MENA Architectural Services Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

MENA Architectural Services Market Trends and Insights

Government-led Giga Projects Pipeline

The region’s USD 3.7 trillion construction pipeline is the single largest demand engine for the MENA architectural services market.^{[1]AECOM, “Middle East Property & Construction Handbook 2024,” aecom.com} Saudi Arabia’s USD 500 billion NEOM program alone has reshaped service requirements, with Bechtel and Parsons managing the new King Salman International Airport that targets 120 million passengers a year.^{[2]Engineering News-Record staff, “Saudi Arabia Selects Bechtel, Parsons for Mega-Airport Project,” enr.com} Project scope adjustments, such as reducing The Line’s initial scale to 2.4 kilometers by 2030, have not curbed the need for complex urban-planning, landscape, and integrated-delivery expertise. Parallel mega-airports in Dubai and Doha extend opportunities across aviation-terminal architecture. These multibillion-dollar undertakings elevate risk-management, digital-coordination, and sustainability skills from optional to essential as governments mandate transparent cost and schedule controls. International firms that embed local joint-venture structures and digital-twin workflows are best positioned to secure repeat commissions.

Rising Demand for Sustainable and Green Buildings

Green-building codes are maturing quickly, compelling the MENA architectural services market to integrate lifecycle energy modeling and low-carbon materials into the baseline scope. The UAE’s Estidama, Dubai Green Building Regulations, and LEED uptake, covering 5,255 regional projects totaling 1.5 billion ft², set a regional benchmark.^{[3]Green Business Certification Inc., “GBCI MENA,” gbci.org} Saudi Arabia’s Mostadam rating system, optimized for local climate, is gaining traction as a culturally resonant alternative to LEED.^{[4]IOP Publishing, “Mostadam vs LEED: Market Transformation Toward Sustainability in Saudi Arabia,” iopscience.iop.org} Market surveys show only 11% of firms currently deliver portfolios exceeding 60% green projects, yet that share is expected to rise to 26% by 2024 as clients seek demonstrable energy savings. Flagship projects such as Dubai’s LEED-Platinum DEWA Solar Innovation Centre highlight the commercial viability of high-performance architecture. Firms able to provide cradle-to-grave carbon accounting and secure third-party certifications command premium fees and deepen client stickiness.

Rapid Urbanization and Population Growth

North Africa’s youthful population is intensifying demand for housing, healthcare, and education, translating into a resilient backlog for the MENA architectural services market. Egypt is adding an entire New Administrative Capital, featuring what would become the world’s tallest 1,000-meter tower, reinforcing the need for skyscraper design, high-speed vertical transportation, and resilient infrastructure. Morocco’s 115,000-seat Grand Stade Hassan II and Algeria’s USD 3 billion desalination program illustrate the breadth of opportunities, from stadiums to industrial utilities. Egypt alone must add 38,000 hospital beds by 2030, worth USD 8-13 billion, stretching local design capacity. Governments are therefore commissioning mixed-use master plans that compress health, education, and residential functions into single districts, elevating demand for multidisciplinary architectural teams.

Mandatory BIM Adoption Across GCC

Dubai Municipality broadened its BIM mandate in 2024 to all public projects, towers exceeding 20 floors, and buildings larger than 200,000 ft², accelerating digital-delivery uptake in the MENA architectural services market. Yet only 25% of regional firms use BIM at scale, constrained by skills shortages and software costs. Saudi Arabia lacks a binding BIM decree, but large developers now embed BIM deliverables in tenders, nudging the market toward rapid adoption. Clients increasingly demand Level 2 BIM or higher, forcing consultancies to invest in training and platform interoperability. Firms offering turnkey BIM consulting and onsite upskilling secure a first-mover advantage as regulators and owners converge on digital-twin standards to cut rework and improve asset performance.

Skilled Talent Shortage in High-Performance Design

A persistent scarcity of qualified architects, BIM coordinators, and sustainability specialists is constraining delivery schedules across the MENA architectural services market. In the UAE, 93% of engineering employers report hiring difficulties, with 58% of large firms stating that candidates lack the requisite technical depth. Saudi Arabia’s USD 1.68 trillion project pipeline intensifies competition; firms like KEO International doubled headcount to 2,600 in 2024 to keep pace with Vision 2030 demand. The skills gap widens as clients request AI-enabled design optimization and advanced computational workflows. International practices are therefore partnering with universities and running in-house academies focused on BIM, sustainability, and heritage digitization. Governments are bolstering localization programs, for example, the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, to cultivate domestic expertise, but these initiatives will take years to translate into an expanded talent pool.

Volatile Oil Prices Impacting Public Construction Spend

Oil-linked fiscal revenues continue to shape budgeting cycles across GCC states, creating funding unpredictability for the MENA architectural services market. Empirical research confirms positive long-run correlations between oil prices and GDP growth in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, translating into cyclical public tender volumes. Lower prices force governments to defer or phase projects, exemplified by NEOM’s population-target revision amid financing pressures. Diversified economies such as the UAE absorb shocks better through tourism, logistics, and finance, but regional contractors still face cash-flow stress when payments slow. To mitigate volatility, owners are employing cost-escalation clauses and mixed-financing models that share price risk between public and private stakeholders. Architectural firms with flexible staffing and geographically diverse portfolios are weathering commodity cycles more effectively.

