Engineer Osama Al-Afaleq, Chairman of the Contractors Authority, outlined the difficulties facing the implementation of large-scale, segmented projects in the building and construction sectors, emphasizing the difficulty of meeting the demands of a number of contractors and investors in the sector to segment major construction projects and divide them into multiple projects so that small and medium-sized local companies can carry out a portion of them.

Engineer Osama Al-Afaleq explained that the problems that could result from splitting any large-scale project may far outweigh the intended benefits of such a division, There are many risks associated with poor coordination between contractors working on a joint project, and such a step requires a high degree of coordination that is difficult to achieve even with competent project management.

Al-Afaleq noted that the government has suspended a number of projects due to their unsuitability, having enlisted the help of several consultants to study and identify such projects. It is widely reported within the sector that there are approximately 6,000 projects, which is not a large number relative to the total number of projects in a country the size of the Kingdom, which has small, medium, and large projects in various regions, cities, villages, and hamlets.

The sector is seeking to overcome a number of obstacles it faces, including achieving a degree of flexibility in the way financing banks deal with contractors to ensure that contractors have access to liquidity, rather than having all payments they receive immediately confiscated by the state, as well as seeking an agreement with the entities whose projects have been suspended to establish a mechanism that defines the contractor’s responsibilities and ensures they are not subject to late fees or penalties for breaching the terms of their agreement.