Ruwad’s Jabal Omar deal cancelled

Jabal Omar Development Company, the largest listed real estate developer in Saudi Arabia by market capitalisation, said it has cancelled a SR1.6-billion ($426 million) contract awarded to Ruwad Civil Construction.

Ruwad was awarded the contract in July to build the fifth phase of Jabal Omar project in Makkah.

The move is aimed at giving Ruwad and the project contractor an opportunity to review some of the items and liabilities as per the contract, said Jabal Omar.

Binladin’s ‘current projects to go on’

Saudi Arabia will keep making payments to Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) for ongoing work and its review of the company’s current jobs after last month’s Makkah crane disaster is to ensure it meets safety standards, a senior Saudi official said.

The kingdom’s royal court said SBG had been suspended from taking any new contracts, that its existing projects would be reviewed by the Finance Ministry and that its board members and senior executives would be banned from travel.

A government investigation into the incident, when a crane toppled into Makkah’s Grand Mosque during a duststorm killing 107, found that Saudi Arabia’s largest contractor had not secured it in accordance with its instruction manual.

Elevator market set to grow

The market for elevators and escalators in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow significantly over the next six years owing to various upcoming public and private infrastructure projects, a research report has said.

According to 6Wresearch’s ‘Saudi Arabia Elevators and Escalators Market (2015–2021)’ report, the Saudi elevators and escalators market is projected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 7.2 per cent during 2015-21.

Also, surging demand and increasing competition is resulting in decline in prices of elevators and escalators in the Saudi market, the report noted.

Moreover, growing domestic manufacturing and joint ventures of international players with domestic players have additionally slashed the prices of elevators and escalators in the country, it said.

Amongst all the applications, commercial application has captured a major share of the market pie in the overall elevators and escalators market in Saudi Arabia. An expanding retail sector, construction of new hotels, hospitals, metros, and commercial offices and business parks are spurring elevators and escalators demand in the country.

The retail segment accounted for key share in the commercial application, according to the report.