Here’s some good news if you work in UAE or Saudi construction, real estate or infrastructure: the regional project market is holding firm, even after months of regional tension. That’s the read from Dean McGrail, regional president at global engineering firm WSP, who says his company has not seen a single major contract cancelled across its entire Gulf portfolio.
For anyone watching the UAE construction market or tracking opportunities across the GCC, that’s a meaningful signal. It suggests developers, government bodies and investors are still committed to big-ticket projects, even when the wider region feels uncertain.
Why hasn’t anything been cancelled in the UAE and GCC market?
McGrail keeps coming back to one word when describing the market right now: “stable”. That might sound like a modest claim, but it’s a big deal given the backdrop. There were early fears that conflict in the region would trigger a sharp slowdown, with projects pulled or shelved altogether.
That hasn’t happened, at least not from where WSP sits. “We have seen some projects re-evaluated,” McGrail says, “questions around whether the mix between residential and commercial is right, and whether it should be luxury residential.” In other words, developers are fine-tuning their plans rather than walking away from them.
“But as of today, we have not seen any projects cancelled, which is a real sign of resilience in the market,” he adds. For UAE and GCC businesses that supply contractors, consultants and developers, that resilience matters. It means the pipeline of work, from steel to design services to project management, keeps flowing.
Where the next wave of GCC growth is coming from
So where does WSP expect the real momentum to build over the next few years? Rail is right at the centre of it, according to McGrail. In the UAE, rail development sits alongside road upgrades and other major works happening across Abu Dhabi.
Dubai’s clearest statement of intent, he says, is the ongoing expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport. That project has long been flagged as a cornerstone of Dubai’s ambitions to become one of the world’s biggest aviation hubs, and WSP’s read suggests it remains a priority despite wider regional noise.
Aviation isn’t just a UAE story, though. Saudi Arabia is seeing similar momentum. WSP was recently brought on to help rehabilitate the existing terminal at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International airport, while also working on a brand-new terminal there. The firm has also picked up a role on the expansion and upgrade of King Fahd International airport in Dammam.
Put together, that’s three major Gulf airports, in three different cities, all moving forward with upgrades at the same time. That’s a useful data point for anyone in construction, logistics, hospitality or aviation services who’s trying to figure out where the next wave of contracts and jobs will land. It also fits a broader pattern across the region’s innovation news landscape, where infrastructure spending keeps pushing ahead even when the headlines elsewhere look shaky.
What does this mean if you’re watching from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh or Dammam? It means the fundamentals that have driven the Gulf’s construction boom, population growth, tourism targets, aviation ambitions and economic diversification plans, haven’t gone away. Developers are adjusting the details, like whether a project leans more residential or commercial, or how luxury-focused it should be. But the big strategic bets, especially on rail and airports, are still being placed.
For UAE and GCC businesses in construction, consulting and related sectors, the takeaway is straightforward: the work isn’t drying up. Worth keeping an eye on how fast rail projects in Abu Dhabi progress, how the Al-Maktoum expansion unfolds, and whether Saudi Arabia’s airport upgrades in Jeddah and Dammam stay on schedule. Those will likely be the clearest signs of where the region’s next big contracts, and job opportunities, actually land. This analysis is based on comments reported by MEED.
