Hosted on 29 March 2022, Construction Week Middle East’s KSA Infrastructure Summit brought together some of the most renowned names in Saudi Arabia to address the challenges and opportunities surrounding the Kingdom’s infrastructure development, including Nasser Al Shawaf, a member of the board of Al Bawani Holding Company.
Saudi Arabia has announced a $1tn pipeline of infrastructure projects aimed at diversifying the economy beyond oil and positioning the kingdom as a global hub for investment and logistics.
The keynote speech at the KSA Infrastructure Summit was delivered by Nasser Al Shawaf, a member of the board of Al Bawani Holding Company.
Al Shawaf shared his thoughts on how Saudi Arabia is becoming an opportune market, as well as highlighted how the kingdom is driven not just by infrastructure but also by the journey towards a renewable future aligned with Vision 2030.
Kicking off his speech at the KSA Infra Summit the member of Al Bawani’s board stated: “There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia is full of action at the moment. It is difficult to find somewhere else in the world where there is more energy than the kingdom.
“The government visions which were outlined a few years ago with all the upcoming giga construction projects such as AMAALA and the Red Sea Project, as well as all the other public and private initiatives, are absolutely incredible.”
He continued: “Being the heart of the Muslim world, it will result in massive spending, and infrastructure is going to be at the centre of it.”
According to Al Shawaf, Saudi Arabia needs market participants to come together to deliver such projects which are “very ambitious” in nature, further requiring “different forms of contract as well as ambitious deadlines”.
“If we look at any other projects worldwide, they are debated for decades, are way over budget, and take much longer than expected. The projects in Saudi are going to take some time and it is up to us, as market players, to work together to deliver them,” stressed Al Shawaf.
He added: “I believe some recent events in Europe such as the war in Ukraine have also reminded people that Saudi is an important player in the global economy and besides being the producers we are stabilisers as well.”
Al Shawaf on digital transformation
Al Shawaf highlighted the kingdom’s progression towards a new and improved method of accelerating the stages of development related to digital transformation in Saudi Arabia.
He said: “When it comes to digitalisation and digital economy, Saudi is one of the top players, particularly in the sectors of electronic government and services which is truly fascinating as 15 years ago we were really lagging behind. We have come a long way as everything is digital, even the government transactions.”
Al Shawaf commended the government’s efforts in improving private sector participation and how the sector has “risen up to the challenge”.
He said: “They [government] have opened up the market and invited all kinds of multinational companies, to come and participate in the growth. We at Al Bawani, as well as other players, whether it is design, supervising companies, or contractors need to work together to deliver, and I believe contract conditions need to be looked at more carefully.”
Additionally, he emphasised the need for collaboration in the market environment, in order to deliver the projects by investing in human capital.
Al Shawaf added: “The government is determined to recruit Saudi nationals and train them. I believe the government unleashed the potential by giving room for the youngsters to play a bigger role in shaping the country’s future, improving transparency and accountability.”
The KSA Infrastructure Summit was filled with provoking discussions as Construction Week Middle East explored how the kingdom is building on Vision 2030 through the advancement of its infrastructure development.
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