Skip to main content

Mena states plan $225bn transport projects

The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has a US$225 billion rail, metro, tram and bus rapid transit (BRT) capital investment programme to 2030, according to a report by Meed Projects. There are now 108 separate railway, metro, monorail, tram and BRT projects under bid, under design or under study in fourteen Mena countries. More than 50 of them, with a combined value of almost $140 billion, are in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
October 17, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has a US$225 billion rail, metro, tram and bus rapid transit (BRT) capital investment programme to 2030, according to a report by Meed Projects.

There are now 108 separate railway, metro, monorail, tram and BRT projects under bid, under design or under study in fourteen Mena countries.  More than 50 of them, with a combined value of almost $140 billion, are in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Saudi Arabia has the greatest potential with projects worth US$50 billion due to be completed by 2025.  Rail, metro, tram and BRT projects in Qatar worth more than US$30 billion are scheduled to be finished by 2020, ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Finals. The third biggest rail market is the UAE, where US$27 billion worth of projects is due for completion by 2030.

These projects will be highlighted at the Meed Mena Rail & Metro Summit which opens at in Abu Dhabi at the end of October, when around fifty experts from government and private businesses in the GCC, the wider Middle East and the world will address the event, with over 300 delegates expected to attend the conference.

Speakers at the conference include Dr Mohammed Montazeri, deputy managing director for planning and logistics at the Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Company. Iran has more than US$15 billion of major projects in the pipeline and two-thirds of this planned investment will be in the urban rail network of the Iranian capital by 2025.

Related Content

  • August 19, 2013
    New era of MAX transport for Perth
    A joint venture of Parsons Brinckerhoff and Aecom has been selected by Western Australia’s Department of Transport (DoT) to form an integrated services team for the next phase of the 22 km Metro Area Express (MAX) light rail network. The JV is working with the DoT to develop a robust business case for the US$1.8 billion project that will change the face of Perth’s transport network. MAX project director for the DoT, David Thomas, said the project will introduce a new era of public transport to Perth. “MAX w
  • March 29, 2016
    Move NY Legislation introduced
    A coalition of New York State Assembly Members has unveiled legislation that they say will not only fund Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) capital needs but will create a US$4.5 billion Transit Gap Investment Fund (TGIF) to expand public transit and improve accessibility for millions of New Yorkers, particularly those who live in so-called ‘transit deserts’. Introduced by Assembly Member Robert J. Rodriguez, chair of the subcommittee on infrastructure, and joined by 14 co-sponsors from across t
  • June 3, 2020
    Genoa considers urban monorail
    Proposed 2.3km development is part of expansion to Italian city's airport
  • May 20, 2022
    Bus lanes aim to ease LA jams
    $317m bus corridor project planned to link San Gabriel Valley with San Fernando Valley