INSEAD Day 4 - 728x90

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$121bn GCC projects in pipeline: Trust, transparency key to their success, TOP CEO Conference heard in May

A general view from a panel discussion titled "The Execution Challenges" during the TOP CEO Conference held in Dubai in May this year. (TRENDS File)
  • Beside leadership and vision, trust, communication and transparency between all the stakeholders play a key role in any and every project’s success, experts had said at the event.
  • More than $50bn of social infrastructure work, according to Meed Projects, is being executed across the Gulf region, while the remaining $70bn is in various stages of planning

With more than $121 billion worth of social projects planned and underway across the GCC, the question is what makes most of these projects successful in the region unlike in other parts of the world.

Experts had different answers to the query during the TOP CEO Conference held in Dubai in May 2022, which still stand true in most of the cases.

During the event, a panel discussion titled “The Execution Challenges” highlighted that beside leadership and vision, trust, communication and transparency between all the stakeholders play a key role in any and every project’s success across the GCC.

While Xavier Anglada — Managing Director at Energy GCAL and member of Accenture’s Global Leadership Council and Innovation Lead in the Middle East – had described transparency as the most important role of successful communication, SRMG Think Managing Director Haifa Al-Jedea emphasized on the role of empowered negotiators in GCC companies’ success stories, “particularly one who understands the needs of everyone”.

More than $50 billion of social infrastructure work, according to regional projects tracker Meed Projects, is being executed, while the remaining $70 billion is in various stages of planning. Nearly $71 billion worth of projects are located in Saudi Arabia.

According to a recent Market Research Future analysis, many of Saudi Arabia’s megaprojects require prefabricated methods, while the UAE government’s ambition for sustainability necessitates modern construction techniques.

(With inputs from Wadad Mogharbel)