Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been awarded the 2024 Middle East Project Management Office of the Year, recognizing the PIF’s crucial role in driving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 transformation plan.

In addition to the regional accolade, PIF secured a global second-place ranking and received three Excellence Distinctions at the PMO Global Awards. The PMO Global Alliance praised PIF’s leadership in project management.

“This recognition exemplifies the superior role that PIF is playing as a leading organization in the project management field,” PIF said in a post on X. 

As a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification efforts, PIF—managing $925 billion in assets—has spearheaded numerous large-scale initiatives aimed at transforming the Kingdom into a global tourism and investment hub by 2030.

Launched in 2016, PIF’s PMO has grown from a five-member team to 77 full-time staff, operating with an annual budget of $7 million. The PMO currently oversees 66 active projects valued at $17 billion.

According to PMOGA, the number of projects managed by PIF’s PMO increased by 76% between 2016 and 2023, with a project success rate rising by 94% during the same period.

“The PMO is considered as one of the critical functions and the main enablers in achieving PIF targets under Vision 2030,” said Saad Al-Kroud, Chief of Staff and Secretary-General to the PIF board of directors. 

“We initially were primarily focusing on managing our strategic projects, in addition to establishing our giga-projects and the portfolio companies across various sectors and domains,” said Areej Naqshbandi, Senior Director and PMO head at PIF. 

Globally, Brazil’s SPC was crowned 2024 World PMO of the Year, with PIF’s PMO ranking second. Other regional winners included Libya’s Waha Oil Co. as Africa’s PMO of the Year, Indonesia’s Persero as Asia-Pacific’s top PMO, and ING Spain and Portugal for Europe. The Moffitt Cancer Center in the US took home North America’s PMO of the Year award.