DRAFT
2nd
EU-GCC
Business Forum
Infrastructure development:
PPP, investment opportunities
and management
January 8-9 or 9-10, 2017
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
Introduction
The EU-GCC Trade and Business Cooperation Facility is a three year (2014-2017) project aimed at
strengthening trade, investment and business cooperation between the EU and the GCC through
business networks, mutual understanding and dialogue.
The project facilitates various activities in GCC and EU cities including high-level annual Business
Conferences, policy working groups and round tables aimed at EU and GCC business communities,
policy makers, opinion leaders and media.
The 2nd EU-GCC Business Forum will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in January 2017, as a
continuation of the first EU-GCC Business Forum held in May 2016 in Brussels. The two day forum will
be organized by EU-GCC Trade and Business Cooperation Facility –a consortium of EU and GCC private
sector organizations- in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.
This second Business Forum will address the following topics:
DAY 1: Infrastructure development opportunities: The transformation of GCC infrastructure the role of
private sector
DAY 2: FDI management and promotion: Best practices and lessons learned in the EU and GCC
The Business Forum will be organized ahead of SAGIA’s Global Competitiveness Forum 2017 either on
January 8-9 or 9-10. This to ensure that high level EU business delegates and EU Commissioner for
Mobility and Transport will benefit from participating the two events.
DAY 1: Infrastructure development opportunities: The transformation of
GCC infrastructure and the role of private sector
Infrastructure development will remain an important issue in the region despite lower oil prices:
There are many factors to why infrastructure development is still on the road to growth in the GCC despite
lower oil prices:
1. Demographics: GCC population is forecasted to grow by more than 40% in 20501, which will
translates into a need for more infrastructure development activities.
2. Solving transportation problems in GCC is key to economic growth and diversification:
The GCC countries are committed to delivering better transport networks to support the needs of
a growing population and a diversified economy. Investing in urban and peri-urban transport
infrastructure is crucial to enhancing productivity and driving 2nd generation economic growth.
The pan-Gulf railway network and the integration of rail and metro projects – Expected to be
operational by ca. 2020, the pan-Gulf railway network runs for 2,177km and connects the six countries
of the region. It is expected to encourage travel and increase trade in the region, while also helping on
the logistics side to really diversify their non-oil economies. Besides railway projects, the region has
also witnessed large investments in road and maritime projects. Another important segment in
transportation infrastructure development is airport spending. Airports in the region are expected to
expand massively by 2020 due to an increasing number of passengers and cargo traffic, driven by
strong tourism growth and mega events such as the World Cup 2022 in Qatar and Dubai Expo 2020.
3. Embrace of the role of the private sector in infrastructure projects
As low oil prices squeeze coffers, governments are leaving behind the traditional models of funding
their large-scale projects. Many GCC governments are looking towards private sector investments to in
infrastructure projects to ensure that oil price volatility does not impact or delay the planned
infrastructure projects. Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai have all recently adopted legislations that
encourage PPP and private sector participation in infrastructure projects.
The same is true for Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the region. The recent Jeddah Economic
Forum held in March 2016 (and organized by Jeddah Chamber of Commerce -a participating
organisation in the EU-GCC project) focused on economic diversification of the Saudi economy
through higher PPP and private sector participation.
The Saudi government is currently planning on implementing wide-ranging institutional changes
through the economic reform strategy to promote PPP in the country. Furthermore, the Ministry of
Economy and Planning2 has identified a list of 146 state-owned assets that it could sell in an attempt
to unlock value in some of its crown jewels amid low oil prices and shrinking revenues.
1
World Bank Health Nutrition and Population Statistics: Population estimates and projections.
Last Updated: 01/05/2016
2
http://www.alarabiya.net/ar/aswaq/2015/12/30/%D9%81%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9.html and http://emiratesbusiness.ae/riyadh-identifies-almost-150-state-assets-for-sale/
The plan is to open up multiple sectors including airports, energy, ports, water, education and health for
private sector participation.
This provides a huge opportunity for the private sector including infrastructure developers and the
financial community, both domestic as well as foreign, to collaborate with GCC governments to help
create world class infrastructure.
GCC authorities can draw inspiration from the EU, which has a long-standing history in private sector
investment in infrastructure projects.
4. Human Capital and Knowledge Transfer key to success of infrastructure development and
economic growth
In addition to developing infrastructure, the GCC needs to develop people. Reliance on expatriate
expertise to deliver and manage utility infrastructure is unsustainable. Knowledge transfer is now
essential to a project’s success and increasingly GCC governments require knowledge transfer as part
of a project. For example, in its work with Saudi Electricity Company, Siemens has launched an Expert
Development Program, where selected SEC employees receive one year of training at various
locations of Siemens in Germany and in the US to enhance their expertise in the field of energy
technologies.
DAY 1: Promotion of Investment Into Infrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities
in a New Economic Landscape
The first day will focus on the challenges and opportunities for FDI management and promotion of
infrastructure investments. The first session discuss institutional and regulatory Public Private
Partnership reforms in the GCC.. The second session will explore alternative funding solutions for
infrastructure projects with the private sector and financial market players. .
Session 1 | Modern approaches to financing large infrastructure Projects Despite the dramatic
fall in crude oil prices and the profound effect on fiscal positions of states in the GCC, it is believed that
the most planned critical and strategically important infrastructure projects will still go ahead. However,
with constraints on the budgets, many governments will be looking to the private sector for the financing
of infrastructure projects in a significant way.
This session will include a panel discussion with CEOs and senior executives from the private sector
and the financial markets on the following financing solutions:
Project finance by commercial banks for PPP infrastructure projects (speakers to be identified)
Shari’ah-compliant financing provided by Islamic banks (speakers to be identified)
Export Credit Agency coverage for larger projects (speakers to be identified)
Regional financial institutions: Islamic Development Bank and the Arab Fund for Economic & Social
Development (speakers to be identified)
Focus of Day 2:
The focus of Day 1 will be on infrastructure investment opportunities and PPP in the GCC in three main
sectors: Energy, Transportation, and Telecom. The Business Forum will bring together leaders and
CEOs from EU and GCC firms at the forefront of PPP and infrastructure projects in the two regions.
They will share success stories and provide with in-depth and actionable advice on how to ensure the
success of infrastructure development with private sector participation:
Session 1: Energy Sector:

