Title: Southwest Asia: Oil Wealth Fuels Change
Headings: Southwest Asia: Oil Wealth Fuels Change
Southwest Asia: Oil Wealth Fuels Change
Meeting the Global Demand
Using Oil Wealth to Diversify
MODERNIZING THE INFRASTRUCTURE
DEVELOPING RESOURCES
HUMAN RESOURCES

Content: First, each has to modernize its infrastructure. Second, each has to develop its agricultural, mineral, and water resources. Finally, the people of each nation have to gain access to higher education and job training. MODERNIZING THE INFRASTRUCTURE
The region has improved its infrastructure. Saudi Arabia, for example, has built new roads in rural areas, irrigation networks, and facilities to store agricultural products. It has also built desalinization plants that remove the salt from seawater and provide water for cities and industrial use. Other nations have constructed airports, shopping malls, and port facilities. These efforts are not always well coordinated, though. Some years ago, the UAE built four international airports to serve an area about the size of the state of Maine. Needless to say, these airports are greatly underused.