Post by : Mariam
Al-Faris
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to overtake Saudi Arabia in the value of construction projects awarded this year, as Saudi Arabia slows down some of its development plans and shifts its focus to other priorities.
So far in 2025, the UAE has awarded around $31 billion in construction projects, which is more than Saudi Arabia's $20.6 billion, according to data from MEED, a Middle East intelligence platform. If this trend continues, the UAE will finish the year ahead of Saudi Arabia, something that hasn’t happened since 2018.
This shift in numbers comes as Saudi Arabia adjusts to rising costs and funding challenges. The kingdom is also focusing more on major events it is hosting, like the 2029 Asian Winter Games and the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which are taking priority. On the other hand, the UAE is moving forward with a number of infrastructure and real estate projects.
However, construction activity across the Gulf region, including both countries, has generally slowed down recently, mainly due to global economic challenges and low oil prices. These factors are putting pressure on the budgets of many Gulf countries.
In terms of big, high-profile projects, Saudi Arabia has only awarded $4 billion in 2025 for its major Vision 2030 projects. This is a sharp decline compared to $24 billion last year. Overall, Saudi Arabia awarded a record $152 billion in construction contracts in 2024.
Despite the UAE's current lead, the situation may change later in the year when Saudi Arabia is expected to announce new contracts for stadiums for the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Arabia still has the largest number of planned projects, with around $1.6 trillion worth of developments in the pipeline, MEED says.
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