Private activity in infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa drops to 15-year low

TL;DRAbstract

In the Middle East and North Africa (MNA), 2011 was a particularly slow year for infrastructure projects. Only two new infrastructure projects reached financial or contractual closure in low and middle income countries.1 Both projects were management contracts for water utilities in Algeria and Jordan. There was a high correlation between the Arab Spring of 2011 and the lack of new private activity. The number of projects was the lowest in more than 15 years. The trend of investments in MENA is comparable to other regions: downward after a peak in the mid-2000s. Total investment commitments (hereafter, investment) in all infrastructure projects in the MENA-region reached US$3.870 billion, which was entirely attributable to new investments in existing telecom projects (projects that had already reached financial or contractual closure before 2011). Investments in new projects were effectively recorded as zero. This was a decrease of 36 percent in real terms (2011 US dollars) compared to

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