Banks in the Middle East are hoping for a revival in the regional market for project finance, as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other oil-rich Gulf nations embark on a massive round of infrastructure spending in order to boost their economies and head off any potential discontent.

The volume of Middle East project finance transactions has fallen sharply since the global financial crisis in 2008, and has plunged again this year as the Arab spring has halted or curtailed new investment in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. Figures from the data provider Dealogic show the total of project finance transactions in the Middle East more than halved to $13.3bn in the first nine months of 2011, from $29.5bn in the equivalent period of 2010.