MORE than 3,709 projects are being currently implemented in the Riyadh region at a cost of SR430 billion ($114 billion).

The projects have been distributed between the capital and 20 provinces around it, according to the Riyadh Region Projects Follow-up Programme, a body of the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh City.

The programme monitors and follows up on the projects with the support of 65 other authorities in order to assess the progress of development work in the region.

The housing and public services sector was the largest benefactor of the programme with 1,132 projects making up 33 per cent of the total projects in the region, said the programme, announcing the statistics for the first quarter of the current  Islamic year.

This was followed by the public utilities sector with 956 projects forming 28 per cent of the total projects; the educational services sector with 604 projects; transports and roads sector with 576 projects; health services sector with 121 projects; and the economic development sector with 75 projects.

Elaborating on the status of the projects, the programme revealed 432 projects or 12.6 per cent have been completed, 2,595 or 75 per cent of the projects are currently being implemented, 103 or three per cent have been delayed, and 288 or 8.4 per cent stalled.

The programme attributed the hindrances in project implementation to contractors’ weak technical and financial capabilities, lack of land space for the projects, and procedural delays related to issuance of licences required for implementation or execution.