Investment in the manufacture of glass and glass products in the GCC countries reached $2.6 billion in 2015, the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (Goic) said in a new report.

The report, published by Goic’s Gulf Industrial Knowledge Centre, said that the manufacture of glass and glass products represented approximately 7 per cent of the total factories, 6.4 per cent of the total investments and 7.3 per cent of the total labour force in building materials manufacture in 2015.

The number of factories operating in this industrial activity increased from 151 in 2011 to 203 in 2015 (7.7 per cent CAGR), and during the same period of time, investments jumped from $2204 million to $2440 million (2.6 per cent CAGR) and the labour force expanded from 15,406 to 20,107 workers (6.9 per cent CAGR).

This class includes the manufacture of glass in all forms, made by any process and the manufacture of articles of glass. In details, it includes: the manufacture of flat glass, including wired, coloured or tinted flat glass; toughened or laminated flat glass; glass in rods or tubes; glass paving blocks, glass mirrors and multiple-walled insulating units of glass; bottles and other containers of glass or crystal; drinking glasses and other domestic glass or crystal articles; glass fibres, including glass wool and non-woven products thereof; laboratory, hygienic or pharmaceutical glassware; clock or watch glasses, optical glass and optical elements not optically worked; glassware used in imitation jewellery; glass insulators and glass insulating fittings and glass envelopes for lamps and the manufacture of glass figurines.

The Gulf Industrial Knowledge Centre is a website that was designed in Arabic and English to provide all sorts of industrial information about the Gulf region.

It offers a unique set of Goic’s industrial studies, industrial investment opportunities and up-to- date reports on several industrial sectors.

The Centre publishes detailed industrial reports on various industrial sectors in GCC countries, including food products, medical products, plastics, textiles, leather, chemical and petrochemical products, engineering, environment, recycling and other important sectors.

Goic is a regional organisation that brings together the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Yemen.

Based in Doha, Goic is an advisory knowledge-based institution aiming at developing regional industries by providing data, information, specialised researches, consultations and technical services for the public and private sectors in GCC countries.