The Ministry of Finance approved 1,420 contracts worth SR71.5 billion ($19.1 billion) during the first half of this year, the ministry said in a statement on its website Tuesday. The contracts included 1,018 development and construction projects worth SR60 billion ($16 billion) covering 261 municipal and rural projects, 146 road and communications projects, and 287 projects for the establishment of universities, schools, training centers and other educational facilities. The contracts also include 320 deals worth SR8,415 billion for operation, maintenance and cleaning, 40 projects for the establishment of hospitals and health care centers and facilities, 166 for water projects, dams and wastewater management, and 118 for other sectors. The contracts don't include deals that are worth less than SR5 million and for less than one year, said the statement. The government launched in 2009 a five-year spending plan averaging an annual $80 billion to mainly develop infrastructure and its oil facilities and counter the repercussions of the global crisis. In May, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said the Kingdom awarded 652 contracts worth SR40 billion for infrastructure projects in the first four months of 2010 to stimulate growth and create additional job opportunities for Saudis.
