Construction management practices in Saudi Arabia

Construction projects worth $270 billion have been executed in Saudi Arabia during the last 14 years. Widely varying construction management (CM) techniques have been used on these projects. Some special features that make the construction industry in Saudi Arabia different from that industry in the rest of the world include shortage of local contractors, local consultants, and local labor force; shortage of local materials; extreme climate; a working year of 305 days; and a multinational influence. The results of a survey conducted on the management aspects of 43 construction projects, in progress during 1984-1985, are presented. These 43 projects were studied through site visits and interviews with the project managers. The cost of these projects ranged from $1.6 million to $3,714.3 million, and the average cost was $226.9 million. The most popular organizational structure was the traditional architect/engineer (A/E) type used on 17 projects followed by the design/construction(D/C) manager type, which was used on 13 projects. Eight of the projects used the professional CM type of organizational structure, and four used the turnkey type. The performance of each project was measured in terms of timely completion, cost overruns, quality of work, and goodwill. It was observed that the professional CM type fared the best, followed by the D/C manager type, the traditional A/E type, and the turnkey type in that order. Project control methods, settlement of disputes, quality control, tender evaluation, changes and payments, delay penalties, project closeout, and other management aspects are also discussed.