Middle East

The average value of disputes in the Middle East increased slightly to $57 million in 2018 to $62 million in 2019. Also, the average length of time needed to resolve a dispute decreased to 17 months, compared to 20 months in 2018. This decrease is likely attributed to the liable parties and participants in the dispute process realizing that slowing down the dispute resolution process is in no one's long-term interest, and that moving forward the claimants are not capable of withstanding long periods of time of uncertainty on the conclusion of their disputed amounts.

Like in Europe, transportation projects (e.g. highways, bridges, mass transit, airports, rail) topped the list for disputes for 2019. In many cases, this is due to timing. Many infrastructure projects have reached the stage where amicable settlement efforts have been exhausted and disputes had to be initiated.