The GCC projects market index rose by 0.2 per cent to $2.49 trillion as of the third quarter of 2012, driven by strong growth in the UAE and Kuwait projects market. The growth of the projects industry in the GCC continues to have an impact on the overall development of the region. It is within this context that we established the awards to recognise quality projects and acknowledge their merits -to create a standard of projects that needs to be lived up to. Once you recognise quality projects, others are motivated to live up to that standard and in the process push the boundaries for the projects industry as a whole,” said Edmund O’Sullivan, chairman of the judging panel of the 2013 MEED Quality Awards for Projects, in association with Ernst & Young, an independent awards recognition scheme established to recognise project excellence across several categories. The MEED Quality Awards for Projects, in association with Ernst & Young, is the only awards programme in the GCC to recognise completed projects and evaluates the outcome of the construction process, rather than the process itself.  Now in its third year, the awards programme is judged by an independent jury panel consisting of respected authorities in the projects industry who will determine the winners at the national and regional level of the competition. According to MEED’s Gulf Projects Index, a comprehensive and up-to-date tracking system of projects that are either underway or planned throughout the region, the strong growth in the UAE’s projects industry was attributed to the revival of three projects worth $960 million, and the launch of three new projects worth a combined $230 million. From gulftoday