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Introduction

‘A mega-project is a large-scale, complex venture that typically costs USD 1 billion or more, takes many years to develop and build, and involves multiple public and private stakeholders,’ says the Institute of Project Management (1). It is transformational and has an impact on millions of people. And the mega-project has become synonymous with one region of the world in particular: The Middle East.

The scale of the ambition that drives these initiatives in the region is remarkable. Saudi Arabia holds the world’s largest construction pipeline (2), with the giga-projects (a local term for the largest of mega-projects) under its Vision 2030 programme carrying a combined estimated investment of more than one trillion US dollars. NEOM, the futuristic development on the Red Sea coast, is valued at more than USD 500 billion on its own. The UAE construction market was worth around USD 46 billion (3) in 2025, and Etihad Rail, the country’s rail network connecting 10 cities (3) across the Emirates, began carrying passengers in 2026. Qatar delivered a World Cup with all the infrastructure that entails, while multi-billion-dollar airport developments across the Gulf continue to create a strong pipeline of major projects.

Mega projects of strategic and national importance have become an eye-catching feature of economic activity in this part of the world. And these programmes depend on a vast and mobile workforce.

Across the six Gulf Cooperation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), around 35 million migrant workers make up more than half of the region’s population, according to the media outlet Al Jazeera. These workers come largely from South and South-East Asia, including India (9.1 million), Bangladesh (5 million), Pakistan (4.9 million) and the Philippines (2.2 million). This is a workforce diverse in language, culture and attitudes to workplace safety and health.

So, how do you keep safe a multi-national, multicultural workforce on some of the world’s largest, most complex work programmes? And how do organisations do so when faced by many and various external factors, such as climate change and conflict?

Let’s examine the challenge in more detail and the opportunities it presents to the HSE professional.

A landscape of complexity

First, scale brings complexity.

Dr Waddah S Ghanem Al Hashmi is a prominent figure in the Middle East energy industry with an impressive track record of working on mega projects in the region. Mega projects are long-term, often phased, and frequently combine brownfield (operational) and greenfield works, creating overlapping hazards and logistical complexity, he says.

Multiple contractors, large supply chains and tight commissioning deadlines drive risk and decision pressure. “Delays to a commissioning date can have many consequences financially on the contractors, and that financial pressure can compromise safety if not carefully managed,” says Dr Waddah.

Dr Rob Cooling has led on environment, health and safety for some of the region’s most high-profile mega projects, including NEOM and Expo 2020, in Dubai. He describes programmes comprising many interrelated projects running in parallel, “so extremely complex in terms of the scale”.

Yet, across the region, the HSE leader is playing a critical role in helping developers solve this intricate risk puzzle. And it takes a particular type of safety professional.

“One of the most refreshing things when you get involved in these programmes is that you have a blank canvas when it comes to creating the HSE policy, strategy and initiatives,” says Rob. “That’s the big opportunity, particularly in the early planning stages. You can come up with something new. So, if you’re the type of person who flourishes in environments where it’s creative and embraces innovative ideas, then you tend to enjoy working on major projects.”

This central role can be illustrated by a common practice on mega projects. As Head of Siemens Professional Education EMEA, Martin Hottass led on knowledge and skills transfer for major infrastructure programmes, such as the Riyadh Metro. “Every big project I’ve worked on has an Obeya room,” he says. “It’s a Japanese term that means ‘large room’. It is a physical or virtual space for visual management. Originating from Toyota’s Lean manufacturing methodologies, it brings teams together to track metrics, align strategy with execution, and proactively solve problems.

“Every work stream has a traffic light, and in regular meetings in the Obeya room, you map the risk interdependencies from right at the beginning of the project. HSE specialists are part of that journey and determine how all of this is applied.”

The inherent complexity of mega projects demands HSE leaders who can innovate, create and lead.

Hazards shaped by the region

The Middle East mega project also needs an HSE specialist who adapts to their location.

Place that time-constrained programme of overlapping risks in a work environment uniquely tested by its geography. External factors shape an organisation’s safety risk landscape in the Middle East and add further multiple layers of complexity to the mega project.

