Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — The Gulf Cooperation Council plans to launch an ambitious development plan, a report said.

MEED Projects said that the six-member GCC would award $180 billion for construction in 2014. MEED said the development plan was not hampered by falling crude oil prices, the lowest since 2011.

“This is driven by substantial projects that were awarded this year by Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait,” MEED analysis director Edward James said.

The report, released on Oct. 16, said all six GCC states would maintain development plans. In 2013, the GCC awarded $156 billion, mostly to state-owned companies.

“We are going to beat the 2013 figure this year with $180 billion worth of contracts awarded,” James said.

The forecast marked the biggest construction spending since 2008, when GCC contracts reached $200 billion. Still, the study said Saudi Arabia, the most powerful member of the GCC, plans to reduce contract awards to $40 billion.

In 2013, Riyad, which deported one million foreign laborers, issued $66 billion in contracts.

“We certainly have seen a decline in tendering and awarding projects,” James said. “Whether or not that’s related to the oil prices is not known.”

  Gulf states planning first major construction development since 2008, Kuwait, WorldTribune.com