RIYADH — The Ministry of Education has withdrawn at least 451 projects from contractors who failed to meet the deadline set for completing the projects over the past three years, said Dr. Hamad Bin Muhammad Aal Alsheikh, Deputy Minister of Education. He made the comments during a meeting with the ministry's employees in Al-Qunfudah and Al-Laith. The deputy minister pointed out that the ministry succeeded in resolving problems pertaining to 218 educational projects. The new contractors are in the process of handing over these projects to the ministry according to a set timetable. Alsheikh said the ministry gave new tenders for 233 faltering projects and took action against 397 contractors for delaying projects. He said the ministry has delegated power to its field inspectors to withdraw any faltering project from contractors proved to be incompetent. Alsheikh said the faltering projects were directly responsible for stalling the ministry's plan to get rid of rundown school buildings in various regions. He stressed that the ministry would strictly enforce the penalties stipulated in the contracts against negligent contractors.
