Thomas Bauer, president of the German Contractors' Association, said that German construction companies intend to re-enter the Saudi construction market and carry out joint projects, He made these remarks during a meeting with Fahd Al-Hammadi, Chairman of the National Contractors Committee and President of the Arab Contractors Union. This took place on the sidelines of the Saudi-German Economic Forum. Thomas noted that the reason for his visit, accompanied by the German Minister of Economy and Energy, was to coordinate with the relevant authorities to revive the German construction sector’s activity in the region, pointing out the difficulties faced by German companies, namely issues related to Saudization, fierce competition with local contractors, rapidly changing labor regulations, and delays in the issuance of construction activity licenses by the Investment Authority.
For his part, Fahad Al-Hammadi emphasized the importance of training and qualification, calling for the transfer of German expertise in regulating the construction sector, as the committee is set to transform into a contractors’ authority, The Germans welcomed cooperation with the committee to assist with the transition and regulation of the sector in the Kingdom, and proposed a visit by a committee delegation to gain firsthand insight into the association’s functions and services.
On another note, Al-Hammadi extended an invitation to the professor and the Federation to attend the Arab Contractors Forum in Cairo on the 24th and 25th, emphasizing the importance of the forum for exchanging investment opportunities in construction projects across all sectors at the Arab level.
