Saudi Gazette report

AL-BAHA — Construction of a hotel financed by Al-Baha University Higher Education Fund has not been completed because the contractor took the money and ran away, sources said.

The construction site has turned into an abandoned place while the offices of the engineers are empty and covered with dust, sources told Al-Madina Arabic daily.

Some drawers have official letters and contracts related to the project but all covered in dust. A signboard giving details about the project shows that the contract for the project was signed on October 23, 2011 and the project was supposed to be completed in 914 days (around three years) from the date of signing of the contract. The cost of the project is SR225 million in addition to SR10 million the cost of services provided by the consultant company. Also the signboard shows that the works of the contract was subcontracted to four companies. The foundations on the construction site remain unchanged.

The people of Al-Baha were happy when they knew that a five-star hotel would be built in the region at a cost of SR225 million. The land is located at one of the best sites in Al-Baha. At the beginning, the four subcontractors worked on the site and completed excavation, electromechanic works, and concrete foundations. But all of a sudden, all works came to a halt.

Many wonder why the Ministry of Education did not take an action then and why it did not assign another contractor to complete the works. People view the ministry’s inaction as tantamount to squandering public money and have sent a letter to Al-Baha Emir entreating him to intervene.

Dr. Sari Al-Zahrani, Al-Baha University spokesman, says he does not have sufficient answers to questions regarding the condition of the project and does not have the contact number of the person who is responsible for it. Al-Madina daily contacted the company that was awarded the contract and all subcontractors but none of them answered the questions about why the project works came to a halt and preferred not to comment. They all suggested that the runaway contractor has the answers to these questions.