New Middle Eastern Governments need a Master-Plan

In any society, whether it is in the Western Developed World or in developing countries that have recently experienced a change of leadership and move towards a democratic society, it is important not to ignore fundamental principles linked to key issues that require investment and improvements related to Healthcare, Education, Housing, Employment and general economic vitality and stability.

At the heart of any successful society lays economic development and the creation of continuous employment opportunities for our youth. One of the key components or drivers of successful economies is the ability to provide integrated transport facilities which enable the various chains of society, such as businesses and employment, to link up efficiently.

If you take a look at two emerging democracies in the examples of Libya and Yemen, the approach to starting up an economically stable society will differ. It is clear from looking at Libya that before the new government rushes into a series of projects, a serious injection of expertise into Institutional Strengthening is required. This implies the need to assess how government departments run and how, for example, they could make best use of the funds that may be available to invest in the various sectors of society described above.

That would be the starting point for Libya while for The Yemen, on the other hand, it is more a case of ensuring that existing institutions work together to bring forward cohesive plans for this vast country.

One key aspect to ensure that the country functions as one is the need to be very focussed on what infrastructure will be required. For example, rather than just go ahead and start building roads and major highways a master-plan ought to be formulated that will combine land use planning and transport requirements which will set the fundamental requirements of over say short, medium and long term horizons.

This master-plan would take into account existing population locations and requirements, future new land use locations such as new towns and cities, and will thereby provide recommendations for appropriate infrastructure provision.


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Written by Johnny Ojeil. 


Johnny is a Director of Arup Consulting and a Board Member of the British Arab Federation (BAF). 


The BAF is an organisation committed to enabling the British Arab community of the UK. We conduct research, hold seminars and events concerning Arab Business, Arab Culture and Arab News.