MEED: $238 billion value of development and project markets in Kuwait
- Kuwait’s “Kuwait Oil” deal with “Larsen & Toubro” valued at $992 million
- Kuwait holds a 5.4% share of the $4.41 trillion Gulf projects market
Mideast Monitor magazine revealed that Kuwait secured contracts worth $1.4 billion in June, led by a major $992 million deal signed between Kuwait Oil Company and Indian firm Larsen & Toubro to develop light oil export facilities and upgrade the existing oil export network.
Kuwait’s performance came amid a general rise in contract award activity across the Middle East and North Africa region during the same month, coinciding with signs of an end to the Iranian conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime navigation.
The aggregate estimated value of deals signed in the region reached approximately $20.5 billion in June, up from $17 billion in May, although contract values remain below pre-conflict levels, which averaged $36.4 billion.
The UAE ranked second, with a notable increase in the value of signed contracts reaching $6.4 billion, compared to $3 billion in May. This was topped by a $2.7 billion deal for ADNOC Offshore with Spanish company Tecnicas Reunidas to expand the Upper Zakum field. In Tunisia, contract values totaled $992 million, most notably an $872 million contract awarded to Hitachi Energy to build conversion stations for the Elmed electricity interconnection project between Italy and Tunisia.
In Oman, awarded contracts reached $772 million, led by a $300 million deal between state-owned group OQ and US firm SLB to develop an early production facility (EPF) under a DBOOM contract. Qatar followed with total contracts worth $612 million, the largest being a $102 million award to the Public Works Authority and the National Industrial Contracting Company to complete the main sewage line in Al-Shahaniya.
In Egypt, contracts totaled $480 million, led by the Ministry of Water Resources’ $190 million contract with Al-Suwaidi Electric Infrastructure to build a desalination plant in El Dabaa with a capacity of 160,000 cubic meters per day. Meanwhile, Bahrain awarded a single contract worth $11 million to Al-Seef Real Estate Company for the renovation of the Al-Seef complex in Manama.
On another note, according to the latest Mideast Monitor Projects Index data for the period between June 19 and July 17, the total value of developmental and development projects under planning and execution in Kuwait stood at $238 billion, a 0.5% decline compared to the previous period. These figures place Kuwait fifth in the Gulf, holding a 5.4% share of the total Gulf projects market, which amounts to $4.41 trillion.
The Mideast Monitor Gulf Projects Index continued to expand its total volume for the sixteenth consecutive month, recording an increase of $22 billion to bring the regional total to $5.1 trillion, with a growth rate of 0.4%, slightly lower than the pace recorded in the previous month. Additionally, the total value of Gulf projects rose by 0.2% (equivalent to $9 billion) to reach $4.41 trillion.
Regarding regional markets, Iraq and Oman led the best-performing markets during the period; Iraq recorded the largest absolute increase by adding $15 billion (a 3.4% growth), raising its total market to $444 billion.
Oman was the standout market among GCC countries, achieving 2% growth as its portfolio of existing and upcoming projects expanded by $7 billion to reach $367 billion.
Qatar rose by 0.6 percent to reach $242 billion. In contrast, Bahrain remained largely stable overall, despite a 0.4 percent decline, closing at $55 billion.
