Skip to main content

Saudi Arabia’s growth and infrastructure investment

Of all the fast-growing economies of the Arabian Gulf region, Saudi Arabia is by far the largest in terms of population and gross national product. Due to rising oil prices and increased foreign investments, Saudi Arabia's national economy has grown exponentially over the last ten years - having doubled in size since 2002 to $481.6bn. With a surface area of 2,150,000km2 (roughly equivalent to one quarter of the surface area of the continental United States), Saudi Arabia has a much greater need for high
August 28, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Of all the fast-growing economies of the Arabian Gulf region, Saudi Arabia is by far the largest in terms of population and gross national product. Due to rising oil prices and increased foreign investments, Saudi Arabia's national economy has grown exponentially over the last ten years - having doubled in size since 2002 to $481.6bn.

With a surface area of 2,150,000km2  (roughly equivalent to one quarter of the surface area of the continental United States), Saudi Arabia has a much greater need for highway infrastructure to connect its many cities and ports.  Accordingly, the Kingdom has a much larger highway project pipeline in terms of total length of the network.

On the urban side, the cities of Riyadh, Damman, Jeddah, and Medina are growing rapidly. As rising populations and incomes drive demand for vehicles, freeway and road construction projects are increasingly larger and more complex – including road safety equipment and intelligent transport systems deployments.

According to industry estimates, investment in Saudi Arabia's entire transport sector is set to reach $100bn by 2020, with over $30bn allocated for new transport projects in the government's next five-year plan.

Related Content

  • VDMA reports on construction machine business
    August 2, 2016
    The German construction equipment manufacturing association reports wide variations in business activity across different markets. Overall, the VDMA reports that for construction equipment, the 2016 growth forecast remains at over 3%. According to the VDMA, German construction equipment manufacturers remain cautiously optimistic at the middle of the year. “After a great bauma trade fair in April we are again in the midst of our daily business – which holds a number of challenges and uncertainties,” said
  • Wacker Neuson’s good financial results
    November 11, 2021
    Wacker Neuson is seeing good financial results for Q3.
  • We're here to help
    July 16, 2012
    Formed at the end of the Cold War, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has raised, and loaned, billions to revitalise infrastructure from central Europe to central Asia as Patrick Smith reports One of the highlights of the year for Thomas Maier has been the recent trip to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, where history was made. As the Business Group director in charge of the infrastructure sector at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) he was present when contract
  • Highway PPPs: IRF bridges global knowledge gap for industry
    June 22, 2020
    As governments around the world assess the best way to jump-start their economies, attention will inevitably turn to the role of road infrastructure development, and the associated financing mechanisms.