Saudi Arabia owes nearly two billion Saudi riyals ($533 million) in arrears to local contractors for projects executed several years ago, the Gulf kingdom's top contractor said in press comments on Wednesday.

Although the Finance Ministry has recently promised to pay the debt to the contractors within 60 days, no disbursements have been made yet, Osama Al-Afaliq, chairman of the Saudi Contractors' Authority, told the Saudi Arabic language daily Al-Madina.

"About two billion riyals in stalled payments are owed to the contracting sector….there has been a long delay in paying those funds due to rifts between some contractors and the government over how much they are owed," Afaliq was quoted as saying.

He said the government could avert such problems by respecting its pledge to pay contractors within 60 days after the "payment order" is used by the Finance Ministry.

In late 2016, the Saudi government paid contractors 40 billion Saudi riyals in arrears and said more funds would be disbursed later.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Shane McGinley)

(shane.mcginley@refinitiv.com)

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