Saudi Arabia to invest $1.6 bln to support public-funded universities: Alpen Cap

Saudi Arabia is expected to invest $1.6 billion in research and development in the next two years, which is expected to go towards enhancing the capacity and capability of publicly funded universities, Alpen Capital said in a recent report.

With the funding, the Kingdom aims to propel five institutions into the top 100 of international university rankings by 2030, the report said.

Additionally, the government has recently embarked on public-private partnership (PPP) projects with the Ministry of Economy (MoE), through its private investment arm Tatweer, inviting bidders for long-term concessions to design, build and maintain school facilities.

“The initiative is expected to allow the MoE to dispose of more than 5,000 rented buildings that house schools,” the report added.

In the 2018 budget, the Saudi Arabian government allocated $51.2 billion, or approximately 21.6 percent of their total budgeted expenditure towards the education sector.

“Despite a reduction in the government's allocation to the education sector from 22.8 percent in 2016, the Kingdom continues to allocate one of the highest proportion of its budget to the education sector,” it further said.