Anoop Menon

Saudi Arabia is inviting top international contracting firms to establish operations in the Kingdom, as demand for construction services accelerates amid a wave of large-scale development projects tied to its ambitious Vision 2030 agenda.

“We have a high demand for contracting services in the Kingdom,” said Yousef S Alotaibi, Senior Sector Support Analyst, Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) during a presentation at the 10th Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Alotaibi introduced the International Contracting Office (ICO), a MISA-led initiative designed to attract global contractors and support their entry into the Saudi market.

He said the ICO aims to serve as a centralised hub offering services to international contractors to register their business in Saudi Arabia and participate in the Kingdom's ambitious developmental projects.

The MISA official highlighted the scale of opportunity in Saudi Arabia’s real estate and construction sectors, noting that construction spend alone is forecasted to reach more than $1.4 trillion by 2030 while real estate built-up area is expected to exceed 1 billion square metres (sqm), excluding giga projects.  

“The contribution to non-oil GDP by construction and real estate sectors is currently 10 percent,” he said.

Major projects underway in the Kingdom include NEOM, Rua Al Madinah, Masar, The Red Sea, Amaala and Soudah while Riyadh is home to King Salman Park, Qiddiya, New Murabba, Diriyah Gate and Roshn.

These and other projects have significantly increased demand for construction services ranging from project management, design and engineering to contracting services and integrated facility management.

Alotaibi said the ICO will provide standards and certifications, maintain a directory of contractors and projects, support outreach and development of partnerships and provide operational support to navigate business challenges.

He pointed out that the ICO Committee includes all key stakeholders in Saudi Arabia's construction ecosystem in order to facilitate the business set-up process and market entry for international contractors.

Apart from MISA, the committee includes the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIMR), Zakat, Tax, and Customs (ZATCA), Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, Saudi Standards, Saudi Contractors Authority (SCA), Saudi Building Code, and NEOM.

According to Alotaibi, this integrated approach enables registration and licenses to be issued in five to eight weeks while Saudi-specific certification required to bid for construction projects can be obtained in six to eight weeks.

In September 2025, a Zawya Projects report cited competition from Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects for construction talent and materials is pushing up costs in the UAE and other markets.

Reuters reported in August that Dubai developers have been struggling to attract bids from outside contractors amid stiff competition, forcing several to set up in-house contracting arms.

(Reporting by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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