Saudi Arabian construction firm Abdullah Abdul Mohsin Al-Khodari and Sons said on Tuesday that projects worth SR362.2 million ($97 million) had been delayed due to factors ranging from clients’ funding shortages to slow visa issuance.
Al-Khodari, which last month reported a wider third-quarter net loss, said its total project backlog was SR3.01 billion by Sept. 30. That compared to SR4.67 billion at the same point of 2015. The firm, a builder of housing and infrastructure, said its total contract value was SR7.78 billion. 
Delays built up when issuing visas, appointing consultants and making changes to designs, it said. Delays in the review and processing of invoices and work stoppages due to lack of money were also to blame.
Signs that the backlog of payments owed to contractors might be easing have emerged, with Fahad Al-Hammadi, chief of the National Contractors’ Committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers, saying that construction firms had received SR40 billion in the past two weeks, representing 25 percent of money owed to them by various government agencies.
Fawwaz Al-Khodari, CEO of Khodari, told Al Arabiya television recently that 10 to 15 percent of the SR500 million it was owed by the government had been paid.
He expressed optimism that the company would receive 40 to 45 percent of the total outstanding dues by the end of the year in the best case scenario

Source: Arab News