The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will need to pump $250 billion into its power sector in the next five years to meet regional electricity demand growth, according to a new report published by the Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation.
The October 2012 report, titled 'Mena Energy Investment Outlook: Capturing the Full Scope and Scale of the Power Sector,' stated that over the next five years, power capacity in the Mena region will increase by 7.8 per cent annually, translating to a capacity increment of 124 gigawatts.
The total amount of required capital investment includes power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (GTD), and accounts for more than 200 planned and announced energy-related projects in the Mena region valued between $100 million and $20 billion.
Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) hold the lion's share of investment growth, accounting for 42 per cent ($105 billion) of total required expenditure, while Iran alone will require $49 billion (20 per cent of total value) worth of investment for power GTD by 2017.
Times of Oman
1 November
