Saudi Arabia announced SR48 billion worth of public projects in healthcare sector at the 2nd PPP MENA Conference as more than 300 senior government officials, private business leaders, experts and regulators gather to focus on the public-private partnership model for developing infrastructure at the twoday PPP MENA Forum taking place February 23-24, 2022, in Dubai
The total value of infrastructure and construction projects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region
reached approximately to US$3.2 trillion (Dh11.74 trillion) in mid-2021, according to reports, of which a
large chunk is expected to be executed through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) route, creating a
massive opportunity for large players.
Worldwide infrastructure spending to grow to US$9 trillion in 2025, according to a forecast by global
accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Government officials, business leaders and experts will discuss these economic opportunities at the
two-day PPP MENA Forum that takes place at Movenpick Grand Al Bustan, Dubai from February
23-24, 2022. More than 300 government officials, project owners, experts, business leaders, regulatory
officials are expected to underline the key issues in the development sector.
Emphasising on the social and sustainable public-private partnership, Nasser Massoud, Chairman of
the 2nd MENA PPP Confercence and Specialist in Social Sector PPP, said, “For every US$1 billion
spent in projects, 168,000 jobs are created with a 0.48 percent growth in GDP that in turn creates
442,000 jobs indirectly.
“According to the World Bank, MENA Countries have been spending less than 3 percent of their GDP
on public projects. This needs to be increased to 8.2 percent of the GDP by 2030 – in order to accelerate
the economic growth.”
As of June 2021, the total GCC construction project market was estimated to be worth US$3.2 trillion,
covering buildings, infrastructure, and industrial, along with the power and water, and oil and gas
sectors. The PPP MENA Forum will show that the public-private partnership model could help the large
funding gap in the massive infrastructure development being undertaken by the governments of the
Middle Eastern countries.
“Given the challenges that governments in the region are operating under, it is clear that governments
will seek private sector support in infrastructure projects delivery and look to attract private sector
participation and funding to reduce the burden on the already stretched public finances. Public Private
Partnerships (PPPs) will play a critical role in the region’s post-COVID-19 recovery phase,” said a report
by PwC.
“Although, most countries in the GCC have placed the provision of modern infrastructure and worldclass public services at the heart of their respective national visions, our survey, reveals that the region
is finding it challenging to implement infrastructure projects efficiently and that increased market
volatility, oil price volatility and the economic cost of COVID-19 are putting a strain on government
resources across the region.”
The Forum will tackle timelines and requirements of current and future multibillion-dollar PPP project
pipelines from across the region and PPP legislation plans.
Saudi healthcare sector currently offers SR48 billion worth of projects that will create 224 primary
healthcare centres and add more than 20,000 hospital beds across the Kingdom by 2030 – as part of
the Saudi Vision 2030.
At the inauguration of the 2nd PPP MENA Forum, Dr. Ibrahim Al Omar, Deputy Assistant Minister
for Investment Development, the Deputy Assistant Minister for Compliance and the Director
General of Private Sector Participation Program, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
said, “Saudi Arabia is currently undergoing a huge transform as part of the Vision 2030 and healthcare
and wellbeing of our people are at the core of the development.
“Our primary objective is to ease access to healthcare services, improve the value of the healthcare
services, strengthen precaution against healthcare threats. So, we have created a strong regulatory
environment.
“Now we are shifting towards investment and execution of projects that are at various stages of
planning, tendering and construction. We are developing a large number of hospitals, clinics and
healthcare centres across the country that will increase the wellbeing of the people.”
As many as 242 public-private partnership projects worth US$223 billion (Dh818 billion) are under
development in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to recent reports, which is set to go
up as project execution picks up with return to normalcy and higher oil price that will fuel economic
growth in the Middle East – pushing public-private partnership sector.
This is more or less in line with a World Bank projection estimating that the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) region would need between US$75 and US$100 billion of investment per year over the next
20 years to meet its needs.
Leila Masinaei, Managing Partner, Great Mind Events Management and organiser of the 2
nd PPP
MNEA Forum, says, “The MENA region is growing rapidly and all the governments in this region are
trying to work together to make it the centre of all the businesses. Most Middle Eastern countries have
now updated their PPP legislations that give a lot of clarity to the private sector as well as foreign
investors willing to participate in the public projects.
“The discussions which will come out of this edition of the PPP MENA Forum will act to catalyse the
activities and help to regain the momentum after the pandemic.
“PPP development is still slow in Africa as a whole – in 2019, the continent only accounted for $7 billion
of the $97 billion of private investment commitments made across the world’s low and middle-income
countries,” according to research by PPP MENA Forum.
Governments of the Middle Eastern countries are increasingly relying on private capital and private
sector resources to build and expand infrastructure – in the roads, highways, bridges, utility, energy,
power, aviation and telecom sectors. Across the MENA region, PPP pipelines are either in full flow, or
are primed to admit a slew of new projects under a climate of increasing cooperation between the public
and private sectors.
At the 2nd PPP MENA Forum, a distinguished expert panel of speakers will include all the key
stakeholders from government entities, PPP units, developers, operators, investors, contractors and
financial institutions to discuss pressing challenges facing the sector and exchange ideas on how PPP
projects can be fast tracked, best practices for managing contractual issues and innovative funding
models for upcoming PPPs.
The panel discussions include, Restructuring PPPs in the age of Covid-19, The future of PPPs in
healthcare, The future of PPPs in healthcare, Managing the fiscal risks of PPPs in a long-term contract,
A force for good – enhancing social impact through public private partnerships, and Power, utilities and
waste-to-energy – Building a sustainable future in the power industry. The Forum will also include
presentations and country briefing sessions by senior officials.
The 2nd PPP MENA Forum, is supported by – The Saudi Ministry of Health, World Association of PPP
Units & Professionals, Bahrain’s Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning, Jordan’s
Ministry of Finance, Egypt’s Ministry of Finance, Istanbul PPP Center of Excellence and Kuwait’s
Authority for Partnership Projects.
The two-day, 2
nd PPP MENA Forum will see over 30 experts discuss ways and means to achieve
greater public-private partnership opportunities. The speakers include Dr Ibrahim Alomar, Deputy
Assistant Minister for Investment Development, the Deputy Assistant Minister for Compliance and the
Director General of Private Sector Participation Program, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Atter Hannoura,
Director PPP Central Unit, Ministry of Finance, Egypt; Ziad Hayek, Vice Chair, UN Working Party on
PPP, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) & President, World Association of
PPP Units & Professionals (WAPPP) & Ex-Secretary General, The High Council of Privatisation and
PPP(HCP), Lebanon; Dr Eyup Aydin, Chairman, Istanbul PPP Centre of Excellence, Turkey; Loay
Ghazaleh, Undersecretary Advisor on Infrastructure & PPP; Bahrain Ministry of Works, Bahrain; Osama
Sulaiman, Director of Fiscal Commitment and Contingent Liabilities Unit (FCCL/PPP), Ministry of
Finance, Jordan; Mahmoud Al Khoshman, Senior PPP Technical Advisor, The World Bank and many
other leaders and experts.
