Abu Dhabi, Oct 12 (IANS) The infrastructure sector in the Gulf region will grow significantly in the next five years as several countries in the region are planning to invest billions of dollars in the sector, WAM news agency reported.
A key driver of growth will be the increase of funding in infrastructure projects, it said.

Saudi Arabia plans to spend $400 billion over the next five years in the construction sector, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will spend $275 billion in similar projects. Qatar has also planned to invest $10 billion in infrastructure projects.

In addition, fuelled by strong demand and available funding, the real estate sector is set to grow significantly in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, WAM said citing a study released by Deloitte Middle East, an educational institute, Sunday.

While the global growth in 2009 is expected to be the lowest since the Second World War at 0.5 percent, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, comprising the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman is expected to grow at 3.5 percent in the next five years.

The value of projects planned as of July 20, 2009, for Saudi Arabia and the UAE is $578 billion and $916 billion respectively.

However, due to the financial constraints brought about by the global economic crisis and the burden of risk on the contractors, it will not be easy to manage the projects. But it is possible and the opportunities to make money do exist in the GCC, the report said.

Abu Dhabi is expected to continue its strong growth in the construction sector, thanks to the emirate’s 2030 Plan that calls for a range of projects in the energy, transport, industry, health care, education, and agriculture sectors, among others, it added.