The meeting, organized by the Construction Sector of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce with the participation of 11 government agencies and a number of consulting firms and specialists, resulted in the publication of “Construction Cost Guide” and updating it to establish sound, scientifically sound and established principles for understanding cost estimation processes, based on various factors such as productivity rates, labor, material prices, measurement methods, and others.

Participants emphasized the importance of publishing the guide as a key and influential pillar of the Kingdom’s construction industry, and one of the sound methods for addressing project delays. The meeting highlighted the main factors causing inaccuracies in cost estimates, including the lack of a national cost database, the absence of national specifications and standards for our engineering projects, the presentation of many items in aggregate form, the insufficient time allocated for cost estimation, reliance on data from previous projects, and a lack of full understanding of requirements. Other causes included the lack of clarity or absence of implementation schedules, the lack of a national cost database, the lack of national specifications and standards for our engineering projects, the inclusion of many items in aggregate form, the limited time allocated for cost estimation, reliance on data from previous projects, a lack of full understanding of the requirements, and the lack of clarity or absence of implementation schedules.

It is worth noting that the meeting included representatives from several entities, including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Health, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha), the Saudi Contractors Authority, the Saudi Engineers Authority, as well as the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization, the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Aramco, SABIC, and some consulting firms and interested academics.