Meed | Building a legacy in Saudi Arabia

Building a legacy in Saudi Arabia

23 June 2023

Commentary
Colin Foreman
Editor

In 2023, US engineering company Bechtel celebrates its 80th anniversary in Saudi Arabia. No other international contractor can boast such a long history of working on projects in the kingdom.

As Saudi Arabia looks ahead to the next 80 years, the plan is for other engineering companies to emulate Bechtel’s achievement.

There are historical parallels. Bechtel’s first project in the kingdom was the Ras Tanura refinery in 1943.

With the advent of the oil age, the Saudi economy, like today, was changing fast. This created opportunities for Bechtel, from work on oil and gas schemes to major infrastructure projects that included the railway between Riyadh and Dammam, as well as power plants and airports.

Construction push

The new generation of projects planned in the kingdom today has created unprecedented demand for the services of construction firms. According to officials, there could be $2tn of construction contracts awarded in Saudi Arabia by 2030. These projects include the self-styled gigaprojects, other mixed-use projects, and infrastructure schemes that include ports, railways, roads and three of the world’s largest airports.

Bechtel is already playing a key role in these projects. It has two project management services contracts with Neom that cover the development of The Spine and regional infrastructure, and the Trojena mountain resort.

While the firm is keen to take on more projects in Saudi Arabia in the future, there are still plenty of opportunities for other firms to develop their own legacies.

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Colin Foreman