Saudi Arabia is set to take the lead in regional infrastructure investment and construction spending, a Saudi Arabian newspaper has reported.

The newspaper is referring to a BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research report which shows the MENA infrastructure and construction market is among the world’s most attractive owing to its sheer size, with a total of $4.3 trillion. These monies are expected to be invested in construction projects across the region by 2020 with an increase of almost 80 per cent from current levels.

According to the report, 'GCC 2020: Time to Shift Gears', Saudi Arabia is expected to lead the region’s construction market. It shows that the region’s spending plans are expected to account for 12 per cent of the global emerging markets and 4.4 per cent of the world construction markets within the next decade.

Merrill Lynch Kingdom Saudi Arabia CEO, Mutashar Murshed, stated that despite delays in awarding contracts in some Arab countries due to political instability, the construction and infrastructure sub-sectors in Saudi Arabia remain strong. He added that the sector amounts to 46 per cent of the 2012/13 MENA project pipeline totalling USD448 billion.