GCC’s Growing PPP Market: A Secure Opportunity for Long-Term Investors

Global investors searching for stability in an uncertain world are increasingly finding it in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. A new report from the Future Investment Initiative Institute highlights how the bloc’s public-private partnership pipeline offers “compelling” opportunities, positioning the GCC as a “safe harbor” amid global economic turbulence.

A Pipeline That Commands Attention

The report draws on findings from Partnerships Bulletin, which ranks Saudi Arabia second globally among emerging markets for PPP projects through July 2025, with 98 formally published or announced projects. Dubai also features in the top 10. But the actual scale may be larger—FII notes Saudi Arabia has an additional 200 projects awaiting approval.

These figures align with the Kingdom’s National Privatization Strategy, launched in January, which aims to exceed 220 PPP contracts by 2030, increase private sector capital investments to more than SR240 billion ($63.99 billion), and create tens of thousands of specialized jobs across 18 target sectors.

Why the GCC?

The report emphasizes that around 90 percent of foreign direct investment into Saudi Arabia now flows to non-oil sectors—advanced manufacturing, tourism, green energy, and digital infrastructure. “That shift reflects deliberate policy choices to open markets, standardize regulatory frameworks and use public capital to de-risk new value chains,” the document states.

The result, it concludes, is “a kind of safe harbor in an otherwise low-growth, high-uncertainty world.”

While global FDI has stagnated or declined elsewhere, the GCC’s pipeline of planned infrastructure and industrial projects now exceeds $2.5 trillion, according to Boston Consulting Group data, with PPPs playing a central role in structuring and financing them.

A Strategic Necessity, Not Just Funding

Sally Menassa, partner at Arthur D. Little, emphasizes that PPPs are a strategic necessity for delivering infrastructure at speed and scale. “The Kingdom’s PPP momentum must remain focused on impact, value creation and execution excellence,” she says. “PPPs should not be viewed merely as a funding mechanism, but as a structural tool to enhance infrastructure performance, attract investment and support sustainable economic growth in line with Vision 2030.”

Menassa notes that Saudi Arabia’s National Privatization Strategy marks a shift from project-by-project approaches to institutionalized value creation. “By clarifying sector priorities, strengthening project selection criteria, and formalizing governance and investor pathways, the Strategy reduces uncertainty. This clarity enhances investor confidence and improves pipeline quality.”

What Makes Projects Bankable

Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial, points to tighter governance through centralized management at the National Center for Privatization and PPP, streamlined processes including template contracts, clearer regulatory environments, and transparent pipelines as factors improving delivery speed.

“This means faster delivery of big projects like Red Sea resorts or Neom, with private firms handling operations to drive innovation,” Valecha says. “Ultimately, the strategy supercharges diversification by making the private sector the main engine of growth, aligning perfectly with Saudi Arabia’s push for a vibrant, non-oil economy.”

Tony Hallside, CEO of STP Partners, outlines several factors boosting the regional PPP landscape: large infrastructure demand from Vision-level programs and urbanization, government frameworks that standardize procurement, and strong regional capital pools with sovereign support that mitigate risk and attract global players.

Notable Saudi PPP Projects

The Kingdom’s pipeline includes transformative projects across sectors:

• Yanbu 4 Independent Water Project – Supplying water to Medina and Makkah, operational since 2024 at a cost of $826.5 million.
• Hadda Independent Sewage Treatment Plant – Expected delivery 2028.
• As Sufun Solar PV Independent Power Project – Hail region, grid connection expected 2027.
• Greenfield international airports – Taif, Abha, Qassim, and Hail, currently seeking investors.
• King Salman Park – Riyadh, $1 billion project.
• Riyadh Metro Line 2 Extension – Up to $900 million, expected delivery 2032.

The Global Context

The FII report notes a $5 trillion global infrastructure financing gap by 2040, with significant regional shortfalls including $3.7 trillion in the US and $130-170 billion annually across Africa. In this context, PPPs are moving from transactional procurement routes to central models for financing and delivery.

Emerging markets, including Saudi Arabia, are driving the next wave of PPP growth. Spending across low- and middle-income countries reached $100.7 billion in 2024, up 16 percent year-on-year. Emerging markets now represent about 61 percent of global PPP activity by GDP share.

Benefits for Investors and Citizens

For investors, infrastructure-backed PPPs offer long-duration, often inflation-linked cash flows at a time of volatile public markets dominated by a narrow set of technology stocks.

For citizens, well-designed PPPs can deliver better services, more resilient infrastructure, and faster progress toward climate and development goals without unsustainable tax increases or austerity.

But public consent is becoming decisive. The FII report found that across seven countries, only 23 percent of citizens believe PPPs “equally benefit everyone,” compared with 41 percent of business and government leaders.

Hallside says public consent hinges on transparency, accountability, and visible service outcomes. Governments should publish clear procurement frameworks, communicate expectations in plain language, and measure user satisfaction over time.

Menassa adds that communication alone is insufficient. “Winning public opinion for PPPs is a marathon not a race. It starts with building awareness and trust by providing transparency and demonstrating value for money, ensuring affordability and service quality through strong regulatory oversight, and ensuring competitive, transparent procurement processes.”

The Bottom Line

As the FII report concludes: “The world can’t afford to delay the infrastructure and energy transition investments that will determine prosperity – and planetary stability – for decades to come. Nor can it fund them through public budgets alone. Financing the future is, by definition, a joint endeavor.”

For investors seeking yield, diversification, and inflation-linked income in a low-growth world, the GCC’s growing PPP market offers a compelling proposition. The projects are real. The frameworks are maturing. And the opportunity, for those positioned to seize it, is substantial.

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