Wednesday, October 27, 2010

MENA Region Still Suffers from Infrastructure Deficit

  • Infrastructure needs in the MENA region are US$ 75-100 billion a year for the next five years
  • Better policies are required to attract investors and make projects internationally competitive
  • More information about the meeting is available here: www.weforum.org/mena2010

Marrakech, Morocco, 27 October 2010 –The MENA region needs to overcome its infrastructure deficit if it is to boost its competitiveness and attract much-needed foreign investment, said government and business leaders in a panel today at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa taking place in Marrakech, Morocco from 26 to 28 October.  The meeting convenes over 1,000 business, government, civil society and media leaders from 62 countries. The theme of the meeting is “Purpose, Resilience and Prosperity”.

Shamshad Akhtar, Regional Vice-President, Middle East and North Africa, World Bank, Washington DC, said that infrastructure deficits persist, despite many improvements in the last decade. “The region's infrastructure needs are between US$ 75 and 100 billion a year for the next five years, after experiencing an investment low of US$ 6 billion in mid-2009.”

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