On behalf of the Minister of Commerce and Investment, Majid Al-Bawardi, Deputy Minister of Commerce and Investment, opened the two-day International Construction Conference and Exhibition yesterday morning, organized by the Saudi Contractors Authority (SCA).
In his speech at the opening ceremony, Ghanem Al-Mohammadi, Assistant Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs for Planning and Development, emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to developing and implementing all applicable regulations and laws aimed at achieving the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which includes, among its objectives, improving the quality of services, as the Kingdom is expected to witness significant development and urban growth in various regions and cities. The initiative “Development of the Contractor Classification System,” launched by the Ministry, ensures the enhancement of current contractor classification standards and the adoption of classification procedures that are more transparent, accurate, streamlined, and sustainable, while incentivizing contractors to improve their performance,noting that this event marks the first practical step toward the improved contractor classification system.
He noted that the development of the “Advisor” system for contractor classification was based on global and regional standards and systems, as well as best practices in artificial intelligence, pointing out that this system aims to improve procedures for determining classification scores, automate the contractor rating system, streamline procedures, reduce the time required to determine the rating to no more than a few minutes, and incentivize contractors to improve their performance, as well as generating a detailed report for the contractor to help them improve their ratings and financial classification thresholds, and to promote transparency and sustainability practices.
Thabit Al-Suwaid, Secretary-General of the Saudi Contractors Authority, said in a presentation delivered on the sidelines of the opening of the first session of the International Construction Conference and Exhibition—held Sunday at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center—that the Authority serves the sector through six areas of work, most notably mining services, waste management, building construction, specialized construction, building services, and civil engineering.
For his part, Engineer Osama Al-Afaleq, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Contractors Authority, emphasized the importance of unifying the shared vision between the Authority and contractors with the aim of finding solutions to all challenges in the contracting sector, encouraging innovation, strengthening communication and education, and providing facilities and protection not only for the Authority’s members, but for the construction sector as a whole.
