Governments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, continue to face challenges in addressing the medium and long-term needs of their expanding populations. While some are coping with a fall in commodity prices and the consequential funding gap for vital projects, others are developing strategies to diversify their economies. The Middle East has looked overseas for the development of its PPP programs in the past and many outside the region have proposed ideas for investing in and developing infrastructure.
In the next few years we will see a PPP model (or indeed sector specific models) emerge for Middle Eastern countries that acknowledges the structural issues unique to this region, and the rise of a local delivery market tailored to its specific needs. With that in mind, Squire Patton Boggs partners Philippa Chadwick, head of the global infrastructure industry group, and Susan Bastress, managing partner of the firm’s Qatar office, examine what the key issues are that will drive growth and innovation in the PPP delivery model.