SAUDI ARABIA tops the list of high-value project awards in the region followed by the UAE, according to a new report.

And the construction sector in the GCC is expected to rebound with $286 billion in projects expected to be awarded between 2012 and 2016, according to a Meed report released ahead of last month’s Arabian World Construction Summit in Dubai, UAE.

A breakdown of project values to be awarded in each of the six GCC countries indicates that Saudi Arabia is leading the pace with more than $119 billion to be awarded before 2016, followed by the UAE with $75 billion. Elsewhere in the GCC, Oman is expected to award more than $30 billion, followed by Qatar with $26 billion, Kuwait with more than $25 billion projects up for tender, and Bahrain with $10 billion.

“There is cause for optimism in the infrastructure and construction sector. This kind of growth cannot be seen anywhere else in the world, and is still driven by huge petrodollar reserves. However, with the construction sector picking up pace, GCC economies are likely to benefit and experience a positive increase in their GDP in the next four years,” said Edmund O’Sullivan, chairman of Meed Events, the organiser of the annual summit.

Outside the GCC, there are opportunities for contractors in Iraq, where a burgeoning real estate and transport infrastructure development is under way, with spending expected to top $35 billion by the end of 2012, the report said. It highlighted the “hot market” of Qatar, whose ambitious infrastructure development programme estimated at $600 billion, will gather pace in preparation for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.