Saudi Arabia construction contract awards grow 113% to $13bn in Q1

Source: www.arabianbusiness.com

Contract expansion in Q1 2019 comes as kingdom builds megaprojects across oil and gas, utilities, and transport sectors, USSABC says

The US-Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSABC) revealed that the value of contract awards in Saudi Arabia grew to $13bn (SAR48.9bn) in Q1 2019, a staggering 113% increase from $6.1bn (SAR23bn) in the same period in 2018, Construction Week reports. 

According to USSABC’s Contract Awards Index (CAI) report, the total value of contracts covers megaprojects in various sectors, with oil and gas; water; and transportation projects making up 67% of the total value, accounting for $8.7bn (SAR32.6bn).

The value of awarded contracts in Q1 2019 alone represented approximately 48% of the total value of contracts awarded in 2018.

Makkah accounted for 17% of the total contracts in Q1 2019, recording $2.2bn (SAR8.2bn) during the period, particularly in the water and hospitality sectors.

These projects include the world’s largest desalination plant in Rabigh and the Four Seasons hotel in Jeddah.

Construction work is also under way on Riyadh’s second Ring Road, as well as the country’s much anticipated Riyadh Metro, all of which led to contracts worth $1.7bn (SAR6.4bn) in the capital city.