The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economy has come under pressure from falling oil revenues, but economic diversification is paying off. Moving into 2024, cement market growth is expected across the region, headed by construction projects in Saudi Arabia and UAE, but cement overcapacity continues to overshadow the production base.
The GCC regional economy is estimated to grow by one per cent in 2023 before picking up again to 3.6 and 3.7 per cent in 2024 and 2025, respectively, according to the World Bank Gulf Economic Update (GEU), published in November 2023.
The report – which spans the economies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain – states that the weaker performance in 2023 was driven primarily by lower oil sector activity, which is expected to contract by 3.9 per cent, reflecting successive OPEC+ production cuts and the global economic slowdown. The reduction will be compensated for by the non-oil sectors, which are expected to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2023 and 3.4 per cent in the medium-term supported by sustained private consumption, strategic fixed investments and accommodative fiscal policy.
