cannot be seen anywhere else in the world, and is still driven by huge petrodollar reserves.'

'However, with the construction sector picking up pace, GCC economies are likely to benefit and experience a positive increase in their GDP in the next four years,' he added.

Outside the GCC, there are other opportunities for contractors in Iraq, where a burgeoning real estate and transport infrastructure development agenda is under way, with spending expected to top $35 billion by end of 2012, according to the report.

These and many other opportunities in addition to future business plans in the region's hot markets, including Qatar, whose ambitious infrastructure development programme - estimated at $600 billion — will gather pace in preparation for 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Projects in rail, roads, hotels and sports stadia will all provide exciting opportunities for the industry over the coming years, the report added.

Tim Risbridger, head of transportation, Middle East at EC Harris, said the Middle East was showing increased commitment to sustainability efforts and foresaw this development going hand-in-hand with higher levels of opportunity in the region.

'Since the global economic crisis, governments are using infrastructure, among other measures, to encourage investment and stimulate growth,' he remarked.

'Both Saudi and Qatar have commenced massive infrastructure investment programmes and the region as a whole is upgrading infrastructure and making significant investment. These measures ensure that significant opportunities throughout the region continue to be present,' he added.

Holley Chant, corporate sustainability director at KEO International Consultants, said: 'I am confident that within less than five years, every market in the GCC will have sustainability-related regulations. This started in the UAE, then Qatar, and now all other GCC countries are showing signs of implementation of policies that can be classified as sustainable regulations.'

'Since mid-2009, nearly every building Request for Proposal (RFP) that KEO has responded to has some form of sustainability requirement scoped in it.'

'During project design, an integrated design team can feasibly validate energy savings of 20 to 50 per cent over a baseline building of energy use, depending on how ambitious the project is,' she added.

Addressing the benefits of green building standards being imposed by governments, Risbridger said: 'Sustainable construction practice is a long-term commitment, but while moving to these methods will likely incur initial costs, the investment will bring both short and long-term savings which will increase profitability.'

More than 300 industry leaders and experts from the Gulf region and beyond will attend the upcoming AWCS 2012.-TradeArabia News Service