The Kingdom saw a steep drop in project activity in 2Q 2025, with the total value of awarded contracts falling 72.5% y-o-y to USD 9.8 bn, down from USD 35.6 bn, according to Kamco Invest’s quarterly GCC Projects Market Update report (pdf). The Kingdom’s share of total GCC project awards shrank to 34.5% during the second quarter, compared to 52.6% in 2Q 2024.

By sector: The transport sector came on top with USD 3 bn in awarded contracts in 2Q, overtaking the construction sector, which dropped nearly 60% y-o-y to USD 2.3 bn. The water sector came in next at USD 2.5 bn, while the oil sector recorded no new contracts during the quarter, compared to USD 1.7 bn a year earlier.

Despite the slowdown, the Kingdom sealed some headline-grabbing contracts. The largest was a USD 2 bn reservation agreement with General Electric and GE Vernova, which includes the supply of US-made gas turbines, synchronous condensers, and power equipment for the Saudi Electricity Company, along with a maintenance collaboration with Aramco. On the residential front, a USD 378 mn contract in Al Khobar and a USD 131 mn Sidra project contract in Riyadh kept the residential sector moving.

All eyes on 2H 2025: Kamco Invest expects the Kingdom to lead a regional rebound project activity, backed by the region’s largest pre-execution pipeline — USD 873.2 bn or more than half the GCC’s total. Key projects in the pipeline include the USD 80 bn Care nuclear reactor and a USD 10 bn battery energy storage system currently in design and FEED stages.

The regional picture: GCC-wide project awards dropped 58% y-o-y to USD 28.4 during the quarter — the lowest in over three years — with all countries posting declines except for Qatar. Across the GCC, the full pipeline of planned but unawarded projects currently stands at USD 1.7 tn.

REMEMBER- Contract awards in the Kingdom were also down 49.9% y-o-y at USD 17 bn in1Q 2025, lowering the Kingdom’s share of total GCC awards to 32.4%, compared to 47.4% a year earlier.

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