The National Program to Support the Management of Projects in Public Entities, Mashroat, has signed a three-year partnership agreement with Serco, a leading global provider of essential public services. The newly formed partnership will ensure that international standards in facility management (FM) will be followed through a knowledge transfer system which will enable Mashroat to design and implement policies, procedures, and processes based on Serco's experience. The overall aim will be the improvement and enhancement of public facility and asset management systems across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The agreement follows substantial government investment over the past 10 years, which were aimed at improving infrastructure sustainability and is expected to drive in an increase of more than SR300 billion by 2030, according to a National Committee for Legislation and Standardization of Operation and Maintenance (NCLOM) report released in 2015. Eng. Ahmed Bin Mutair Al-Balawi, Director General, Mashroat, said "we believe in the Saudi workers' ability to take full responsibility in managing public facilities. Based on our newly signed agreement with Serco, we look forward to utilizing our partner's experience in the smooth transfer of knowledge and the move to further develop the skills and capabilities of government employees and develop their skills in this sector." "The Kingdom's spending on infrastructure management is considered to be within the high rate, in accordance with international standards. However, Saudi Arabia seeks to improve the quality and user's satisfaction, especially when it has the opportunity to enhance capital and quality efficiency in the public facility management segment within Vision 2030. Therefore, we are working to create a proper climate to lead a transformation in the facility management industry in order to enable the government sector in creating a flexible environment designed to manage its facilities and apply the highest standards of efficiency," Al-Balawi added. Phil Malem, CEO, Serco Middle East, said "Serco has enjoyed a strong presence in the region for more than 60 years now—successfully providing support to several regional mega-enterprise facilities. The signing of this new agreement with Mashroat underscores our commitment to the Saudi government to develop its public facilities in line with set international standards. We look forward to working together in ensuring that all future projects and facilities in the Kingdom are managed to the highest levels of best practice." Serco Middle East has extensive experience in managing mega-facilities in several sectors, including aviation, defense, health, integrated facilities management and transportation, as well as others facilities inside the Kingdom, including the railway project linking the north and south of the Kingdom in cooperation with the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO), supporting King Fahad International Airport in Dammam with rescue and safety services and managing a large number of other facilities in the Kingdom's private sector. — SG