District cooling and optimizing energy efficient air conditioning projects:
Mega District Cooling Project in Makkah (Soren Holm, Group Executive Director, Ramboll Group)

Knowledge transfer of the latest Siemens Energy production technology and apprenticeship
programs:
The Siemens Energy Hub Project in Dammam (Arja Talakar, CEO, Siemens Saudi Arabia)

European energy PPP solutions: State of Green
Session 2: Building GCC Smart Cities: Internet of things, ICT, and Communications solutions:

Smart Dubai- PPP projects that can transform Dubai into a smart city
Speakers: Osman Sultan CEO of du -a UAE telecom provider that will be partnering with Dubai gov to
provide smart streetlights, parking and buildings as well as partnering up with the UAE federal gov to
support Wifi-UAE3

European Smart Cities: Sustainable Living in an Urban World
Case: Amsterdam Smart City – a public private partnership focused on using the city as an urban
laboratory for the use of open data, new mobility solutions and ultimately improved quality of life for all
residents and visitors. The collaboration has already supported more than 40 smart city projects
ranging from smart parking to the development of home energy storage for integration with a smart grid.
Case: Copenhagen – one of EU’s smartest cities and recently named European Green Capital in
20144.
Copenhagen has placed public-private partnerships at the core of its approach to eco-innovation and
sustainable employment. The city works with companies, universities and organisations in dedicated
3
4
http://www.wifiuae.ae/en /
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/winning-cities/2014-copenhagen/index.html
forums to develop and implement green growth. Its North Harbour project, for example, will include a
“Green laboratory” that will focus on eco-technologies, a model that can be transferred to other towns
and cities. This example of green economic development tackling environmental, economic and social
concerns has high potential for replication in the region around the city and beyond.

EU Commission’s 5G Infrastructure PPP project5
About the 5G PPP: The 5G Public Private Partnership (5G PPP) is an ambitious partnership btw EU
Commission and EU’s ICT industry and aims to secure Europe’s leadership in the particular areas
where Europe is strong or where there is potential for creating new markets such as smart cities, ehealth, intelligent transport, education or entertainment & media.
Speakers: Executives from the partner companies in the 5G PPP: Ericsson, Orange, Atos, Nokia,
Telenor.
.
55
https://5g-ppp.eu/