Contractors working on the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), worth an estimated SR29 billion ($7.8 billion), will not be able to complete their projects on time due to a lack of manpower and logistics, according to one source.

“Some contractors do not have enough manpower and cannot afford to hire as many people as they need thanks to rising visa costs,” said the source, a construction sub-contractor.

“Their projects should have been completed by the end of 2015,” he said.

“Contractors who are in need of up to 10 workers can apply for visas via the Passport Department. Contractors in need of 50 visas or more, however, must approach what is known as a ‘mega house,’ where a single visa can cost SR8,000.”

Many contractors, however, cannot afford such costs. This, coupled with the fact that companies were forced to send home hundreds of former workers during the legalization campaign, has left many establishments crippled.

“A few contractors were able to continue implementation of their projects at the KAFD,” he said. “Several workers could still be seen at the site, but this figure has greatly diminished.”

“These remaining contractors had either documented workers before the crackdown or have incurred huge overheads in terms of visa costs.”

“The entire project could not have been completed on time as it is,” he said.

The KAFD, which is located in Asahafa area along the King Fahd Road, is being undertaken by the Rayadah Investment Corporation on behalf of the Pension Authority.

It consists of 34 towers spanning an area of 1.6 million sqm. It will also provide more than three million sqm of space for various purposes, 62,000 parking spaces and accommodation for 12,000 residents.

It was the largest project in the world seeking green building accreditation in 2011. Bombardier won a $241 million contract to build an automated monorail for its development.