Gulf Projects index up 0.7%, fueled by Iraq's $26.3B rail plans

Shafaq News/ The Gulf projects index rose by 0.7% from June 7 to July 12, due to increased Iraq projects market value, according to MEED magazine.

Iraq’s projects market grew by $26.3 billion, or 7%, driven by the renewed plans to construct a national high-speed rail network spanning from north to south and east to west.

The project market value in the UAE rose by $10.6 billion (1.3%), while in Saudi Arabia, it decreased by $13.9 billion (0.7%).

Other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Gulf countries experienced minimal fluctuations. Qatar's project market grew by $3.9 billion (1.7%), Bahrain's by $2 billion (2.9%), Iran's by $1.4 billion (0.5%), and Oman's by $1.4 billion (0.5%).

The GCC projects index reached $3.447 trillion, a 0.1% increase from the last period, while the broader Gulf index climbed 0.7% to $4.138 trillion. This marks the 16th consecutive month of growth in the GCC regional projects market, encompassing Iraq and Iran, since March 2023.

The index has been rising for sixteen consecutive months since March 2023, reflecting the increasing value of the regional project market in the GCC countries and the broader Gulf region, including Iraq and Iran. The revival of ambitions for railway projects in the region has been a key factor in this recovery.

The cost of Iraq’s rail projects, which have been under study in various forms for decades, is relatively uncertain but could run into the tens of billions of dollars, with the network currently in the design phase.