IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i21p15432-d1270447.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Status of the Saudi Construction Industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Saud Almutairi

    (Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Qassim University, Unaizah 56452, Saudi Arabia)

  • Mudthir Bakri

    (Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Qassim University, Unaizah 56452, Saudi Arabia
    School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum 407, Sudan)

  • Abdullatif A. AlMunifi

    (Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Qassim University, Unaizah 56452, Saudi Arabia
    Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Sana’a University, Sana’a P.O. Box 1247, Yemen)

  • Mohammed Algahtany

    (Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Northern Border University, Arar 91413, Saudi Arabia)

  • Saud Aldalbahy

    (Al-Ekhtiyar Engineering Consulting, Riyadh 13212, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the Saudi construction industry as well as the country’s economy. The pandemic jeopardized the positive perspectives and growth in megaproject numbers, as it has amplified the constraints that prevent the construction sector from realizing growth. This research work is intended to evaluate the status of the Saudi construction industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to achieve this objective, a three-phased methodology was developed. In the first part of the research, semi-structured interviews with forty industry experts were conducted. The gathered data from both, the literature review and interviews were synthesized. This process resulted in four domains to be explored: project performance measurement, workforce, supply chain, and financial management. The outcomes from phase one were then utilized to develop a questionnaire survey that was communicated to construction firms all over Saudi Arabia, for which 124 responses were received. Data analysis was carried out, and the obtained results were clarified and triangulated through a focus group discussion in the third phase of the research. The outcomes from the mixed-methods research methodology were aggregated to enrich and interpret findings and draw conclusions and recommendations. The findings indicate that the pandemic has had a total of ten core impacts. The highly impacted areas in the industry were the technical performance of projects, reduction in productivity, risk management practices, downsizing the scope of ongoing projects, reduction in new projects or contracts, material shortage, recruitment of manpower in the construction firms and affiliated projects, and the financial performance of the organization. In the meantime, it was found that the government implemented mitigation measures from which the sector benefited, where 27% of contractors obtained Saned system assistance, 51% received cash compensation and 22% received tax postponement. The scope of this study is limited to exploring the status of the Saudi construction industry (SCI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study findings are of added value and represent a significant contribution to the body of knowledge in the field. However, further research on the exit strategies bringing the industry to the new normal, including the use of cutting-edge technologies in the age of multi-faceted disruption would be of great importance.

