Saudi Arabia has experienced a dramatic rise in mega-projects, increasing by 643 percent since 2010—from 64 to 476 projects by 2025—according to a report from UK-based consultancy Mace. This growth places the Kingdom among the top three countries globally for large-scale developments.
The report, titled The Future of Major Programme Delivery
, defines mega-projects as those valued at $1 billion or more, while giga-projects are set at $10 billion or above. Saudi Arabia and India each have 43 giga-projects, ranking just behind the United States, which leads with 88.
Globally, the United States holds the highest number of active and completed mega and giga-projects at 1,663, followed by India with 729, Saudi Arabia with 577, and the United Kingdom with 484. The United Arab Emirates ranks seventh with 233 projects.
Saudi Arabia’s surge in major developments is largely driven by Vision 2030, which includes landmark initiatives such as NEOM, The Red Sea Project, Diriyah, Qiddiya, King Salman International Airport, and New Murabba. Sector-wise, the Kingdom’s mega-projects are distributed across:
- Energy and utilities (178)
- Commercial and leisure (110)
- Infrastructure (75)
- Residential buildings (71)
- Industrial (42)
- Institutional (42)
The report highlights Saudi Arabia’s efficiency in delivering energy and utility mega-projects, with an average completion time of under nine years—comparable to the United States, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Most energy, utility, and residential projects in the Kingdom are delivered in about eight years, while infrastructure projects average around twelve years.
The findings are based on an analysis of over 5,000 mega and giga-projects worldwide, according to Mace.
