Over the past two years, approximately 500 engineering firms have been forced  to close their doors. Experts explained that the closures were the result of the real estate slump, a decline in project implementation, and campaigns by the Engineers Authority to verify the offices« compliance with regulations and permits.
For his part, Engineer Talal Samarkandi, Vice Chairman of the Engineering Firms Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, explained that one of the reasons for the closures of engineering firms is the sector’s recession, as well as campaigns by the Engineers Authority to verify the firms» compliance with regulations and the necessary permits for operation.

According to press sources, Samarkandi explained that there are challenges facing the engineering profession in the Kingdom, chief among them: the lack of an entity to review engineering outputs, as well as the entry of foreign firms and individuals working in an irregular manner, as well as entities that license work under the name “consulting firms”—such as university faculty members—without the approval of the Ministry of Commerce, which leads to unfair competition, especially since they are not subject to the fees and requirements imposed on engineering firms.

Meanwhile, Engineer Faraj Al-Jadani, a member of the Council of Engineers, confirmed that the number of engineering firms currently in operation is estimated at approximately 2,900, while the number of engineers registered with the Council stands at 198,135. He noted that the reason behind the closure of approximately 500 firms is that some were operated without sufficient project analysis.