Saudi Arabia awarded contracts worth more than SR84 billion in the first half of this year and their total value through 2011 will likely surpass that in 2010, the National Commercial Bank (NCB) said Sunday. Out of the total value to SR84.2 billion ($22.5 billion) in the first half, around SR34.5 billion worth of contracts were awarded by the government. The SR34.5 billion in awarded contracts during the second quarter represents a 43 percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2010 when the value was SR24.2 billion. The SR84.2 billion in awarded contracts during the first half represents a 156 percent increase over the first half of 2010 when the value was around SR33 billion, the report added. The high value of contracts awarded in the first half was a result of increasing spending on infrastructure within the country's latest five-year development plan, the bank said in the report. "The value of awarded contracts reached SAR84.2 billion by the end of the first half of the year, indicating that 2010's total value of awarded contracts is likely to be surpassed this year," it said. In terms of geographical break-up, Riyadh accounted for the highest portion of awarded contracts by value with a 26 percent share, the study revealed. It attributed this to a significant residential real estate contract which will cover an area of four million square kilometers. The Eastern Province had 25 percent of the value of contracts as a considerable portion of industrial, water and urban development contracts were awarded. The Makkah and Madina regions accounted for 16 and 15 per cent, respectively. The main contract awards in those regions were residential real estate projects in Jeddah and a power contract in Yanbu. "The government's focus to fulfill its citizen's demands for improved infrastructure capabilities played a significant role as more than 31 percent of the value of NCB said the surge boosted its Construction Contracts Index (CCI) to a staggering 205.3 points at the end of the first half of this year from 90.36 points at the end of the first half of 2010.
