RIYADH: Saudi contractors will discuss the impact of the current global financial meltdown on their activities in a gathering in Riyadh today.
Local banks have recently become more reserved in providing finance for projects undertaken by contractors leading to a negative impact on the scheduled completion of various developmental projects worth SR750 billion, said Fahd Al-Hammadi, chairman of the Contractors Committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI). “The meeting, in which 16 leading contractors are expected to participate, will demand the Ministry of Finance to speed up the implementation of a recent government decision to set up a financing fund for contractors,” Al-Hammadi added. The committee chairman complained that contractors are finding it extremely difficult to get sufficient financing to carry on with their contractual works and that the situation might lead to unforeseen delays in completing various projects.
“RCCI’s committee of contractors will study all possible ways to solve the problem. It is an encouraging factor, however, that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has been pumping liquidity and reducing repo rates on loans to local banks,” Al-Hammadi said. The meeting will also launch a media plan to highlight the obstacles and challenges faced by the sector, and underscore new opportunities and developments in the local and regional contracting sectors, he added.