Saudi Arabia has recorded a 643 percent surge in mega-projects since 2010, rising from 64 to 476 projects in 2025, placing it among the top three countries globally for such projects, according to a new report by UK-based global consultancy and construction company Mace.

For giga-projects specifically, Saudi Arabia shares second place globally with India, with 43 giga-projects each, behind the United States, which leads with 88, the report titled ‘The Future of Major Programme Delivery’ said.

The report classifies mega-projects as those with a capital value of $1 billion or more and giga-projects as those with a value of $10 billion or more.

Overall, the US tops the chart with 1,663 mega and giga-projects (active and complete), followed by India (729), Saudi Arabia (577), and the UK (484). The UAE (233) is placed seventh after Australia (451) and Canada (331).

The growth in Saudi Arabia is driven by the Kingdom’s ongoing transformation under Vision 2030, which includes landmark projects such as NEOM, The Red Sea Project, Diriyah, Qiddiya, King Salman International Airport, and New Murabba.

The sectoral breakdown of Saudi Arabia’s mega-projects includes:

Energy and utilities: 178

Commercial and leisure: 110

Infrastructure: 75

Residential buildings: 71

Industrial: 42

Institutional: 42

High delivery performance 

The report said the Kingdom ranks among the most efficient globally in delivering energy and utility mega-projects, with an average project duration of under nine years from announcement to completion—matching timelines observed in the US, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

According to data presented in the report, the average delivery duration in Saudi Arabia for energy and utility, and residential building mega-projects, is around 8 years, indicating a high level of progress from announcement to completion. However, for infrastructure mega projects, the average duration is around 12 years.

Incidentally, the Kingdom also has the sixth highest proportion of stalled mega-projects since 2010, highlighting the inherent complexity and risk in managing such large-scale undertakings.

The Future of Major Programme Delivery’ is based on analysis of a dataset of more than 5,000 mega and giga-programmes and projects around the globe.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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