INFRASTRUCTURE investments worth $1.1 trillion are envisaged on a range of high-profile projects in Saudi Arabia, a report said.

These include the Riyadh and Makkah metros, worth $23 billion and $7 billion, respectively; the King Abdul-Aziz International Airport expansion, costing $4 billion; the $3.3-billion Shuqaiq power plant; and the $3.5-billion Kudai Towers mixed-use development in Makkah, added the latest Economic Update released by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

As well as launching a new housing construction programme of 500,000 new units in 2011, the government is also in the process of unveiling its development plan for 2015-19, in which it will further elaborate on a diversification strategy centred on the development of five industrial clusters: automotives, home appliances, plastics and packing, mineral and metal processing, and solar energy.

Meanwhile, the multibillion-riyal Riyadh Metro project is progressing well and is about 10 per cent ahead of schedule, said a report. One of the world’s largest metro projects, this automatic driverless network will be more than 170 km long and have 87 stations on six lines, reported the Arab News. It is scheduled for completion in 2018.