Report by Tazeen Azeem

Saudi Arabia’s construction Industry

Saudi Arabia’s construction industry has been forecast to be one of the Kingdom’s

best performing sectors in upcoming years, with an increasing flow of state

contracts coming its way. However, bottlenecks in the materials supply chain and

high demand for labor and resources could push up prices.

The construction sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region would

be underpinned by massive investments from Riyadh. While many other countries

in the region are scaling back their construction spending, Saudi Arabia – along

with Qatar – are in the process of stepping up outlays for building work.

The construction industry is already one of the Saudi Arabia’s high-performance

sectors, having expanded by 11.6% in 2011 – second only to manufacturing and

well up on the overall 6.8% increase in GDP – according to a report issued by

Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment at the end of December.

Scope of construction in KSA

Saudi Arabia has in the last thirty years experienced a huge volume of work in the

field of construction. This is because the wealth created by the oil industry and

the economic impetus it has given the country. This has resulted in very rapid

growth and transformations during that period. The high living standards of the

people of Saudi Arabia have generated many manufacturing and building

employment opportunities. The growth of towns has accelerated as a result of

high population growth. Large and complex projects have been built, attracting

contractors and construction companies from all over the world.