A study conducted by the Institute of Public Administration on government projects has come up with startling revelations including deliberate stalling of projects by corrupt government officials and major contractors handing out work to inefficient shadow contractors.

According to the study, the Kingdom incurs an annual loss of SR100 billion on account of disruptions in government projects. Every year, the government allocates huge funds for implementing projects in various sectors including education, health, electricity, water and transport, but only 25 percent of them are implemented on time.

Some officials and contractors make illicit money by "organizing" disruption of projects in a manner that would be difficult to detect, the study said.

About 48 percent of employees working on government projects said they were facing problems implementing them, and a staggering 97 percent of municipalities said supervisors of projects were not enough. About 77 percent of the survey’s respondents said contractors had failed to maintain the quality of work.

The study called for quick intervention of the government to prevent project disruption, stating it would have a negative impact on the Kingdom’s development.

It emphasized the role of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Economy and Planning Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Control and Investigation Board in eliminating the problem using viable solutions.

“It is unbelievable that 25 percent of government projects are not implemented. You won’t see this happening in any other part of the world,” a Saudi commented.