Societal and technical issues in the industrial development of Saudi Arabia and Egypt

Abstract

Sustained industrial development in developing nations has been an impetus for economic growth and technological advancements for the past several decades, in addition to being a major contributor to poverty reduction. This thesis focuses on the underlying societal and technical issues regarding large-scale project implementation and industrial development in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The study analyzes these issues in the context of the Saudi Arabian construction industry and the Egyptian solar energy industry, and then extrapolates these to outline the industrial landscape in the Middle East. Several obstacles to development, such as regulatory inefficiencies, regional segregation, and lack of capital investment are identified and analyzed. Technology advances necessary to progress the industry are also determined.