The Middle Eastern infrastructure boom: 1945-1995

The Middle East was transformed in the half century following the end of the Second World War by the boom in infrastructure projects made possible through the discovery and exploitation of the region's oil. Covering the whole of the infrastructure spectrum, the projects included some of the world's largest schemes and often involved state-of-the-art technology. Despite the frequent revolutions and wars that occurred in the region during this period, infrastructure development continued unabated in most countries, while in others progress was delayed or halted. In addition to brief descriptions of many of the projects built, this paper also summarises the varying political backgrounds against which they were planned and executed.