Why a strategic Saudi project is judged by what it serves, not only what it returns.
IN THIS ISSUE
01 From the editor
02 Read the objectives before the returns
03 Market update
04 Worth reading
05 From the archive
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FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome to the first issue of Building In Saudi Arabia.
I arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2001 and have worked in its construction and development market ever since, through expansion, retrenchment and now transformation.
Much of what I learned was never written down: how decisions really get made, why some firms thrive here while others with stronger proposals do not, and what the headlines leave out.
That is what I want to share with you every other Sunday: how the market works, its policy and procurement, its new cities and technology, and the lessons from the ground.
We start with the idea that frames everything else: here, a strategic project is often judged against the national objective it serves, not only its returns.
If this matches, or contradicts, what you have seen, reply and tell me. I would like to hear it.
Walid
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THE BRIEFING
Read the objectives before the returns
In 2017 I ran an international design competition for a high-profile Saudi project. The shortlist included some of the world's most celebrated architecture firms, and the winner was neither the cheapest nor the boldest.
Most of the firms answered the question they assumed the client was asking. The client was also asking a second question, and it explains a great deal about how strategic projects in the Kingdom are chosen and judged.
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MARKET UPDATE
Three signals this fortnight. Contract awards have passed SAR 116Bn for the year, but the monthly pace has slowed sharply since May and June. Buyers are taking on more mortgages, but smaller ones. And a major Makkah scheme is being planned around a bus terminal. Together they point to where activity is moving: mid-market housing, and districts built around how people actually move.
Source: Saudi Contractors Authority, via Argaam
01 · CONTRACT AWARDS
SAR 4.9Bn in August
Contract awards pass SAR 116Bn, but the pace is slowing
The Saudi Contractors Authority counts 110 projects worth more than SAR 116.2Bn awarded between January and August 2026. August added 13 projects worth about SAR 4.9Bn, half of July's SAR 9.75Bn and well below May and June, each of which passed SAR 29Bn.
Commercial projects led August by value, followed by apartments and data centres (SAR 750Mn). Riyadh took seven of the month's awards and the Eastern Province the other six.
02 · HOUSING FINANCE
+23% more mortgages
More mortgages, smaller loans
Banks signed 9,807 new residential mortgage contracts in August, up 23% year on year, while total financing held almost unchanged at SAR 5.87Bn.
The average contract fell 18.8% to about SAR 598,000, and lending for apartments rose while lending for villas fell.
More households are buying, but at lower price points, which favours apartments and mid-market product over larger homes.
03 · TRANSPORT-LED PLANNING
SAR 21Bn indicative value
A transport hub at the centre of a Makkah development
RUA AlHaram AlMakki and Malaysia's MRCB will study a mixed-use development at King Salman Gate built around a public bus terminal, with homes, retail, hospitality and services above and around it.
The indicative value is SAR 21Bn, subject to due diligence, approvals and final agreements.
MRCB brings experience from KL Sentral, Malaysia's largest transport hub. It is a sign of transport-led planning becoming part of how major districts are designed.
Source: Arab News
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WORTH READING
From the past few weeks, each with a bearing on what gets built.
SPA
National Grid will supply power to Humain's AI data centre project in Riyadh, and Saudi Energy's project development arm, PDC, signed a framework agreement with center3 and an MoU with Huawei.
For data centres, the grid connection is becoming the critical path.
ARAB NEWS
FlyNow Arabia plans to build its electric e-copters in the Kingdom for medical, firefighting, cargo and passenger use.
Someone will have to plan the landing and charging infrastructure they need.
ARAB NEWS
The Royal Commission for Riyadh City is creating a district for AI, cybersecurity, cloud, IoT, blockchain, robotics and drone companies.
A new kind of tenant, with its own requirements.
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FROM THE ARCHIVE
Earlier field notes, for readers who are new here.
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No. 01 · PROCUREMENT · 3 MIN READ
Ambiguity in a tender does not disappear at contract signature. It comes back as contingency, variations and claims.
Seven steps for removing it before the tender is issued.
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No. 02 · PROPTECH · 8 MIN READ
Nine licensed platforms now sell fractional property, and one offering has passed 500 investors in a single building.
What the rules allow today, and the principles that decide whether an offering holds up.
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Walid Freiha
Architect and Real Estate Executive
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
