Pace of privatization ‘accelerating’, key goals delivered in short time: Al-Jadaan

Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan in a roundtable discussion with Korean company executives 

Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the National Center for Privatization & PPP (NCP), said that although the Saudi government started the public-private partnership (PPP) journey quite recently, it has already traveled far.  

The Kingdom has the largest, broadest, and most successful privatization and PPP program in the Middle East. In addition. Over the last five years, it privatized 30 projects, Al-Jadaan said, while participating in roundtable discussions with a coalition of Korean companies in Seoul, in the presence of Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea. 

The pace of the privatization program is accelerating as the current pipeline includes around 200 projects in 17 sectors, involving over $50 billion in investment and another 300 projects are being evaluated. 

"Saudi Arabia has adopted a modern framework for privatization and partnership projects between the public and private sectors that is flexible and based on international best practices,” Al-Jadaan added. 

Moreover, the sectoral breakdown of the Saudi PPP pipeline overlaps well with Korea’s PPP program, as both provide numerous investment opportunities that match companies’ experience and capabilities.  

The Kingdom is also keen to see more Korean companies bringing their expertise and resources to the Saudi privatization and PPP program and building stronger ties between the two countries, he concluded.