Saudi construction sector revitalized by Vision 2030 — Report

Nineteen months after its announcement, Saudi Vision 2030 is proving effective, with the Kingdom’s construction sector showing increased growth potential.
Thanks to recent reforms and renewed spending, construction activities are picking up after the slowdown that affected the industry over the past two years. This was revealed recently by a report titled “Saudi Arabia’s Construction Market Overview 2018 and Beyond.”
Prepared by BNC Network for The Big 5 Saudi, the region’s premier construction event, the report indicates that the Saudi construction market has tremendous growth potential in the near future. Currently, there are $284.3 billion worth of projects in the early stages of development in the Kingdom, with over 700 projects scheduled to begin work in the next few months and due by or before 2022.
“Saudi Arabia has more than 4,700 construction projects that are active today, with a combined estimated value of $852.3 billion; around 170 of these projects are worth $1 billion or more,” said Nathan Waugh, portfolio event director of The Big 5 Saudi.
According to the report, the ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 plan to move the economy away from oil profits is driving construction activities in both residential and non-residential segments. Reforms aimed at increasing the private sector’s contribution in growth industries such as mining, manufacturing, and health care, are offering new investment opportunities in the form of joint ventures or public-sector partnerships.
Moreover, the rapid growth of the Saudi population and strong urbanization trends are fueling the urban construction sector.
“Today, there are over 3,300 projects in the urban construction sector, which represent approximately 70 percent of all construction activities in Saudi Arabia,” said Waugh. “Housing is indeed the most significant area of expenditure under the Saudi plan, aiming to grow the real estate sector contribution to GDP from 5 percent to 10 percent by 2030.”
Saudi Vision 2030 is driving demand for construction products in the country. “We see a rejuvenated interest in the Saudi construction market by international players this year,” said Waugh ahead of the eighth edition of The Big 5 Saudi. Running from March 5-8 at the Jeddah Center for Forums & Events, the exhibition will bring under one roof over 500 manufacturers of construction products from around the world.
The three-day event is expected to attract 15,000 visitors.