Kang Moon-soo, a research fellow at KIEP, detailed the shift during the fourth FerroTimes seminar, explaining that while Saudi Arabia adjusts its grand gigaprojects, Gulf Cooperation Council countries are increasingly turning to public-private partnerships and independent power projects to fund development.
Contractors must now handle long-term operations alongside construction, changing how international firms approach the region. Between January 2024 and June 2026, total Middle East project contracts reached 611.6 billion dollars, with Saudi Arabia accounting for 222.5 billion dollars of that total.
Resilience Redefines Gulf Contracts
Uncontracted GCC projects represent roughly 1.9 trillion dollars in potential work, though annual contract volumes dropped from 314 billion dollars in 2024 to 213.4 billion dollars in 2025. Kang said that future investments now prioritize infrastructure resilience over sheer scale, forcing planners to build redundancy into critical supply networks.
| Indicator / Region | Middle East (GCC) | Sub-Saharan Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Project Pipeline / Growth | $1.9 Trillion Uncontracted | 4.5% GDP Growth (2025-2026) |
| Primary Financing Shift | PPP and IPP Private Capital | Development Finance & ODA Blending |
| Key Sector Focus | Power, Desalination, Data Centers | Transport, Digital, Power Grids |
New projects focus on bypassing chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz through alternative pipelines, dual transmission grids, and decentralized water desalination plants. Economic recovery across the region remains tied to maritime navigation resuming smoothly by 2027.
Korean Firms Enter Middle East Power and Digital Infrastructure Markets
Korean firms are finding distinct entry points in power transmission, water treatment, and digital infrastructure as the Middle East and North Africa expand renewable energy capacity from 53 gigawatts in 2023 to an estimated 150 gigawatts by 2030. Regional data center capacity is similarly projected to jump from 1.2 gigawatts at the end of 2025 to 3.2 gigawatts by 2027.
Korean builders captured 11.9 billion dollars in Middle Eastern construction orders during 2025, making up 25.1 percent of the nation’s total overseas construction intake. However, Kang pointed out that corporate participation remains heavily concentrated, with just five firms securing 63 percent of recent GCC contracts and Saudi projects making up 54 percent of that total.
Financial Engineering in Africa
In contrast to the Middle East, African markets present deep infrastructure deficits paired with tight public finances, where sub-Saharan economic growth hovers around 4.5 percent. Competing global powers are pairing development finance directly with equipment exports and technical standards.
Kang suggested that Korean companies must integrate policy financing mechanisms like the Economic Development Cooperation Fund and the Korea Trade-Insurance Corporation right at the bidding stage. Partnering with Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds active in Africa offers another viable path for Korean builders to share financial risks while supplying equipment and operating expertise.
