The GCC needs to develop a new approach to delivering megaprojects and establish institutions that can capture information about them, a leading analyst has warned.

Speaking at the Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS) on 13 May, the co-founder and director of the UK’s Institute for Infrastructure Studies, Anthony Holmes said: “Building roads is demanding but not complex. When you move into complex projects, a different methodology is required. The GCC is doing more complex projects than any other place in the world in such a concentrated area. A new approach is required.”

“We could use the projects we are doing here to educate people and take that knowledge to the rest of the world,” Holmes said. “The data we are developing about projects we are basically burning. It is more valuable than projects themselves because the risk management of these projects is contained in this data.’