Saudi authority official says annual value of contracting projects currently worth SAR 250 bln

Logo of Saudi Contractors Authority

The annual size of projects in the contracting sector in Saudi Arabia currently stands at SAR 250 billion, according to the Secretary General of the Saudi Contractors Authority, Thabit bin Mubarak Al Swaid.

Government projects represent the largest proportion of these projects, Al Swaid told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

The number of workers in the sector exceeds 3 million, a drop compared to the last period as a result of many regulatory decisions as well as the tendency to benefit from some technical solutions.

Contracting is the largest sector in Saudi Arabia in terms of the number of establishments exceeding 170,000, out of which small and micro establishments represent 96.5% and medium and large establishments account for nearly 3% and 1%, respectively.

The latter represents about 1,600 establishments, Al Swaid added.

He pointed out that the sector contributes 5% of the country's GDP, as it is very large and acts as an engine for 28 sub-sectors linked to contracting such as engineering offices, project management and financing entities.

The Saudi Contractors Authority was established to organize and enable this sector to reflect positively on the Kingdom’s economy, he stated.

The three-day Future Projects Forum 2021, one of the initiatives of the Saudi Contractors Authority, kicks off its virtual version on Monday, March 22, with the participation of over 37 governmental and private entities, offering more than 1,000 projects worth over SAR 600 billion, according to data compiled by Argaam.