The National Committee for Contractors has blamed government departments and consultants for the stalling of some projects in the Kingdom.

Fahd Al-Hammadi, chairman of the committee and member of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it was wrong to blame the contractors for the deficiencies of government departments that lead to stalled or failed projects in the Kingdom.

Instead, he attributed the faulty projects to hasty decisions taken on the blueprints of designs or plans. He added that there was a lack of coordination among some government departments working at the same location.

“For instance, while one department is laying electric cables another department starts digging or constructing tunnels at the same place without consulting the other.”

Only when some calamity befalls them like it did in Jeddah, do they sit up and take notice, he added, saying “contractors alone are not responsible for the failed projects.”

“A contractor’s role is limited to working on the plan entrusted to him. He does not interfere in the design or quality specifications,” he said, adding that poor supervision by some departments also led to the stalling of projects on many occasions.

Al-Hammadi commented on the construction defects in several old and new projects which were badly affected by the heavy downpours in many parts of the Kingdom.

He said that the projects’ plans did not include provision for rain and floodwater drainage.

Echoing Al-Hammadi’s comment, the chairman of the Saudi Engineering Society Hamad Al-Shaqawi said many projects did not provide a proper drainage system and that the building materials were substandard.

However, he accused the contractors of altering project designs without permission saying there was no supervision to stop the practice.

The statement in defense of the contractors came after the Saudi Engineering Society attributed the shoddy projects to poor utilization of allocated funds.