Construction Week Saudi opened Leaders in Construction Saudi 2026 by asking whether the Kingdom is building too fast.  Karim Baarini, our Project Management Director in KSA, joined Richard Scott of Accuracy, Syed Hussain of JLL and Abdullah Serhan of UNIMAC to answer it.

The panel found a better question underneath.  The Kingdom is focusing its investment on the projects that shape the next decade, with Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup among them.  Those dates are fixed, and every project around them needs a date it can keep.

Fixed dates change how a project is judged.  A hotel welcoming Expo visitors has its opening day set years in advance, and every decision made before then either protects that day or puts it under strain.

That puts the premium on certainty, and the industry is getting sharper at providing it.  Fahad Abuljadayel, who edits Construction Week Saudi, summed up the day in one thought:  the pressure has moved earlier in the project lifecycle.

Both panels that morning arrived at the same place from different directions.  The housing panel looked at buyers wanting better connected communities while developers manage rising costs, and found its answers in earlier decisions and smarter value engineering.  BEC Arabia’s Mohamed Marouf shared that a single glazing change saved 50 million riyals.  The delivery panel found the same answer in procurement.

In practice, the most valuable conversations on a project now happen at the desk, months before mobilisation.  Karim and his fellow panellists argued for testing whether a schedule is achievable during procurement, before the contract is awarded and while changes are still cheap.  Syed Hussain championed bringing contractors and suppliers in early.

That test looks beyond the contract terms.  It asks whether contractors and suppliers can meet the programme they are being asked to sign, with the resources the market has today.  Electromechanical equipment from overseas deserves particular attention, since regional disruption has made its lead times harder to predict.  Identifying those critical packages early gives an owner room to act.

Early involvement gives the builder a voice in sequencing while the design can still respond, and gives suppliers time to plan their production.  The panel also saw a growing role for modular elements and components manufactured in the Kingdom, which shortens the journey to site and builds local capability for the decade ahead.

What makes a construction completion date bankable?  For an owner or investor, the best date is the one you can bank.  Finance and operator agreements both rest on it, so a date that stays put is worth more than an early one that drifts.

Karim’s contribution went to the heart of that.  In his view, a project keeps to schedule when client decisions come early and the design is mature before contractors mobilise.  Milestones set realistically from day one do the rest.

Once work begins, regular supervision on site keeps the date honest.  Circle the date.  Then keep it.

Our thanks to Construction Week Saudi, and to Karim for speaking for us so well.

Read the Construction Week Saudi coverage here.