MEED's Saudi Arabia Forum has highlighted the increasing role of the private sector in the future development of the kingdom. As part of the kingdom's Ambitious Vision 2030 plan, the government is targeting to increase the private sector's contribution to GDP from 40 percent to 65 percent. This will be achieved through increasing the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and through the privatization of government entities, including the listing of up to 5 percent of state oil major Saudi Aramco, with the $100 billion IPO set to the be the largest ever conducted. "We are trying to make the private sector a real partner," said Fahad Bin Sulaiman Al-Tekhaifi, deputy chairman of the board, and president of the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat). "We need to learn how to utilize the technical abilities [of the private sector] to address the (country's) needs and realize the 2030 program." With billions of dollars worth of investment required to meet the aims of the Vision 2030, the private sector will play a key role in delivering vital infrastructure and services. Richard Paton, head of infrastructure advisory, Middle East and South Asia, head of PPP and Public Sector Strategy, deal advisory, KPMG, outlined the benefits of utilizing public-private partnerships (PPP) to develop infrastructure from utilities and transport to healthcare and education. "PPPs reduce the requirement for capital costs, reducing pressure on government budgets, and also allows risk transfer," said Paton. Paton also discussed the planned shift of role for government in the kingdom, from a service provider to a regulator. He said that the kingdom's airport company, General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) was a prime example of this, with the government aviation body set to split into two, with the government becoming a regulator and the private sector building and operating airports. — SG
