The government intends to crack down on corrupt and inept contractors responsible for delayed and incomplete projects in the region, said Makkah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah here recently.

He said the government would not tolerate those who are denying citizens a better quality of life. He said there were several projects in the region that have not met the government’s standards.

“Despite all the efforts made and money spent, we are surprised to find that contractors who spent years delaying other projects in their care that were not up to standard, have been allowed to carry out new projects,” he was quoted as saying by the local media.

Prince Mishaal urged contractors to complete their projects and not wait for others to do the job for them. “We have established an ad hoc committee to supervise projects and services and root out corruption and fraud. The committee includes members of other government agencies such as the investigation services,” he said. He said the committee would cancel the contracts of those contractors who have failed to deliver their projects on time, or have been involved in corrupt activities.

Majdi bin Rashad Zubaidi, head of the committee, said his team recently visited two educational projects in the region, the Al-Awazei Educational Complex and Al-Fayhaa Schools Complex. The team found that the education department had not supervised these projects properly and that the material used are substandard and not worth the money.

“The total allocation for the two projects is SR24.5 million. The designs are old and inconsistent with the modern educational environment,” said Zubaidi. He has recommended that the government withdraw the Al-Fayhaa project because only 48 percent of the project has been completed with five months left to reach the deadline.