Saudi Arabia will need $1 trillion in infrastructure investments over the next decade to support its rapidly growing economy, according to Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim.
The announcement was made during the Public Investment Fund (PIF) Private Sector Forum in Riyadh. Minister Al-Ibrahim highlighted that the private sector’s contribution to the Saudi economy has risen to 46%, increasing to 65% when including companies within the PIF portfolio.
This marks a significant rise from the 40% contribution recorded before the launch of Vision 2030, the kingdom’s ambitious economic diversification plan. PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan revealed that the fund is offering SAR 40 billion in investment opportunities to the private sector through its dedicated platform.
If you look at infrastructure mode, we expect the total required investment of the next seven to 10 years to be around $1 trillion, so PIF can’t do this alone. (…) Today, the private sector is demanding longer-term plan, longer-term clarity in terms of what the government needs, clarity on what the objectives are for the economic transformation.
The minister also noted that government incentives are now “laser-focused” on achieving Vision 2030’s objectives. While PIF is tasked with leading the implementation of Vision 2030, Al-Ibrahim stressed that the fund cannot shoulder the entire investment burden alone.
Instead, its role is to catalyse private sector involvement and create a robust partnership model.
The scale of investment aligns with Saudi Arabia’s broader development agenda. Since 2016, Vision 2030 projects valued at $1.3 trillion have been announced, according to Knight Frank data from September 2024.
The investment strategy includes SAR 5 trillion from public-private partnerships under the Shareek programme, SAR 3 trillion from PIF’s domestic investments, and SAR 4 trillion from diverse national and international corporate investments.
Al-Ibrahim underscored that success will not be measured solely by numerical targets but by the development of a truly independent private sector. Reducing reliance on government influence and increasing the private sector’s contribution to GDP to 65% by 2030 remain key objectives for the kingdom.
