Saudi expert calls on Kingdom to increase supervision of smaller projects
Housing specialist says that smaller firms tend to take shortcuts and use inferior materials to save on costs
A Saudi Arabian expert has called on construction authorities to step up their role in supervising construction projects being carried out by smaller contracting companies in the Kingdom.
In an interview with the Saudi Gazette, Majed Al Mehaimeed said he had noticed a worrying trend of certain smaller contracting firms using inferior materials on projects to reduce costs.
Furthermore, he said that these firms were also reducing the quantity of cement during the construction process to cut down on costs, thereby jeopardising the entire safety of the project.
“The majority of citizens consider the project of building their dream house to be the most significant step towards having a significant future to having a secure future and spend a great proportion of their lives paying off the loans they take to make their dreams come true. But some contracting firms only focus on making profits by any means necessary,” Al Mehaimeed told the newspaper.
He added that it was vital that a safety certificate for each building was issued by an independent consultancy authority. He suggested that it be notarised so that it becomes an official document.
“No residential unit should be sold unless it has been issued with a notarised safety certificate,” Al Mehaimeed asserted, citing examples from his own experience, where he was called into rescue projects that showed faults during construction itself.
One such experience saw him calling in three separate engineering experts to fix a problem in a housing project, which ended up costing his client a large amount, on top of the costs of construction.
Al Mehaimeed urged home builders to seek the advice of independent engineering offices during the initial stages of construction.
