Saudi leads the way in regional mega projects

ENAR

More than $1.4 trillion worth of mega projects are currently under execution in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a new report by Citi Research, a unit of financial giant Citigroup. Another $1.1 trillion are either in the very early stages of development or are farther advanced in moving toward the execution phase, the report adds. This translates into a total regional portfolio of projects worth $2.5 trillion in total. While the projects are distributed across sectors and geographies, the Gulf Cooperation Council dominates – with 87 percent of the total project volume. Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest economy, represents by far the largest MENA market for projects – with a value of $784 billion or 31.3 percent of the entire pipeline. Perhaps surprisingly, Bahrain has the highest amount of investment relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at 180 percent, followed closely by the United Arab Emirates. Three