Segment Analysis

By Service Type: Digital Transformation Reshapes Traditional Offerings

Architectural design and drafting retained 34.62% of the MENA architectural services market share in 2025, underpinned by a steady stream of mixed-use and infrastructure commissions. Mandatory BIM deliverables, however, are redefining core workflows, pushing firms to shift from 2D documentation toward data-rich digital twins. Engineering services contributed 27.65% revenue as projects like NEOM require multidisciplinary collaboration across civil, structural, and MEP packages. Interior design holds 14.72% fueled by high-end hospitality in Dubai and Riyadh, while urban-planning and landscape work is advancing at a 5.51% CAGR, driven by green corridor mandates within giga-projects.

Heritage conservation and BIM consulting, although niche, is projected to expand at a 5.73% CAGR through 2031, outpacing overall MENA architectural services market growth. Digitization of historic Cairo using HBIM exemplifies the emerging blend of laser scanning, point-cloud modeling, and virtual-reality storytelling. Firms offering AI-driven design optimization capture premium fees as clients pursue carbon-intensity reductions and accelerated approvals. The evolving regulatory landscape, including Saudi Arabia’s Mostadam and Dubai’s Emirates Green Building Council benchmarks, requires advisory expertise on certification pathways. Consequently, the MENA architectural services market size attributable to advisory and consultancy is poised to widen as owners seek end-to-end strategic guidance alongside traditional blueprints.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End-User Sector: Healthcare Emerges as Growth Leader

Commercial real estate dominated demand with 30.78% of the MENA architectural services market size in 2025, led by office, retail, and hospitality investments designed to diversify economies beyond hydrocarbons. The residential segment remained resilient at 25.16% in 2025, buoyed by demographic and urbanization pressures, particularly in Egypt and Morocco. Institutional and public projects represented 28.22% in 2025, capturing education campuses, government headquarters, and cultural centers, including Saudi Arabia’s New Murabba district.

Healthcare is the fastest rising vertical, projected to grow at a 5.42% CAGR through 2031, elevating its contribution within the MENA architectural services market. Egypt’s mandate for 38,000 additional beds necessitates tertiary hospitals, outpatient clinics, and telemedicine hubs costing up to USD 13 billion. Flagships such as Dubai’s Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Hospital, designed to LEED Gold and WELL Building standards, illustrate the pivot toward patient-centric, technology-enabled care environments. Private operators like Burjeel Holdings posted AED 2.4 billion in revenue in H1 2024, underscoring private-sector appetite for specialized oncology, fertility, and rehabilitation centers. This momentum prompts architects to integrate AI diagnostics suites, sterile logistics robotics, and adaptable ICU pods, aligning design thinking with next-generation clinical workflows.

By Delivery Model: Integrated Approaches Gain Traction

Design-Bid-Build remains the workhorse procurement route across the MENA architectural services market, particularly for government ministries familiar with sequential tendering. Yet complex giga-projects are accelerating adoption of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), which is forecast to post a 5.49% CAGR to 2031. IPD encourages concurrent engineering, risk-sharing contracts, and early contractor involvement, critical for compressed timelines set by Vision 2030 and Expo-driven milestones. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are gathering scale; GCC countries together have USD 2.5 trillion of planned PSP projects, with Saudi Arabia courting private capital through revamped concession laws.

Design-Build is gaining favor for rail and airport terminals because single-point accountability shortens delivery schedules, though regional familiarity remains nascent compared to EPC frameworks that are dominant in oil and gas. Jordan’s 42-project PPP pipeline, largely in water and energy, demonstrates how smaller economies leverage private equity to bridge fiscal gaps, though pandemic-induced traffic declines forced renegotiations at Queen Alia airport. The MENA architectural services industry, therefore, must master multi-contract governance, advanced cost-control algorithms, and integrated scheduling to thrive under diversified delivery models that reward collaboration and data transparency.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Saudi Arabia captured 67.35% of the MENA architectural services market in 2025 as Vision 2030 sustained aggressive capital outlays despite cost inflation pressures. The Kingdom’s portfolio spans the cuboid Mukaab landmark, multiple logistics zones, and airport expansions, reinforcing a pipeline that requires vast design resources but also faces rising material and labor costs among the fastest globally in 2025. Mandatory localization rules, including regional-headquarters incentives, are reshaping competition as foreign firms establish permanent Saudi entities to bid for public work.

The UAE, Dubai, offers cost-competitive construction compared to Riyadh and Doha, and Abu Dhabi is pursuing carbon-positive urbanism exemplified by Masdar City’s Innovation Hub that sources 60% renewable energy. Mandatory BIM, multi-certification green codes, and a pro-investment legal framework attract global studios that use the Emirates as a regional springboard. Qatar, though smaller, is projected to be the fastest-growing geography at 5.32% CAGR to 2031 on the back of post-World-Cup economic diversification and additional LNG infrastructure.

North Africa contributes diversity and scale. Egypt holds a 10.21% regional share in 2025, anchored by the New Administrative Capital and healthcare mega-projects. Morocco’s 2030 FIFA World Cup preparations, including the 115,000-seat Grand Stade Hassan II, keep sports architecture in focus, while Algeria’s desalination push demands industrial utility design. Oman shows 5.21% CAGR potential, but BIM adoption remains low, offering space for digital-first consultancies. Region-wide initiatives like BUILD ME, spanning six countries, are introducing climate-neutral building benchmarks and consistent energy-classification systems, widening the addressable sustainability market.