USSBC Contract Awards Index Third Quarter 2019

A majority of the awarded contracts were in oil & gas, real estate, and industrial which accounted for approximately 80% of the total value of contracts awarded. Urban development, water, transportation, and power accounted for 15% of the total value while 5% were awarded to other sectors. The value of awarded contracts reached SAR47.8 billion ($12.7 billion) during Q3’19 as the level of construction activities continue at an accelerated rate thus far in 2019. While the value of awarded contracts retracted during Q3’19 compared to the previous quarter by SAR17.4 billion ($4.6 billion) or 27 percent, the rate at which contracts have been awarded still resemble that of the construction boom prior to the downturn of the economy. Further bolstering this notion is the y-o-y growth of contract awards during Q3’19 which jumped by 164 percent compared to Q3’18. Moreover, the first three quarters of 2019 witnessed a dramatic increase of SAR87.2 billion ($23.3 billion) or 117 percent compared to the same period in 2018. As noted in our previous Q2’19 report, the value of awarded contracts thus far in 2019 has surpassed all that of 2018, further increasing during Q3’19 by a total of SAR60.9 billion ($16.2 billion) or 60 percent.