Suggested Citation

  • Saud Almutairi & Mudthir Bakri & Abdullatif A. AlMunifi & Mohammed Algahtany & Saud Aldalbahy, 2023. "The Status of the Saudi Construction Industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-21, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:21:p:15432-:d:1270447
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/21/15432/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/21/15432/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Massari, Giovanni Francesco & Giannoccaro, Ilaria, 2021. "Investigating the effect of horizontal coopetition on supply chain resilience in complex and turbulent environments," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    2. Puisa, Romanas & Montewka, Jakub & Krata, Przemyslaw, 2023. "A framework estimating the minimum sample size and margin of error for maritime quantitative risk analysis," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    3. Eun-Mi Baek & Woo-Yung Kim & Yoon-Jeong Kwon, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Workplace Accidents in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-14, August.
    4. Dieter Helm, 2020. "The Environmental Impacts of the Coronavirus," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(1), pages 21-38, May.
    5. Tesfaye Gashaw & Kassu Jilcha, 2023. "Railway construction project risk assessment techniques: systematic literature review," International Journal of Services and Operations Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 44(1), pages 21-42.
    6. Shaista Wasiuzzaman, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 on the Saudi stock market: analysis of return, volatility and trading volume," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(4), pages 350-363, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David Klenert & Franziska Funke & Linus Mattauch & Brian O’Callaghan, 2020. "Five Lessons from COVID-19 for Advancing Climate Change Mitigation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 751-778, August.
    2. Abdul-Salam, Yakubu & Kemp, Alex & Phimister, Euan, 2022. "Energy transition in the UKCS – Modelling the effects of carbon emission charges on upstream petroleum operations," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    3. Sandra Rousseau & Nick Deschacht, 2020. "Public Awareness of Nature and the Environment During the COVID-19 Crisis," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 1149-1159, August.
    4. Emre BULUT & Ahmed İhsan ŞİMŞEK, 2023. "The Relationship Between the Stock Market Volatility, Liquidity, Exchange Rate Return, and Stock Return During the COVID-19 Period: The case of the BIST 100 Index," Bingol University Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Bingol University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, vol. 7(1), pages 121-135, June.
    5. Paul Malliet & Frédéric Reynès & Gissela Landa & Meriem Hamdi-Cherif & Aurélien Saussay, 2020. "Assessing Short-Term and Long-Term Economic and Environmental Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis in France," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 867-883, August.
    6. Paudel, Jayash, 2021. "Short-run environmental effects of COVID-19: Evidence from forest fires," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    7. Paul Malliet & Frédéric Reynès & Gissela Landa & Meriem Hamdi-Cherif & Aurélien Saussay, 2020. "Assessing Short-Term and Long-Term Economic and Environmental Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis in France," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 867-883, August.
    8. Konstantinos N. Baltas & Robert Mann & Nicholaos C. Baltas, 2024. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Unsustainable PPE Materials: A Correlation and Causality Analysis," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(6), pages 1651-1671, June.
    9. Alikhani, Reza & Ranjbar, Amirhossein & Jamali, Amir & Torabi, S. Ali & Zobel, Christopher W., 2023. "Towards increasing synergistic effects of resilience strategies in supply chain network design," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    10. Jiang Wu & Linxiu Hu & Xiuli He & Xi Zheng, 2024. "Research on Logistics Cooperation Strategy of the Retailer and the Platform Based on Paid Membership System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-22, April.
    11. Chunping Deng & Fanchen Kong & Rong Zhu & Chun Sun, 2024. "Balance or not: configuring absorbed and unabsorbed slack resources to achieve supply chain resilience," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1509-1530, December.
    12. Andrew Chapman & Takeshi Tsuji, 2020. "Impacts of COVID-19 on a Transitioning Energy System, Society, and International Cooperation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-16, October.
    13. Meng, Lin & Lv, Wangyong & Yuan, George Xianzhi & Wang, Huiqi, 2023. "The dynamic risk profiles and management strategies in supply chain coopetition under altruistic preference," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    14. Jamel Boukhatem & Ali M. Alhazmi, 2024. "COVID-19 pandemic, oil prices and Saudi stock market: empirical evidence from ARDL modeling and Bayer–Hanck cointegration approach," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Jiachen Sun & Haiyan Wang & Zhimin Cui, 2023. "Alleviating the Bauxite Maritime Supply Chain Risks through Resilient Strategies: QFD-MCDM with Intuitionistic Fuzzy Decision Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-21, May.
    16. Margarida Rodrigues & Mário Franco & Nuno Sousa & Rui Silva, 2021. "Reviewing COVID-19 Literature on Business Management: What It Portends for Future Research?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, May.
    17. Alejandro Caparrós & Michael Finus, 2020. "The Corona-Pandemic: A Game-Theoretic Perspective on Regional and Global Governance," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 913-927, August.
    18. Manupati, V.K. & Schoenherr, Tobias & Ramkumar, M. & Panigrahi, Suraj & Sharma, Yash & Mishra, Prakriti, 2022. "Recovery strategies for a disrupted supply chain network: Leveraging blockchain technology in pre- and post-disruption scenarios," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    19. Binh Bui & Charl de Villiers, 2021. "Recovery from Covid‐19 towards a low‐carbon economy: a role for accounting technologies in designing, implementing and assessing stimulus packages," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4789-4831, September.
    20. Jiyang Cheng & Gongbing Bi & Umer Shahzad, 2024. "Influence of dynamic capabilities and supply chain finance on supply chain effectiveness in environmental dynamism: a conditional process analysis," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 307-323, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:21:p:15432-:d:1270447. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.