Saudi Arabia awards SAR 197.1 bln worth construction contracts in 2019: report

The total value of awarded contracts for 2019 in Saudi Arabia hit SAR 197.1 billion ($52.6 billion), the highest since 2015, according to the latest Contract Awards Index for the Fourth Quarter 2019 by the US-Saudi Business Council (USSBC).

The total value of awarded contracts in Q4 2019 reached SAR 35.3 billion ($9.4 billion) as the pace of construction activities continued unabated, marking a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 34%.

Sector wise, real estate topped the list with awarded contracts worth SAR 12.1 billion ($3.2 billion), out of which, the residential market accounted for approximately 94% or SAR 11.3 billion ($3 billion) of the total.

The oil and gas sector edged down to second from last quarter’s top spot as the value of awarded contracts reached SAR 7.7 billion ($2 billion).

The water sector rose to the third position with SAR 6.3 billion ($1.7 billion) worth of contract awards, followed by other significant contributors including power, petrochemicals, and transportation sectors.

“These positive developments, which came to fruition in 2019, are expected to expand in the coming years to achieve the Kingdom’s medium to long-term Vision 2030 targets,” the report stated.

Region wise, Makkah dominated the awarded contracts in Q4 2019, as it garnered the highest share for the first time in 2019, hitting SAR 14.6 billion ($3.9 billion) or 41% of the total. It was mainly attributed to a number of mega-projects that were awarded in the oil and gas, as well as real estate sectors, accounting for 48% and 38%, respectively of the total contracts awards.

Riyadh and Eastern Province came in second and third position regionally with 26% and 21% share of the total awarded contracts, respectively.

The USSBC Contract Awards Index (CAI) is an original report created to provide a sense of direction on construction activities that will transfer to the execution phase over the next 6 to 18 months in Saudi Arabia.