$80bln projects pipeline ‘a major boost to Big 5 Saudi’

$80bln projects pipeline ‘a major boost to Big 5 Saudi’

Saudi Arabia - With approximately $173 billion worth of projects under tender in the GCC, of which $80 billion are in the Saudi Arabia, the Big 5 Saudi Construction Leadership Summit – a leading construction platform which highlights the latest technologies from world-leading brands – is making its timely return to Riyadh this month, for the second consecutive year.

In 2020, the GCC witnessed a drastic decline of 35% in total contract awards of construction projects; this was directly correlated with lower government spending, falling oil prices, and most notably the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Sovereign AEI (Arabian Enterprise Incubators), leading experts in foreign direct investment and leaders of commercial success in Saudi Arabia.

Despite these factors resulting in 2021 being the worst for the market in almost two decades, Saudi Arabia’s standing as the region’s largest economy should encourage optimism, it stated.

Paul Arnold, Managing Director of Sovereign Saudi Arabia, elaborated by highlighting multiple reasons for why the GCC is well positioned for a strong resurgence.

"As the kingdom strives to reduce its dependence on oil and simultaneously diversify the economy, efforts to ramp up PIF (Public Investment Fund) tendering in recent months have and will continue to help achieve the advancement of