UAE Leads GCC Region in Awarding Contracts in H1-2025

The UAE emerged as the largest projects market in the GCC during Q2-2025, despite experiencing a 47% y-o-y decline in total contract awards to reach $14 billion, down from $26.4 billion in Q2-2024, Kuwait-based Kamco Invest said in its latest research report.

However, the UAE surpassed Saudi Arabia in Q1-2025 to become the leading projects market in the region. Moreover, the UAE’s share of total GCC project awards expanded significantly from 38.9% in Q2-2024 to 49.2% in the current reporting period.

This notable shift reflected the successful implementation of wide-ranging structural reforms and carefully targeted investments aimed at accelerating the country’s economic diversification agenda, the report said.

In terms of first-half performance, total contracts awarded in the UAE during the first six months of this year declined by 12.1% y-o-y to $44.4 billion, compared with $50.6 billion during the corresponding period last year.

The contraction was driven by broad-based declines across six of the eight major economic sectors. The most significant decline was observed in the construction sector, the largest segment, which saw a 61.6% y-o-y drop in awarded contracts during Q2-2024, falling to $4.9 billion down from $12.9 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

During Q2-2025, the gas sector emerged as the UAE’s top-performing segment in terms of the absolute value of contracts awarded, followed by the construction sector ($4.9 billion) and the transport sector ($1.7 billion).

A more detailed sectoral analysis showed the gas sector accounted for 37.6% of the UAE’s total project awards in Q2-2025, with awards valued at $5.3 billion, despite a y-o-y decline of $300 million.

In contrast, the industrial sector showed strong performance, recording a 35.8% y-o-y increase in awarded contracts. The chemical sector also witnessed a notable resurgence, with contract awards rising to $150 million after recording zero awards in Q2-2024.

Key contracts awarded during the quarter included a three-year $400 million agreement awarded to ADNOC Gas to supply LNG to Europe. The deal with Germany’s SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe) entails the delivery of 0.7 million tonnes of LNG.

Separately, ADNOC Gas announced the final investment decision for the first phase of its $5 billion Rich Gas Development Scheme. The initial tranche, worth $2.8 billion, was awarded to the UK-headquartered Wood for the development of the Habshan facility.

Wood later confirmed that the contract includes pass-through revenue and that the company expects to recognise approximately $400 million in revenue from EPCm services.

The remaining two tranches of the Rich Gas Development Scheme include a $1.2 billion award for the Das Island liquefaction facility and a $1.1 billion award for the Asab and Bu Hasa facilities, these contracts have been granted to UK-headquartered Petrofac and Dubai-based Kent, respectively.

GCC Region Contracts Decline

In the GCC region, the total value of contracts awarded declined after five of the six member countries recorded y-o-y decreases in project awards during the second quarter of this year.

The overall value of contracts awarded in the region fell by 58% y-o-y in Q2-2025, totalling $28.4 billion, the lowest figure recorded in the past 14 quarters, compared with $67.7 billion in Q2-2024. This downturn was primarily driven by a sharp contraction in project awards in Saudi Arabia, accompanied by a similarly weak performance in the UAE, which experienced a significant y-o-y decline in contract awards during the period.

Similarly, in terms of first half of the year performance, overall GCC contract awards during H1-2025 declined by 38.9% y-o-y to reach $86 billion, compared with $140.7 billion in H1-2024, largely due to the substantial reduction in project activity in Saudi Arabia during the period.

Every market, with the exception of Qatar, recorded a y-o-y decline in contract awards during Q2-2025. Conversely, during 1H-2025, all GCC countries except Kuwait posted y-o-y decreases in awarded contracts, the report said.