Bechtel wins contract to run Saudi office

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has appointed U.S.-based Bechtel Corp, one of the world´s largest industrial contractors, to run a new oversight office tasked with reducing inefficiencies and trimming costs on state infrastructure projects.

Bechtel will help the Saudi government set up and run its new National Project Management Organization (NPMO), known in Arabic as Mashroat, it said in a press release without elaborating on the size of the contract. The firm has worked on mega-projects in the Islamic kingdom for some 70 years, including airports and the sprawling Jubail and Ras al-Khair industrial cities.

It is currently developing two of six lines on the $20 billion Riyadh Metro project. The Saudi cabinet created the NPMO office last year as part of a broad government effort to overhaul the economy and close a gaping budget deficit, as sustained low oil prices have taken a toll on the kingdom´s finances.