The workforce demographics of the Middle East is one of its economy’s defining features. Its diversity brings vulnerability. In terms of job security, the migrant worker is particularly exposed to the impact of conflicts in the region, according to a recent report (4) by the International Labour Organization (ILO). In employment, they must overcome multiple barriers to earn a wage. "Migrant workers face three levels of challenge: linguistic, cultural understanding, and vulnerability,” says Martin. “They often won’t put their hand up and say they’re not sure.”

Alan Crawford’s CV includes leading safety roles on the Qatar World Cup build and large-scale PIF (Public Investment Fund) developments in Saudi Arabia, such as Red Sea Global. “If you were to ask anybody who had worked on these projects what their biggest challenge was, it would be communication,” he says. “I worked on a project where a lot of the workforce was not literate in any language, so we produced visual materials without words.”

The HSE professional is managing the health, safety and environment risks of a diverse workforce in what can be difficult locations for work. Alongside workforce composition, organisations face a range of external factors, from the geopolitical to the environmental.

Conflicts in parts of the Middle East are having a region-wide impact. “You can plan any mega project as well as you can, but there’s always a risk that geopolitics will unsettle the region,” says Martin, a NEBOSH Trustee and now owner of Learning & Skills for Business Ltd, a specialist skills consultancy. “That means, for example, a workforce that was readily available may no longer be available. People get displaced. That displacement leaves big gaps in the receiving markets like Saudi Arabia, which then impacts project delivery.”
Extreme heat in the region requires work-time controls. “We prohibit work during the hottest parts of the day,” says Dr Waddah. Similar midday work restrictions are widely used across the GCC to protect workers from heat-related illness during periods of extreme temperatures.

Mega-projects in the Middle East face a distinctive EHS risk profile defined by economic pressures, geography, demographics and geopolitics. And on top of this, host countries vary considerably in the maturity of safety governance, meaning a single mega-project can span multiple layers of oversight, with varying levels of national regulatory maturity and enforcement capacity.

Organisations operating in this region on mega projects are needing to respond to an array of external factors beyond their control, and HSE leaders are playing an instrumental role in managing the safety and supply chain risks in this tough environment.

Rising standards driving demand for HSE leaders.

Driven by national visions and developments in regulatory frameworks, health, safety and environment standards in many parts of the Middle East have advanced in recent years.

“Dubai has developed increasingly mature regulatory frameworks,” says Alan Crawford. Qatar, he notes, drew on international expertise during preparations for the World Cup, bringing in experienced inspectors to help strengthen its regulatory approach. The combination of global best practice and strong demand for recognised professional qualifications has helped raise expectations of safety performance across the region, says Alan.

And the mega project, typically high profile and symbolic of national ambition, needs to exemplify this progress in worker protection. “These projects are quite often under significant spotlight and international scrutiny,” says Rob Cooling. “And that spotlight has helped to improve areas such as worker welfare, health and safety, because obviously there’s reputational risks that must be managed. This has resulted in better outcomes for the people who are working on these projects.

“From my time being here, nearly 20 years, there’s been an incredible improvement in health and safety and welfare. Some of the standards that I’ve seen on projects in the region are as good as you would see anywhere else in the world.”

The demand for better health, safety and environment standards, evident on high-profile mega projects, has enhanced the standing of the HSE professional in the region. This has delivered new opportunities. Dr Waddah notes the shift in how HSE professionals are perceived; no longer ‘safety officers’ but respected advisers with business relevance. “Those HSE practitioners who are very switched on, pragmatic and work well, communicate well, and help manage risks effectively, have helped the profession earn greater respect and recognition than ever before,” he says.

Various drivers are behind the advances in HSE standards in the Middle East, from regulation and international standards to ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting and reputational risk. The lift in standards is creating higher expectations for job requirements for HSE leadership roles on mega projects.

What mega project HSE recruiters are looking for

“It’s not so much the technical HSE skills that you need,” says Dr Waddah, on the requirements for an HSE leadership role on a mega project. “It’s more the planning and the forecasting and the ability to imagine what could go wrong. It is about horizon scanning.

“The HSE practitioner has a massive opportunity on these mega projects to learn to work with multiple stakeholders. ESG reporting standards have pushed organisations to pay more attention to worker welfare and integrated environmental plans. The HSE practitioner is being forced to get educated on this. If you work on a mega project in the Middle East, you’ve got to widen your approach as a practitioner.”

