Saudi Arabia will start enforcing a single formal construction contract for developers and contractors in a bid to stem disputes and project delays, the Gulf country’s top contractor was reported on Tuesday as saying.

The “model contract” could be the only legal document for contractors by the end of 2023 or the first quarter of 2024, said Zakaria Abdul Qadir, Chairman of the Saudi Contractors’ Authority (SCA).

Abdul Qadir told the Saudi daily Aliqtisadia that the new contract would be enforced in coordination with the Labour Ministry and other concerned authorities and that it was prompted by a surge in court cases involving disputes in the construction sector.

He said SCA has received a report from judicial authorities stating that nearly 80 percent of commercial court cases in the Gulf Kingdom are related to the contracting sector.

“This has prompted the SCA to work for a solution to curb the rise in such cases and also tackle project delays…we intend to enforce a new model construction contract before the end of this year or in the first quarter of 2024,” he said.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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