Government projects are costing 20 to 30 percent more because of delays resulting from poor engineering standards, a Saudi engineer said here recently.

Ayman bin Zurai’a Al-Sheikh, head of the Saudi Engineers Club in Jeddah, said most of the extra money is spent on making changes to projects with no value added.

Al-Sheikh, who is also a member of the Saudi Council of Engineers, was speaking at a workshop hosted by the club on quality management of projects in the country.

Al-Sheikh said there were often hidden costs involved in making changes to projects.

He said government and private sector firms need to introduce stringent quality measures to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget, for the benefit of society and the environment.

The workshop’s participants reviewed some financial reports issued by the Ministry of Finance on the construction industry over the 2012 to 2013 period. They also studied reports of projects overseen by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs over the last seven years.