Saudi Arabia. Would you?

You know the feeling when you’ve taken a big bite out of your burger, and just then you’re asked a question? On behalf of the entire team here at the Construction Week towers, that’s how we’re feeling – frustrated. There’s so much happening in Saudi Arabia and we can’t convey all of it soon enough.

Last week, I only touched on the success of the Construction Week Saudi Arabia Conference, but in this week’s issue you’ll see what I’d left out – enough to dedicate an entire edition to KSA by creating a Saudi Arabia Special filled with pertinent news, analyses and great decision making information from the Kingdom. In fact, we have so much news left over that we decided to create a special online section to include it all. Log into www.ConstructionWeekOnline.com/SaudiArabia.

As you’ll see in this week's issue, our Saudi Arabia editor Benjamin Millington met up with many industry bigwigs in Riyadh and Jeddah, and at our conference, to get a feel of how things are on the ground there. And from what I hear, it looks like Saudi is on the brink of a new era.

With the Saudi government bending backwards to attract foreign investment, it would seem a little strange to not, at least, consider setting up in the Kingdom.

In an interview with the deputy minister of town planning, Dr Abdulrahman Al Shaikh, we learn that the Saudi government is working on reforming many investment and ownership laws that are now being seen as outdated – much to the joy of foreign, and quite a few Saudi, contractors and developers who have previously shied away from the Saudi market.

An analysis on whether Saudi Arabia is the place to be, also gives us an insight into the current atmosphere of change that exists in the country. With opportunities in education – construction of the Noura Bint Abdulrahman University for Women in Riyadh, tourism – 45.3 million tourists are expected to be visiting Saudi Arabia per year by 2020 with 50,000 hotel rooms scheduled to be constructed and the construction of six economic cities, work seems to be in abundance.

Saudi Arabia isn’t referred to as the “sleeping giant” for nothing. It’s amazing how accurate that phrase is because it insinuates an awakening. And it’s better to be prepared for when that sleeping giant begins coming round, which could be any time now.

Conrad Egbert is the editor of Construction Week.

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