Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Representatives of over 40 engineering offices met in Makkah on Saturday to discuss different obstacles and challenges they faced in the field. The meeting was organized by the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI). Various issues faced by engineering offices while dealing with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Makkah Municipality, the Saudi Council of Engineers, the Civil Defense and the Saudi Electricity Company were discussed at the meeting. The delegates said the municipality has a tendency to issue new regulations concerning engineering offices without notifying them in advance. Another important issue that came up during the meeting was engineering offices that operate in Makkah even though they do not have registered offices in the city, which according to the delegates led to unfair competition. They also complained about concerned departments rejecting business applications and project proposals without giving any specific reason. Another issue raised at the meeting was the difficulty in accessing the Balady website of the municipality. The website allows online application for licenses and making complaints about municipal services. The participants talked about difficulties in finding safety engineers because of a shortage of candidates. The appointment of a safety engineers is a condition for obtaining Civil Defense permits in many cases. They also criticized the long list of Civil Defense requirements. They said the Saudi Electricity Company often procrastinates on responding to their requests and the company enforces regulations that were not applied in the past. The participants stressed the need for an urgent meeting with officials of government bodies to remove the obstacles. They said if these challenges are sorted out, a lot of time, effort, money and construction materials can be saved. The participants complained about the poor content of training courses offered by the Saudi Council of Engineers, as well as the absence of a council office in Makkah. They also expressed their dissatisfaction with membership benefits. Abdul Hadi Al-Mutairi, head of the Saudi Council of Engineers in Makkah, said some 7,000 engineers of varying specializations are registered with them. «We are looking for a location where we can extend our services to this large number of engineers. We have also reduced the price of training courses. The new price is SR200 for Saudis and SR800 for non-Saudis," he said. According to Al-Mutairi, the council created a membership benefit committee six months ago. The new committee offers special packages to members at various sports and entertainment facilities, he said. It also provides different health insurance packages for Saudi engineers and their families.
