Saudi contractors meet Turkish contractors for road and recycling projects

Image: Turkish Contractors Association (TMB)

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Turkish contracting companies came together with Saudi contracting companies under the organisation of the Turkish Contractors Association (TMB). The projects and cooperation opportunities planned to be realised in the upcoming period in Saudi Arabia, which is preparing to become the world's largest construction market, were evaluated at the 'Turkey - Saudi Arabia Construction Forum'. Bilateral meetings were held during the forum.

Public and private sector representatives of Saudi Arabia, which is preparing to become the world's largest construction market, came together with Turkish contractors for the realisation of road, waste management and recycling projects. At the 'Turkey-Saudi Arabia Construction Forum' held in Istanbul under the organisation of the Turkish Contractors Association (TCA), representatives of 35 Turkish contracting companies specialising in road and recycling projects held bilateral meetings with representatives of 23 Saudi companies that came to cooperate on these issues.

Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipalities, Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH) of Saudi Arabia, Mustafa Tuzcu, Deputy Minister of Trade, Erdal Eren, President of the Turkish Contractors Association, and Zakariya Al-Abdulqader, President of the Saudi Contractors Administration, delivered the closing speeches of the forum, which was held with the participation of public representatives and contracting companies' authorities of both countries.

$60.5 billion budget for roads and recycling

Within the scope of the forum, Saudi officials gave information about the projects planned to be carried out in the country. According to the information given; It is aimed to allocate a budget of 60.5 billion dollars in the next 5 years for road, waste management and recycling projects to be carried out by the Ministry of Municipalities, Rural Affairs and Housing in Saudi Arabia. A budget of 281 billion dollars will be allocated for construction projects to be carried out until 2026. A total budget of 1.2 trillion dollars is planned to be allocated to mega projects such as Neom, King Salman Energy Park, Qiddiya, Red Sea Global within the scope of Vision 2030.

Speaking at the closing of the forum, Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH) of Saudi Arabia, mentioned Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 projects and emphasised that they would like to see Turkish companies in these projects. Pointing out that the forum will carry the ongoing relations between the two countries even further, Al-Hogail said that he believes that mutual visits will turn into more concrete cooperation.

Contracting relations are developing rapidly

Mustafa Tuzcu, Deputy Minister of Trade, stated that the forum offered a great opportunity for the contractors to carry forward the existing cooperation and the cooperation between the two countries and that the trade between the two countries is expected to reach a record level this year. Stating that relations in the field of contracting services are also developing rapidly, Tuzcu emphasised that Turkish contracting companies are ready to take an active role in Saudi Arabia's mega infrastructure and superstructure projects.

The sixth largest market for Turkish contractors

Noting that bilateral meetings encouraging potential partnership and co-operation opportunities were successfully held during the Forum, TMB President Erdal Eren said: "Turkish contractors are known for their high quality and cost-effective solutions, and stand out with their ability to complete challenging projects on time. In addition, they have significant experience in various financing models such as EPC-F, Public-Private Partnership and Build-Operate-Transfer projects. Turkish contractors go beyond construction projects and make significant investments in energy, tourism, healthcare and transport. To date, our contractors have undertaken a total of 12 thousand projects in 136 countries in five continents with a volume of 509 billion USD. In particular, Saudi Arabia stands out as the sixth largest market where Turkish contracting companies have undertaken 402 projects with a total value of 27.8 billion USD. In Saudi Arabia, our companies have successfully carried out road-bridge-tunnel, railway, airport, port, urban infrastructure, pipeline, housing, business centre, health and tourism facilities, dam, energy and petrochemical plant projects. I would like to emphasise that our contractors are looking forward to taking an active role in future projects in Saudi Arabia."

49 potential co-operations were discussed

Zakariya Al-Abdulqader, President of the Saudi Contractors Authority, said: "We have laid the foundation for stronger co-operation between the two countries. This forum has emphasised the importance of partnership and cooperation in the construction sector, waste management and recycling. The exchange of knowledge and expertise between Saudi Arabia and Turkey is not only a testament to our shared commitment to excellence, but also an important step towards achieving our common goals of infrastructure development and sustainable growth. During the bilateral meeting session, around 49 potential co-operation projects were discussed. I look forward to seeing the fruits of our cooperation efforts in the near future."