The value of projects remains stable across the Gulf, with most markets showing either small rises or no change at all compared to a week earlier. Only Iraq has shown a slight fall.
However, the long-term prospects for Iraq are brighter than most others because of the need to rebuild the country's infrastructure, housing and industrial base in the wake of the 2003 invasion.
In the GCC, all markets remain far larger than this time in 2008. However, it is the smaller economies which are enjoying the greatest change year-on-year. The value of projects in Bahrain has more than doubled to almost $68bn, for example, while those in Qatar have increased by 71 per cent compared to this time in 2008.
| 20 April 2009 | 13 April 2009 | % change on week | 21 April 2008 | % change on year | |
| Bahrain | 67,899 | 67,899 | 0.0 | 33,507 | 102.6 |
| Kuwait | 311,413 | 308,426 | 1.0 | 269,410 | 15.6 |
| Oman | 109,676 | 109,433 | 0.2 | 64,044 | 71.3 |
| Qatar | 220,939 | 220,939 | 0.0 | 195,405 | 13.1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 646,006 | 644,674 | 0.2 | 460,328 | 40.3 |
| UAE | 1,318,833 | 1,308,345 | 0.8 | 849,559 | 55.2 |
| GCC total | 2,674,766 | 2,659,716 | 0.6 | 1,827,253 | 42.9 |
| Iran | 295,466 | 295,466 | 0.0 | 204,970 | 44.2 |
| Iraq | 156,825 | 156,325 | -0.3 | 51,800 | 200.8 |
| Gulf total | 3,126,057 | 3,111,507 | 0.5 | 2,129,023 | 46.8 |
The two major Gulf economies outside the GCC, Iran and Iraq, are showing very different characteristics. Project activity in Iran is growing relatively slowly, rising 44 per cent compared to April 2008, while Iraq's market has more than trebled in value over the same period, from $51.8bn to $155.8bn.
