Saudi King ban construction giant from any new public contracts

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has sanctioned construction giant Saudi Binladin Group following the Mecca crane collapse last Friday, which killed 107 people.

The King has banned senior executives at the firm from travelling abroad and has excluded the firm from winning any new public contracts.

An investigation into the tragedy found that the crane had not been installed to the manufacturer’s instructions.

An investigation commission concluded that the firm was “partly” responsible for the accident, which occurred during a thunderstorm at the holy site in the run-up to the hajj pilgrimage. It is believed that a lightning strike severed a cable used to anchor the crane, causing it to topple over.

The construction giant - which is owned by Osama Bin Laden’s family - had been working on a 400,000m² enlargement of the Grand Mosque.

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