The World Bank said Sunday that it is setting up a regional initiative in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) that could raise up to $1 billion to close the infrastructure gap in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), which will undermine the region’s growth if not urgently addressed.
The Middle East and North Africa region needs to invest between $75 billion and $100 billion a year to sustain the growth rates that have been achieved in recent years and to boost economic competitiveness, the World Bank said. It added that private sector investment in infrastructure in Mena countries is limited, especially outside the Gulf countries despite huge unmet demand for infrastructure services.
Sunday’s announcement aims at addressing this shortfall and brings together the World Bank Group with the Islamic Development Bank as potential anchor investors in a regional investment vehicle to support both conventional and Shariah-compliant investment in infrastructure.
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