Leading developers from across the Gulf region will battle it out for Meed Quality Awards for Projects which honours project excellence and best practice in project delivery.

Business intelligence firm Meed, which has constituted the award, is inviting owners, architects, engineers, contractors and consultants of completed projects in the GCC (during the period from January 2011 to December 2015) to submit entries by January 31.

"The GCC is home to some of the world’s most impressive and unique buildings, and Meed’s awards programme is designed to recognise the highest quality developments leading the projects market in the region," remarked Richard Thompson, the editorial director at Meed.

"It has distinguished itself as the premier recognition programme in the projects market because it evaluates the outcome of the construction process, rather than the process itself. Meed is proud to have created an independent judging process, with the help of the Societies of Engineers across the GCC," he added.

According to him, the construction sector remains one of the brightest spots for the GCC region, where $2.65 billion-worth of projects are underway or in the pipeline.

Although lower oil prices may continue to be a challenge, ongoing projects will have enough impact to stimulate economic growth and help alleviate the concerns of the industry by replenishing diminishing order books, he stated.

This could only mean that the list of completed schemes will continue to grow, and thousands of teams will play their part to ensure major schemes are completed to the highest quality, said Thompson.

"To ensure such stringent quality standards are maintained, the Meed Quality Awards for Projects, in association with Mashreq has launched its latest search for the Gulf’s highest quality projects," he added.

John Iossifidis, the group head of Corporate and Investment banking at Mashreq, said: "We are proud to support the awards programme for the past three years now. The awards have definitely shed the spotlight not just on excellence and quality, but also on the valuable contribution to the economic development of the region that such projects make."

"The awards also send a clear message to the market that quality is essential in all parts of the project management process; from design planning to engineering and construction. We wish all participants the very best of luck,” he stated.

At this year's awards, Meed has included new categories allowing a wider range of projects to be recognised as the region’s highest quality projects.

These include Upstream Oil and Gas Project of the Year, Downstream Oil and Gas Project the Year, Airport Project of the Year, Tall Building Project of the Year, Retail Project of the Year, Mixed-Use Project of the Year, Education Project of the Year, Residential Project of the Year, Commercial Project of the Year; Rail, Metro, Tram Project of the Year; and Road, Bridge, Tunnel Project of the Year.

In broadening the scope of the recognition programme, the region’s premier quality awards for projects hope to reflect the diversity of schemes that have been completed throughout the Gulf region.

The winners will be announced at the end of Meed Construction Leadership Summit, which takes place on May 25.-TradeArabia News Service