* Municipalities Confirm They Will Withdraw Projects from Non-Compliant Contractors and Fine Them
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs revealed that there are 465 “stalled” municipal projects across all regions of the Kingdom out of the total number of projects currently under construction, representing 13% of all projects currently underway.The Ministry also announced in a recently released report that there are 1,294 projects that are “behind schedule” relative to their specified delivery timelines.
Addressing Project Delays
The Ministry emphasized that it is working diligently to address both the delayed and stalled projects in order to complete them as quickly as possible by forming task forces of specialists to monitor progress.
The Ministry added that its Agency for Technical Affairs is intensifying its efforts to address the issue of delays or stalled implementation of projects under the secretariats and municipalities in all regions of the Kingdom, based on a comprehensive inventory of all delayed and stalled municipal projects over the past period, and to examine all proposals and measures for the rapid completion of these projects and the planning of future projects. In this context, the agency has formed a task force comprising officials from the Ministry’s Agency for Planning and Programs, and the Administrative and Financial Affairs Department to monitor the implementation of measures to address delays or stagnation in projects carried out by the Ministry, municipal secretariats, and municipalities, and to ensure that the companies implementing the projects adhere to the specified timelines.
A recently released statistical report showed that the number of municipal projects across all regions of the Kingdom over the past seven years reached 7,929, including:
*(Completed projects: 4,476, representing 56.5%)
*(Projects currently under implementation: 3,453 municipal projects, representing 43.5%), of which: 1,694 projects proceeding according to schedule, 1,294 projects behind schedule, and 465 stalled projects out of the total number of projects under implementation, representing 13%.
Reasons for Stagnation
Regarding the reasons for delays in projects under the Ministry and municipal secretariats, based on the observations of the task force formed to monitor the implementation of the royal decree addressing the issue of stalled or delayed projects, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs confirmed that the main reasons for the delays and stalled projects lie in the fact that some municipal authorities lack specialized technical expertise, and that companies awarded the projects failed to carry out the work according to the project’s specified timeline, Furthermore, the length of the procedures for withdrawing and re-awarding projects has led officials to hesitate in withdrawing them, which has encouraged contractors to continue delaying implementation, Furthermore, there is a shortage of qualified construction firms in some areas, and work on some projects has been suspended after commencement
for various reasons, including the need to relocate services at project sites, disputes over ownership of land allocated for the projects, and, in some cases, objections from citizens to the project’s construction.
Formation of Follow-up Teams
The Ministry has directed municipal secretariats and municipalities to quickly address delayed and stalled projects by forming teams of specialists to dispatch technicians to monitor the projects on-site, and urged contractors to redouble their efforts to complete the projects as quickly as possible in accordance with the established timelines for each project, while proposing tailored solutions as needed to remove any obstacles hindering implementation, The Ministry also directed an inventory of vacant land to be utilized immediately for its approved projects, created a database of the land allocated to it, and explored the possibility of utilizing it through exchanges with other government agencies or purchasing alternative land, The Ministry has instructed regional secretariats and provincial municipalities to include in the reports they submit to the Ministry a technical assessment of delayed or stalled projects, specifying the project name, number, the percentage of completion, the time period, the measures taken to address any delays or setbacks, and the progress achieved. If the pace of work does not improve due to the contractor’s negligence, penal measures and financial fines will be imposed, based on the length of the delay from the scheduled delivery dates. In accordance with regulations and instructions, the Ministry confirms that the project will be withdrawn from any contractor proven to be behind schedule or experiencing delays relative to the project’s specified timeline.
