Shafaq News- London
Iraq recorded the strongest growth in the Middle East'sdevelopment and infrastructure projects market between June 19 and July 17,2026, adding $15 billion in planned and ongoing projects, MEED Projects Indexshowed on Wednesday.
The increase brought the total value of Iraq's planned andactive projects to $444 billion, up 3.4% and placing the country ahead of allother regional markets, while the Gulf's total projects market expanded to$4.41 trillion as the index grew for the 16th consecutive month, adding $22billion to reach a regional total of $5.1 trillion.
Oman ranked second after adding $7 billion to its projectsmarket, bringing its total to $367 billion, up 2%. The UAE's projects marketgrew by $4 billion to $1.36 trillion, Qatar's project value rose 0.6% to $242billion, while Bahrain's market remained at $55 billion, slipping 0.4%.
Across the Middle East and North Africa, signed contractawards reached $20.5 billion in June, up from $17 billion in May, supported byrenewed activity following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and theresumption of maritime shipping. Saudi Arabia led the region with $9.9 billionin awarded contracts, followed by the UAE with $6.4 billion and Kuwait with$1.4 billion.
In the previous MEED data, covering the period between May15 and June 19, Iraq also recorded the region's largest increase in projectvalue.