Kuwait’s project index rises to $193 billion, maintains 5th in GCC

MEED magazine reported that the Gulf Projects Index, including the GCC countries, Iraq and Iran, fell for the first time in 17 months by 1.2% in the five weeks between July 12 and August 16, breaking a 16-month streak of growth driven by a series of projects being tendered.

The index’s stability above the $4 trillion mark at $4.09 trillion comes after a record period of growth that saw the index rise by 21% throughout 2023, and 7% again so far in 2024, with the Iraqi Projects Index valued at $396 billion, followed by the Iranian Projects Index at $276 billion.

The GCC projects index crossed the $3 trillion mark for the first time, before rising to its current value of over $3.42 trillion. The Kuwaiti projects market index grew by 2.4% during that period to reach $193 billion, compared to $189 billion during the previous period, and thus Kuwait maintained its fifth place among the GCC countries.

Saudi Arabia came in first place with projects worth $1.89 trillion, followed by the UAE and Qatar in second and third place with projects worth $798 billion and $232 billion respectively, then Oman in fourth place with $227 billion, then Kuwait in fifth place, and Bahrain in sixth and last place with projects worth $69 billion.

Thus, the GCC projects index reached $3.42 trillion, down from $3.45 trillion and by 0.9% from the previous period. It is worth noting that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were the only countries to record growth in the Gulf projects index for this period, with a growth rate of 2.4% for the former and 2.5% for the latter, while the remaining countries recorded a decline in the value of their indices at varying rates.