The combined value of the 22,680 active construction projects across the GCC has exceeded Dh8.91 trillion ($2.43 trillion) in November, according to latest GCC Construction Analytics report issued by BNC Network, a key project research and intelligence provider in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

Of these the urban construction sector has the highest number of projects, touching 17,912, worth $1.21 trillion, followed by utilities sector with 1,701, transport sector having 1,423, industrial with 1,289 and 355 oil and gas projects.

However, combined value of 1,423 transport projects surged to $387.6 billion, followed by oil and gas projects valued at $337 billion, utilities worth $313 billion and industrial project value reaching $178.6 billion.

The construction boom comes as Gulf countries continue to invest in the building sector to diversify the region’s $1.4 trillion economy and prepare for post-oil era, stated the BNC Network in its report.

The GCC region, which includes the six hydrocarbon-rich six countries, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $1.4 trillion - have undertaken massive development and construction activities to diversify their economies.

“Clearly, the governments of these countries are investing their current oil wealth and resources to build a better future that will serve the future generations well even when oil runs out or the use of oil reduces to the minimum,” remarked Avin Gidwani, the chief executive of BNC Network.

"The re-modelling of Dubai economy and the UAE economy to a certain extent has inspired the rest of the countries to catch up fast," he noted.

In 2016, the GCC countries pumped an average of 18.3 million barrel per day. According to the GCC Secretariat, the Gulf countries’ non-oil exports reached $113.1 billion while oil exports fetched $357.8 billion in 2015.

“Much of these are being invested in large infrastructure, housing and commercial projects that will have a far-reaching impact on the region’s economies,” remarked Gidwani.

"According to the GCC Secretariat, the total budget deficit of $152 billion reflects the simple fact that the governments are spending fast and higher to build the economies," he stated.

"In terms of number of projects, these represent 85 per cent of all active projects in Mena region and 68 per cent in terms of estimated value in US dollar terms," said the official.

“This also shows that most of the Middle East’s construction and development activities are concentrated in the Gulf region as the governments of the six oil-rich countries are spending their resources in time to diversify the economy by developing the infrastructure, housing and commercial real estate to build strong national economies and preparing the economies for the post-oil era,” he added.

In the third quarter, as many as 269 projects with a combined estimated value of $82.85 billion were announced in the GCC.

The notable among them included Al Faisaliya City located in Makkah worth $25 billion; Aljada Residential City located near Sharjah's University City worth $6.5 billion and Oman to India multi-purpose pipeline located in Muscat worth $5.6 billion, according to the latest GCC Construction Analytics issued by BNC Network.

These, of course do not include the $500 billion new coastal city of Neom announced earlier this month by Saudi Arabia – that will change the economic landscape of the kingdom which is developing the world’s tallest tower – a km-long Jeddah Tower.

In October, the number of active projects in the GCC increased by 2 per cent as compared to September 2017 and the total estimated value of these projects increased by 1 per cent.

A total of 142 active projects with a combined estimated value of $10.4 billion moved to construction from other stages during the month. A total of 670 active projects with a combined estimated value of $15.2 billion were completed during the month.

BNC, the largest project intelligence provider in the Mena region, tracks 25,324 live construction projects with a value exceeding $7.7 trillion (Dh28.3 trillion). It publishes over 250 project updates that are distributed amongst 73,000 executives and professionals every day.-TradeArabia News Service