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Nine out of ten (90.3%) construction firms are expecting the market in the GCC to improve in 2014, compared with 70% in the prior year, according to law firm Pinsent Masons.

The firm presented its annual GCC construction survey during its sixth annual construction and engineering law conference in Dubai last month.

Although 6.9% of those surveyed expected a drop in order books of up to 10% over the next year, and just over 4% expected smaller decreases in workload during 2014, over 26% expected workloads to increase by 6-10% and over 40% expect order books to increase by over 10%.

When looking at the sectors that are expected to provide the best opportunities for construction in 2014, transport was cited by 65.3% of respondents (2013: 72.3%).

The number of respondents expecting more opportunities in real estate rose sharply to 50%, compared to 19.1% in the prior year.

Presenting the results, the head of Pinsent Masons' Gulf region, Sachin Kerur, said: "Without a shadow of a doubt, the optimism is there."