RIYADH:The Ministry of Education says it has addressed 50 percent of stalled construction works on new schools and expects to resolve the remainder within six months. Salih Al-Humaidi of the ministry's Administrative and Financial Affairs said that the causes of the delays have been identified and that the contract developers' commitment to finishing the works was being assessed before considering handing them other building companies. “The ministry will have resolved all delayed contracts within six months,” he said. Al-Humaidi made the remarks at the signing of contracts for school projects Sunday which seek to replace rented school premises with government-owned buildings. “The ministry has around 4,000 projects being carried out,” he said. “The cost of contracts signed for works across the Kingdom totals SR1.1 billion in different regions of the Kingdom, and the works are scheduled to be competed within 30 months of the signing date.” He added that the ministry expects to significantly reduce the dependence on rented school premises, and that its plans target schools with over 50 pupils, with other plans to tackle co-educational schools with under 50 pupils. “Currently 4,000 schools are under construction which will make up 6,000 newly-built schools,” he said.
