Diversification of Saudi Arabia’s construction portfolio calls for a wide range of new building solutions and equipment, organizers of The Big 5 Saudi said.
More than 5,200 construction projects are underway in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council'’s largest and most populous country, according to a report by BNC Network.
Valued at $819 billion, these account for 35 percent of the total value of active projects across the GCC, the report added.
Despite recent challenges faced by the sector attributed to low oil prices and a reported shortage of qualified workers, construction is recording a 4.1 percent increase this year in Saudi Arabia, it stated.
A recent BMI research forecasts the sector's annualized average growth at 6.13 percent from 2018 to 2022.
"The construction sector’s immediate outlook is extremely promising,” said Roni El Haddad, the event director of The Big 5 Saudi, the Kingdom's premier construction event.
“The recent launch of the Public Investment Fund backed multi-billion-dollar Amaala resort in September along with the already announced Neom and Red Sea Project, in what is already being dubbed the “Riviera of the Middle East”, is a proof of that.”
“Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 along with significant investment in housing and infrastructure development promoted across the country by local authorities, are revitalizing the construction industry and generating interest in a growing number of international players,” Haddad explained.
Notably, the urban construction sector is the largest contributor to the construction sector’s expansion with 3,727 active projects valued $386.4 billion, said BNC Network’s report.
The utility sector is the second largest with 733 projects worth $95.6 billion, followed by transportation, with 500 projects valued at $156.2 billion.
Some of the major urban construction projects in Saudi Arabia include the King Abdullah Security Compounds (Phase Five) and the Grand Mosque (Holy Haram Mosque expansion), each valued $21.3 billion and developed by the Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs in Makkah.
Also in Makkah, a $1.7-billion hotel, the Makkah Residence Development (Phase Two), is expected to open its doors by the end of 2019, offering 3,000 five-star rooms as Vision 2030 plans to attract 36 million pilgrims a year to the country’s holy places.
In Riyadh, however, a $3.5-billion mixed-use development project called “The Avenues - al-Malqa” is due for completion by 2020 over an area of 1.7 million sqm.
Set to open in 2022, the Mall of Saudi – An Narjis, developed by Majid al-Futtaim Group, is valued at $3.2 billion.
"In Riyadh, the Saudi Arabia National Guard is also building 6,000 villas over seven million sqm with a $1.3 billion investment," noted Haddad.
Jeddah’s skyline is expected to be enriched by the $1.1-billion Darb al-Harmain Complex at the end of 2018.
The new Jeddah Downtown (Phase One), a mega urban development project worth two billion dollars, will also revamp the Corniche area with 12,000 new housing units by the end of 2022.
Megaprojects like Neom, the city planned over 26,500 sqkm in northwestern Saudi Arabia, along with the thousands already under construction across the country, are pushing the demand for innovative building solutions in the Kingdom.
The organizers of ‘The Big 5 Saudi,’ dmg events, said they expect 15,000 visitors, looking to source thousands of products for their projects at the next edition of the event.
It will run from March 10 to 13 at the Jeddah Center for Forums and Events, hosting more than 400 local and international exhibitors across dedicated product zones.
