Saudi Arabia’s construction licenses edge down in 2016

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs issued 129,000 construction licenses across the Kingdom last year, a decline of 0.4 percent year-on-year (YoY), data from the General Authority for Statistics showed.

The licenses covered a total area of 435.4 million square meters for residential, commercial, industrial, educational and medical purposes.

Makkah came on top with 35,600 licenses, followed by Riyadh with 28,100 licenses.