Kuwait Financial Centre or Markaz said that over the next decade, the GCC countries, underpinned by record high oil revenues, are planning 1,638 major projects worth more than USD 968 billion across various sectors.
The report said that over 80% of these projects are construction, infrastructure and petroleum industry related projects. It added that "The continued buoyancy of oil prices has allowed the GCC states to maintain their commitment towards continued investment in projects for growth and development."
According to Markaz, these projects are significant undertakings that require an integrated, coherent and compatible set of systems and policies that will cater for effective and efficient execution towards a successful outcome. It added that "Many of the GCC states have recognized the need for accelerating and facilitating the execution of these projects though mechanisms such as public private partnerships, or PPP, foreign direct investments, joint venture arrangements amongst others."
Kuwait's share of these projects stands at 218 projects worth over USD 133 billion, over the next ten years. However, Kuwait, unlike its sister states, has been reserved in project spending and project award, despite its considerable financial wealth. For new road and railway projects, the GCC countries will be spending a total of USD 97 billion between 2011 and 2020.
The total value of railway projects, including rail, metro, tram, and stations, is estimated to be USD 79 billion. This includes the USD 30 billion GCC rail network to be shared among the member countries. For the roads sector, the total value of ongoing projects amount to almost USD 18 billion.
In the wake of Dubai's successful metro launch, other countries are also planning or discussing their versions of the metro. Abu Dhabi too has joined the fray with 131 kilometers long metro rail system, which is expected to partially start in 2015.
They also plan a pan GCC rail network. The updated value of this project is around USD 30 billion and will consist of a first rail line connecting all the GCC countries. The GCC network will include one rail line of 1,970 kilometers connecting all GCC countries and Qatar via a bridge. The second line of 1,984 kilometers will stretch between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and end in Oman. Land acquisition expenditures for the project are estimated at USD 3.1 billion, while the cost of purchasing trains and locomotives is budgeted at USD 1.8 billion. Work on the railway would start in 2012 following the completion of engineering studies.
Markaz study said that GCC countries are set to spend nearly USD 15 billion on the expansion of their ports within the next five years to meet growing business. Many of the 35 major ports in the six nation are undergoing expansion to handle a bigger capacity following an estimated eight percent growth to nearly 25 million TEUs in 2010. The report said UAE ports have the highest share of volume in the GCC at 59%, adding that Dubai ranked ninth in the world last year.
Markaz said that Salalah port in Oman ranked 32nd in 2010 while the Saudi Jeddah port was 30th. It added that "There is a robust growth in investments on seaports to increase capacity. So far, the highest investments have come from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The other GCC countries are also all set to improve their ports."
(Sourced from www.khaleejtimes.com)
