Total contracts awarded in Qatar more than doubled quarter-on-quarter to $3.4bn during the third quarter (Q3) of 2022 with chemicals sector taking the lead, according to Kamco Investment.
The value of contracts awarded in Saudi Arabia was seen declining 78.5% quarter-on-quarter and the UAE by 11.9%, Kamco Invest said in its latest report.
On an annualised basis, total contracts awarded in Qatar fell 5.1% in Q3-2022.
The chemical sector took the lead in terms of value with it accounting for 32.1% ($1.1bn) of the total projects awarded in Qatar during Q3-2022 compared to $250mn value of contracts the sector received during Q3-2021.
This was mainly due to the $1bn project to develop the world’s largest ammonia facility awarded by Qatar Fertiliser Company and QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions to a consortium of Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Uhde and Greece/Lebanon headquartered Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC).
Total projects awarded in the Qatari construction sector sunk 87% to $63mn during Q3-2022 from $485mn during Q3-2021.
The projects market pipeline in the GCC Gulf Cooperation Council) region continues to remain strong with data from MEED Projects showing around $2.5tn worth of projects planned or underway in the region as of mid-October-2022 compared to $2.61tn at the end of June-2022.
The aggregate value of projects in pipeline (pre-execution stage) in the GCC stood at $858bn as of October 12, according to data from MEED Projects.
In terms of countries, Saudi Arabia makes up 44.8% ($384.5bn) of the GCC projects in the pipeline, followed by the UAE with 17.2% ($147.8bn) and Kuwait with 14.7% ($125.8bn).
In terms of sectors, the construction sector accounted for 28.4% or $243.9bn worth of projects in the pre-execution stage in the GCC, followed by transport and power sectors with projects worth $145.6bn and $122bn, respectively.
Total value of the contracts awarded in the GCC declined by 40.8% year-on-year during Q3-2022 to $11.1bn. All the GCC countries, barring Qatar that saw a smaller decline, witnessed a double digit fall in their aggregate Q3-2022 year-on-year value of projects awarded.
The GCC project awards contracted during the Q3-2022 as global economic challenges mounted, the report said, adding “the decline was intensified by high inflation and continuing supply chain problems mainly due to China’s intermittent Covid-19 restrictions as well as the US-EU sanctions on Russia."
In addition, the increase in benchmark rates by global and regional central banks to combat runaway inflation also affected project funding.