Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Saudi Arabia to invest $320m rebuilding Yemen

By Melissa Hancock
Restoring Shibam in Yemen is part of the Saudi plan Reuters
Restoring Shibam in Yemen is part of the Saudi plan
  • Saudi announced SAR1.2bn to help rebuild Yemen
  • Projects include a hospital, power plant, ring road and border crossing
  • Saudi Arabia and Iran resumed relations in March

Saudi Arabia will invest SAR1.2 billion ($320 million) to help rebuild war-battered Yemen, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency announced on Sunday.

The kingdom has launched a package of 20 development projects in Yemen’s Hadramawt province, which form part of the kingdom’s “continuous economic and development support for the country,” the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jaber, was quoted as saying.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government controls most of the south of Yemen, with Hadramawt being the biggest province.

Much of northern Yemen remains under Iran-backed Houthi control.

The investment will go towards the establishment and equipping of a university hospital and cancer centre at Hadhramout University. This aims to provide advanced healthcare to Yemenis and training for healthcare practitioners, and to support research and development.

The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen also launched projects to establish a gas separation and treatment facility, as well as a power plant in the city of Seiyun to increase the power station’s production capacity to 100mw.

Other programmes include the first phase of the Mukalla new ring road, the rehabilitation of the Al-Wadiah border crossing and various educational and technical facility projects.

Funds will also contribute to the enhancement of water resources in the governorate, the restoration of the city of Shibam, the protection of historical libraries and a project to support food supply chains.

Civil war has shattered Yemen’s economy and infrastructure, and brought about a humanitarian crisis, but talks to end it have gathered momentum since Riyadh and Tehran restored diplomatic ties in March.

Latest articles

UAE’s RedBird IMI acquires UK TV producer for $1.5bn

RedBird IMI, A US investment management company partly owned by Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, has acquired All3Media, the UK’s largest independent TV production company behind hits such as Fleabag, The Traitors and Gogglebox. The for £1.15 billion ($1.5 billion) deal is the largest for RedBird IMI to date, the company said in a statement. […]

PIF's Starbucks shareholdings were cut almost by half from 6.3 million shares to 3.8 million

PIF slashes Starbucks stake as it cuts US stocks by $15bn

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has slashed its US equity holdings by 42 percent to $20.6 billion, including its stake in Starbucks, the global coffee chain that has suffered calls for a boycott as a result of the Gaza conflict. The latest US government data highlights funding challenges facing the Saudi giga-projects.  The filing […]

Tunisia olives

Soaring olive oil exports help Tunisia balance books

Tunisia’s soaring olive oil exports have almost doubled to close to $1 billion in just five months, helping it claw back its current account deficit.   However the increased revenues merely “paint over the cracks” and the country is still probably heading towards a sovereign default, according to an economic expert. Tunisia’s current account deficit narrowed […]

Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani attends licensing rounds for 29 oil and gas exploration blocks at the oil ministry's headquarters in Baghdad

Falling oil prices deepen Iraq’s fiscal imbalances, says IMF

Iraq’s fiscal imbalances have worsened due to significant fiscal expansion and lower oil prices, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “The ongoing fiscal expansion is expected to boost growth in 2024 at the expense of a further deterioration of fiscal and external accounts and Iraq’s vulnerability to oil price fluctuations,” the Washington-based fund said in […]