Saudi Arabia's already buoyant construction sector was given a further boost in 2011, after a flurry of contracts worth $71.2 billion were awarded, Research and Markets said in its report on "Saudi Arabia Infrastructure Report Q3 2012". "This is a trend we expect to continue in the short term, thanks to the government's vast infrastructure investment scheme," the report noted. One of the most dynamic sub-sectors in Saudi Arabia has been power plants and transmission and distribution (T&D), with the $80 billion, 10-year investment plan for electricity infrastructure (2008-2018) having led to significant activity in the energy sector. Huge investment into the social infrastructure sector is in the pipeline, in part to appease the populace. Both the SR1.44 trillion ($385 billion) Ninth Development Plan (2010-2014) and social benefit packages worth a total of $130 billion, announced in response to protests in which swept the Middle East during 2011, are heavy on social infrastructure spending. Transport is also booming, especially rail infrastructure - with $24 billion of projects under way or in the pipeline. The Haramain High Speed Railway has taken centre stage, with the final contract for the project (worth $1.4 billion and awarded to the Spanish Al-Shoula consortium) awarded in July 2011. Attention should now turn to the SR26 billion ($7 billion) Saudi Landbridge project, an east-west rail line that will link Jeddah and Dammam. In Q411, the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) secured $2.3 billion of funding from a syndicate of local and international banks, led by the Gulf International Bank (GIB), for the expansion and development of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Saudi Gazette
