Saudi Binladin says government started to pay dues – report
Contractor was hit after oil price slump meant government had to delay payments, cancel or suspend projects
Saudi Binladin Group says the kingdom’s finance ministry has started to resume payments for work on government projects after months of delays in the wake of the oil price slump.
The contractor was hit hard and forced to make thousands of layoffs amid a slowdown in the Saudi construction sector, reported delays in government payments and project suspensions and cancellations.
Saudi Binladin Group also faced upheaval after it was banned from taking on new government projects after the September 2015 crane collapse in Mecca, which killed at least 107 people. That ban has since been lifted.
Government payments to Saudi Binladin Group have now resumed, the Saudi Okaz newspaper reported, citing an adviser to the chairman, according to Reuters.
“With the series of payments to follow from the ministry of finance, the entire rights of 10,000 contractors, suppliers, traders that deal with SBG will be met,” adviser Abdullah Basodan reportedly told the newspaper.
It emerged in May that Saudi Binladin Group was making some 77,000 layoffs – representing more than a third of its 217,000-strong workforce. The layoffs came amid a row over alleged unpaid salaries.
The group is the largest contractor in Saudi Arabia, and has worked on several large projects including the Grand Mosque expansion in Mecca.
