The construction and building sector in Saudi Arabia is forecasted to reach SR1.12 trillion ($300 billion) in 2016, second only to the oil sector, a report said.

The contribution of the sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 reached 16.5 per cent, Mohamed Al-Husaini, CEO of Dhahran International Exhibition, was quoted by Arab News as telling Al-Jazirah daily.

The construction sector grew by around 5.7 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter (Q3) of 2013, down from 6.5 per cent in Q2, the report quoted a recent study.