NEBOSH qualifications are underpinning this demand on mega projects for a rounded HSE leadership skills set, combining business acumen with the technical and human competencies.

“NEBOSH is effectively the baseline qualification for professional safety roles,” says Martin Hottass. “It’s sought after because it opens the door to jobs in high-risk, high-consequence industry sectors such as oil and gas, construction, power, manufacturing, desalination and other high risk sectors. For senior roles on mega projects, you’d typically look to the NEBOSH Diploma; for specialist roles, the NEBOSH Diploma in Environmental Management or Health and Safety Management for Construction.

“If you want a qualification that stands up to scrutiny and it’s robust and trustworthy, it’s a NEBOSH qualification.”

For recruiters, a NEBOSH qualification has become a prerequisite for employment in a safety-related role, says Alan Craword. “(For Red Sea Global), the minimum we would accept was a NEBOSH certificate”, he says. “If you didn’t have it, you were coming up really low on our assessment.

“We were looking for the NEBOSH because it meant that when you took that person on, they had at least that foundational understanding of how to keep people safe. Whereas if we took people without it, we had to start from scratch, which we didn’t have time to do. These PIF projects, they move at an incredibly fast pace.”

Respected safety qualifications combined with relevant sector experience, auditing skills and a strong understanding of local culture and regulations are the baseline for HSE leadership roles on mega projects in the Middle East.

The opportunity ahead

Up to 2035, the GCC has a pipeline of more than USD 2 trillion in mega projects across transportation, oil and gas, utilities and real estate, reports Construction Business News and PwC’s Strategy& (5) insights channel this year.

Consider this projection against forecasts for HSE growth in the wider area of Middle East and Africa (MEA). The MEA environment, health and safety market generated a revenue of USD 1,960.1 million in 2025. That yearly figure is set to rise to USD 3,168.7 million by 2033, says market research company Grand View Horizon (6).

The Middle East’s mega projects will continue to define the region’s economic activity for years to come, and they will keep demanding the highest standards of safety and health. As we have learned in this article, their scale, complexity and location need HSE leaders who are experienced and multi-skilled. Credible qualifications, such as the NEBOSH IGC or Diploma, are widely required.

Competition for HSE leadership roles on mega projects in the Middle East is fierce, and networking is key, says Alan Crawford. There is no magic route, though persistence and a strong professional profile pay off, he says. “My last four or five jobs have all come through LinkedIn,” says Alan. “Do your research, understand and respect the culture.”

For successful applicants, however, the opportunity is to be in that Obeya room, leading the way and having a lasting impact.

“If you’re fortunate enough to work with leadership teams that have the same aspirations, the conversation often turns to legacy,” says Rob. “When you go into these big projects, there’s a big focus on leaving meaningful impact by the end. That’s what the senior leadership teams are tasked with. It’s not just delivering the project, it’s making sure you leave something behind, raising standards not just on the project but at a national or global level.

“If I use Expo as an example, I still get contacted now, even recently, by people wanting access to the training courses and other initiatives we deployed. So even though the project has finished, the legacy lives on through the programmes we implemented.”

The mega project in the Middle East is a complex, challenging test for even the very best HSE leader. Still, it is also an opportunity to play a central role in advancing a nation’s health and safety standards—a mega challenge with the rewards to match.

 

References:

1. Institute of Project Management. ‘Megaprojects: 10 facts you should know’. Available at: https://instituteprojectmanagement.com/blog/megaprojects-10-facts-you-should-know/ 
2. AGBI. ‘Saudi Arabia giga-projects tracker’. Available at: https://www.agbi.com/saudi-giga-projects/
3. IMARC. ‘UAE Construction Market Size, Share, Trends and Forecast by Sector and Region, 2026-2034’. Available at: https://www.imarcgroup.com/uae-construction-market
4. International Labour Organization. ‘Employment and Social Trends: May 2026 Update’. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/Brief_Employment%20and%20Social%20Trends.pdf
5. Strategy&. ‘How the GCC can use mega projects to build local supplier ecosystems and increase resilience’. Available at: https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/m1/en/our-capabilities/local-content-platform/pre-tender-gcc-resilience.html
6. Grand View Horizon. ‘Middle East & Africa Environment Health & Safety Market Size & Outlook’. Available at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/horizon/outlook/environment-health-safety-market/mea