Visa shortage hits 40% of projects in KSA

JEDDAH: Saudi contractors have lost 40 percent of projects because of a lack of experienced foreign manpower in the past two years, said Fahd Al-Hammadi, chairman of the contractors committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Sunday. “Saudis contractors have suffered a lot due to the withdrawal of government projects and the Labor Ministry’s rejection of their visa requests,” he said. Many contractors could not complete their projects due to shortage of workers. He said successful contractors have overcome this difficult situation without losses while many small and medium firms have left the market as a result of big losses. Apart from the issue of visas, rising prices of construction material and pressure from government departments have also affected the contractors. He estimated the growth of the Kingdom’s construction sector at 8.5 percent. “This vital sector is the second largest revenue earner for the Kingdom after the oil and gas sector,” the chairman said. Asked about prospects of growth in the coming 10 years, Al-Hammadi said increasing oil revenues would definitely boost the construction sector. Arab News