Appetite to invest in infrastructure projects in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT) region is strong and continues to grow.
HSBC’s latest report, New Networks of Capital: MENAT Infrastructure, reveals significant international corporate and investor demand for greater exposure to the region in the lead-up to 2030.
HSBC-commissioned analysis of MEED data identifies US$872 billion in individual project packages within a wider US$1.4 trillion planned and unawarded infrastructure pipeline.
The data shows that the value of planned but unawarded infrastructure projects and programmes increased by 54% between January 2023 and January 2026, from US$792bn to US$1.22tn. Infrastructure planning activity has continued this year, with the pipeline increasing a further 15% to $1.4tn between January and October 2026.
Additionally, 97% of investors expect MENAT to attract notably more infrastructure capital by 2030, according to an HSBC-commissioned global survey of 1,626 senior business leaders and 818 global institutional investors across 16 markets – including India, US, China and the UK – conducted between 18 September and 5 October 2026.
The survey captures business leader and investor expectations through to 2030 and reflects the inherently longer-term nature of infrastructure investment. It found 94% of surveyed investors expect the region to represent a markedly larger share of their portfolios over the next four years.
Similar ambitions were also found in the global business community, with 81% of business leaders polled considering MENAT critical or very important to their growth and infrastructure strategy, and 90% expecting their investment or exposure to increase over the next four years.
While Europe-MENAT is the most significant economic corridor for contributions of international capital over the next four years, expectations for growth to 2030 highlight the predominance of China-MENAT flows as the region demonstrates its ability to attract capital from all corners of the globe.
For contractors, consultants and suppliers, the findings point to a sustained pipeline of work rather than a cyclical peak. For investors, they suggest competition for quality assets in the region’s core markets will intensify as US and European entrants scale up.
To enhance project execution, businesses identified improved risk-sharing, faster permitting and greater regulatory transparency as key enablers; while investors prioritise larger, scalable projects and better transparency on realised returns.
Building on its strong infrastructure pipeline, the findings show the region can attract even greater international capital through well-structured investment opportunities, effective risk-sharing, robust public-private partnership models and world-class execution.
Of the $872bn pipeline of individual infrastructure packages, around $390bn is estimated to be likely to require third-party financing if packages proceed to award, with between $149bn and $197bn potentially reaching financing over the next five years.
