About 50% of contracting companies in the Kingdom face difficulty in paying the salaries of their workers as a result of the delay in clearing bills for government projects, as well as the global recession since 2016. Real estate investor Raed Al-Oqaily blamed the no-payment of salary on the halt of money flow from the government, which owns 80-90% of projects implemented. This is in addition to the difficulty in getting alternative finances as most commercial banks consider construction contracting as a high risk sector. “Due to this situation, contractors are unable to pay salaries and complete their projects on time,” Al-Oqaily told Al-Madina newspaper. Osama Al-Afalik, President of the Contractors Authority, agreed that 50% of companies are unable to meet their financial obligations. “The delay in payment of salaries of workers has become a phenomenon in the contracting sector,” he explained. He urged the authorities to pump money into major companies to stop the disruption of projects.