Following a period of robust contract awards, Kuwait’s momentum took a downturn, as reported by MEED magazine. The nation’s contract awards, which had reached a noteworthy level, experienced a significant drop in value during July.
In contrast to the substantial $583 million in contracts awarded last June, Kuwait’s July awards plummeted to a mere $25 million. This decline caused Kuwait to find itself at the bottom of the list of countries in terms of contract awards for July, ranking last both within the Gulf region and in a broader regional context, reports Al-Anba daily.
A solitary contract marked Kuwait’s presence in the award category for July, involving the Ministry of Electricity and Water and the National Electrical Switchgear Company. This contract pertains to the construction of two main transformer stations. Consequently, Kuwait’s total contract awards for July represented a mere 4.3% of the awards it had achieved in the preceding June.
On a larger regional scale, the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) managed to accumulate contract awards valued at $11.9 billion during July. This accomplishment was buoyed by substantial contracts awarded in countries such as Iraq, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
The total sum of awards for July exhibits a favorable comparison with the $6.7 billion in deals awarded during the same month in the previous year, reflecting a significant increase of 77.6%.
However, this figure remains below the average monthly total of $15.7 billion over the past year. This follows a robust second quarter in which deals worth $58.2 billion were signed, making it the most potent quarter since 2014.
Analyzing the Gulf states’ standings in terms of contract awards, the UAE secured the lead with a commendable $2.939 billion, positioning itself first within the Gulf and second in the regional context. Saudi Arabia followed in second place within the Gulf and third in the region with awards totaling $1.718 billion. Qatar and Oman secured the third and fourth positions with $1 billion and $224 million, respectively. Kuwait occupied the fifth and final position within the Gulf and the larger region. Meanwhile, Bahrain remained absent from the list for the third consecutive month.
Turning attention to the broader regional landscape, Iraq took the lead in the MENA region with contract awards reaching an impressive $4.301 billion. Algeria and Egypt followed suit with $1.2 billion and $280 million, respectively. Libya and Tunisia completed the list with contracts valued at $120 million and $40 million, respectively.
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