SAUDI Arabia, which currently has a 38 per cent share of the total construction projects in the region, is expected to award contracts worth $86 billion in 2011, according to a report by Deloitte Middle East.

Currently the kingdom has $624 billion worth of projects planned or under way, said the professional services firm in its newly-released ‘GCC Powers of Construction 2010’.

Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar continue to be the GCC markets harbouring greatest potential for the construction industry, the Deloitte report stated. “The UAE has 36 per cent of total construction projects, worth $958 billion, and is expected to see its construction industry grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6 per cent from 2010 to 2014.”

Qatar, with a smaller 15 per cent of total construction projects, is estimated to see its construction industry grow by a CAGR of 12 per cent over the same period, the report said.