Introduction

Logistic infrastructure is indispensable for economic development. Physical space and infrastructural space shape competitiveness. Disadvantaged by its large land mass that is barren and sparsely populated, infrastructure development is of particular importance to the GCC countries. Roads, railways, ports and airlines are vital arteries of commerce that connect markets and people. For example, the winning of the West in the US or the development of Siberia have been closely linked to the building of railroads. In recent decades, globalization of trade has allowed city-states like Dubai or Singapore to formulate development strategies as trading hubs with decidedly open economies.

This is notable as well into the 1960s, infrastructure in the GCC countries was of a rudimentary nature. The first overland roads in Saudi Arabia were built in the 1950s, and until the building of Dubai airport, the major flight connections in the UAE were via an unpaved landing strip in Sharjah. The GCC countries today command road networks and airports that are comparable to OECD countries, while several railway lines and public urban transport networks are at various stages

of development. The Gulf countries are also strategically located at the shipping lanes between Asia and Europe, and Saudi Aramco and Kuwait have built up a tanker fleet to get a share in the transport market of the sizable oil exports of the region. Population growth, increasing intra-GCC trade in the wake of the customs union and expanding global trade that grows at three times of world GDP are the drivers of infrastructure needs in the GCC.

In the introduction to this volume, Giacomo Luciani describes infrastructure development as the most important micro-policy of GCC countries to promote economic diversification and mitigate Dutch disease ailments. Rather than just following a demand that might never come, the GCC countries have built up infrastructure proactively in anticipation of demand. Such demand was created by redistribution of oil rent for sure, but also by “pockets” of efficient state owned enterprises and by private companies that moved beyond being mere representation agents of foreign partner companies. Telecommunication, utilities and logistics form the backbone of economies that have become more diverse than the share of oil on a macro-economic level would suggest. Transport infrastructure merits special attention in this regard.