US-based Bechtel has been awarded the contract to support setting up and operating Saudi Arabia’s National Project Management Organisation (NPMO).

Known as Mashroat, the NPMO will support Saudi government agencies to effectively deliver complex infrastructure projects. The appointment is widely regarded as a crucial step in the overhaul of the kingdom’s projects market and the beginning of its recovery after more than two years of low oil prices.

Three firms were shortlisted for the contract last year after submitting bids in in mid-July.

The National Project Management Organisation was formed by the Ministry of Economy and Planning in 2015.

The kingdom is turning to programme management, a methodology for managing large and complex schemes, as a way of containing spending and increasing returns from infrastructure investments.

The overview document for Riyadh’s Vision 2030, released in late April last year, emphasised the key role that PMOs will play in transforming the kingdom’s economy.

Firms are also competing for the contract to provide consultancy services to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs’ project management office (PMO).