https://arab.news/wz7gq
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s contracting sector has grown at an annual rate of nearly 3 percent, and contributes 5.5 percent to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product, a top official said.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the National Committee of Contractors, Hamad Al-Hammad, head of the committee at the Federation of Saudi Chambers, said the contracting sector in the Kingdom includes more than 176,000 companies, and they contribute 10.7 percent to the non-oil GDP.
Al-Hammad noted that Saudi Arabia offered more than 540 contracting projects exceeding a value of SR450 billion ($119.70 billion) in 2021, covering sectors including construction, energy, and transportation, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Hammad said Saudi Arabia’s project market has turned attractive for contracting companies; both regionally and internationally.
The official said the contracting sector in the Kingdom ranks fifth among the most important sectors that contribute significantly to the economy.
Al-Hammad added there are 995 foreign contracting companies currently operating in the Kingdom.
He said the National Committee for Contractors is working hard to implement different initiatives to achieve the goals outlined in Vision 2030.
In March, during the Future Projects Forum, Al-Hammad said that the value of development projects in various regions of the Kingdom in the past five years exceeded $5 trillion.
“The contracting sector is one of the most important pillars of economic development in the world, for its role in building cities and developing infrastructure. This sector has played a key role in the Kingdom’s construction (sector’s) expansion,” Al-Hammad told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Earlier in July, data released by asset management firm Kamco revealed that Saudi Arabia led the Gulf Cooperation Council region with $16.5 billion worth of projects awarded during the second quarter of 2022.
The Kamco data also suggested that the Kingdom accounted for 77.2 percent of the total contracts awarded in the Gulf region in the second quarter.
MEED also reported that three out of the 10 big projects awarded in the Kingdom were for the NEOM project.