AI-enabled cost management for smart and sustainable infrastructure in the Gulf region

This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cost management systems influence cost efficiency and sustainability performance in large-scale construction and property development projects across the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). It also explores how national regulatory environments moderate these relationships, providing managerial insights for sustainable decision making and digital governance. A longitudinal panel dataset of engineering and infrastructure projects from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar covering 2015–2024 is analysed using fixed-effects, difference-in-differences, and generalised method of moments estimations. Projects integrating AI-based cost management systems achieve significantly higher cost efficiency, environmental sustainability, and overall triple-bottom-line performance than those relying on traditional approaches. Stronger regulatory and governance frameworks amplify these benefits, demonstrating that institutional quality enhances the sustainability impact of digital transformation. AI-driven cost systems provide developers, financiers, and policymakers with tools to improve transparency, mitigate budget risks, and align project management with environmental, social, and governance goals. The study contributes to sustainable management and information systems literature by empirically linking AI-enabled cost accounting with measurable financial and environmental outcomes in GCC infrastructure projects.