Arabian Business reported that one in three infrastructure projects handled by the Public Works Authority in Qatar have been delayed amid the impact of the global economy crisis.

Mr Nasser Al Moulvi acting GM of Ashghal said that contracting companies that were awarded various projects had encountered a number of problems.

He said that some of the companies took up work beyond their capacity while others suffered because building materials became expensive.

He said that the escalating cost of building materials led to the failure of contractors to manage their respective projects with the payments they received in installments from Ashghal.

Other reasons for delays included late changes to project designs which hit the contractors hard.

Mr Al Moulvi said that “We should also take some blame with the contracting companies. It is not entirely their fault. As a matter of policy we do not believe in penalizing contractors unless driven to the wall because our focus is on seeing a project completed without compromising on quality.”

(Sourced from Arabianbusiness.com)