Oil giant Saudi Aramco said it has reached an agreement with US-based Jacobs Engineering to set up a new joint venture company in Saudi Arabia that will provide professional programme and construction management (PMCM) services for social infrastructure projects throughout the kingdom and across the Middle East and North Africa. 

One of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organisations globally, Jacobs has been playing an active role in Saudi Arabia for more than 40 years.  

The new company’s services will include comprehensive professional PMCM activities, with expertise in supporting all phases of the project lifecycle for social infrastructure projects, said Jacobs.

Aramco, which is gearing up for the biggest IPO (initial public offering) in corporate history, is involved in projects across various sectors not just oil, and the new company will provide project management services on infrastructure and non-oil related projects. 

The Saudi government, whose revenues have been hit by low oil prices, has been seeking to cut costs on state infrastructure projects.  In February it appointed US-based Bechtel to set up and run a new National Project Management Organization (Mashroat), tasked with reducing inefficiencies on such projects.