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

  • EU funding tunnel safety investment for Maastricht
    January 21, 2013
    The new urban tunnel project under construction at Maastricht in the Netherlands will benefit from EU for key safety features. The European Union will provide co-financing of €5 million from the TEN-T Programme to install safety provisions for the on-going implementation of Maastricht’s E25/A2 urban highway tunnel. The work will help ensure the link features high standards of tunnel safety and security and meets the EU’s tough legislation. The project was selected for funding under the 2011 TEN-T Annual Cal
  • Tenders being opened in Brazil for highways and tunnel projects
    February 6, 2014
    A series of major project tenders are opening in Brazil. The Brazilian Government has announced five new road tenders to be launched in 2014. The highway sections run for a total distance of some 2,625km. This programme of works will lengthen the country’s highway network by some 2,282km, with the work costing an impressive US$7.39 billion in all. The roads include the BR-163, BR-364 and BR-153 in the Central West region, and the BR-476 stretch in the South, in addition to the Rio-Niteroi Bridge in Rio de J
  • Construction trends in North America, looking to the future
    June 10, 2019
    Exciting changes in construction will reward the aware contractor - *Jeff Winke comments Hop in a car and drive anywhere in the US and chances are the drive will be on roads and highways that need patching, resurfacing, or widening, and bridges often show signs of needed maintenance. Sadly, things are in bad shape. On the last two report cards from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the US infrastructure scored a D+. This year’s report urges the government and private sector to increase spending
  • Melbourne’s new $20.4 billion ring road
    July 17, 2025
    Work for Melbourne’s new $20.4 billion ring road will have to be ahead of schedule.