Riyadh is no longer developing as a conventional capital city. Across real estate, infrastructure, entertainment, hospitality, transport, and urban development, projects are reshaping the city at a scale closely connected with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions. The investment is also creating a workforce requirement that extends well beyond engineers and construction laborers.
The scale of development can be seen in projects such as Diriyah, Qiddiya, New Murabba, King Salman Park and major residential and infrastructure developments around the capital. PIF describes Qiddiya City as a development spanning more than 360 square kilometres, while Diriyah alone has more than 18,000 residential units planned across its districts and nearly 40 hotels planned as part of its hospitality development.
For contractors working on these projects, the challenge is not simply finding a large number of workers. The real challenge is finding the right manpower at the right stage of the project.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important as Riyadh’s development moves from large-scale groundwork and structural construction into MEP installation, finishing, commissioning, hospitality operations and long-term facility management.
Why Riyadh’s Project Pipeline Is Creating Manpower Demand?
Saudi Arabia’s development strategy is driving investment across sectors that traditionally depended heavily on construction and technical manpower.
Riyadh is at the centre of much of this activity. The city’s expansion includes new residential communities, commercial districts, entertainment destinations, public spaces, transportation infrastructure and mixed-use developments.
New Murabba, for example, was announced as a major downtown Riyadh development with an estimated contribution of SAR 180 billion to non-oil GDP and the creation of 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030.
Qiddiya is another example of how the definition of project manpower is changing. It is not simply a construction project. Its development encompasses entertainment, sports, hospitality, residential areas, transportation, retail and other supporting infrastructure. PIF reported in June 2026 that construction was underway at Qiddiya City’s National Tennis Centre, demonstrating that development continues across multiple facilities and stages.
Diriyah presents a similar picture. Its development combines residential districts, hotels, cultural attractions, retail and public spaces. This means the workforce requirement extends from civil construction and infrastructure to electrical and mechanical systems, finishing trades, hospitality and facilities management.
As these developments progress, contractors may need thousands of workers across different trades, but the composition of that workforce can change significantly from one phase to another.
The Manpower Requirement Changes as a Project Progresses
One of the biggest mistakes in project manpower planning is treating the workforce requirement as a fixed number.
A major construction project might require a large workforce during excavation, earthworks and structural construction, but the demand for particular trades will change as the project moves forward.
During early construction, contractors may need civil engineers, surveyors, heavy equipment operators, drivers, site supervisors and general construction workers. As structural work accelerates, demand can increase for steel fixers, shuttering carpenters, masons, welders and other skilled trades.
The next phase can bring a different requirement.
Electrical technicians, mechanical technicians, HVAC workers, plumbers, pipe fitters, electricians and MEP supervisors become increasingly important as building systems are installed. Later, finishing trades such as tile setters, painters, gypsum workers, flooring specialists and carpenters can become more prominent.
Towards commissioning and handover, the focus can shift again towards technicians, testing and commissioning specialists, maintenance personnel, safety professionals and facility management staff.
This is why contractors planning manpower requirements for major projects in Riyadh need to look at the project’s schedule, not just the project’s total workforce requirement.
Skilled Trades Will Remain Central to Riyadh’s Construction Activity
Large projects require a combination of professional, technical and trade-level workers.
Civil engineers and site engineers are needed to coordinate construction activities and ensure that work follows approved designs and specifications. Quantity surveyors and planning professionals support cost and schedule management, while surveyors help establish accurate site measurements and positioning.
At the trade level, the requirements can be much broader.
Welders and fabricators may be required for structural and industrial work. Electricians and electrical technicians install and maintain power and control systems. HVAC technicians handle heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, while plumbers and pipe fitters work on water, drainage and piping networks.
Steel fixers, shuttering carpenters, masons, tile setters, painters and other finishing trades are equally important as buildings move closer to completion.
Heavy equipment operators and drivers also play an essential role during construction, particularly on large sites where excavation, transportation and material handling are taking place simultaneously.
The important point is that these roles are not interchangeable. A project requiring several hundred workers does not necessarily benefit from simply recruiting several hundred general laborers. The workforce needs to match the project’s technical requirements.
Riyadh’s Projects Also Need More Than Construction Workers
The workforce requirement does not end when the building is completed.
Developments such as Diriyah demonstrate the growing importance of hospitality, retail, residential and mixed-use operations. Diriyah’s current development plans include a large hospitality portfolio alongside residential and other urban uses.
Once these facilities become operational, employers may need maintenance technicians, electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, facility management personnel, cleaners, hospitality workers and other support staff.
This creates a longer manpower cycle.
A recruitment requirement may begin with civil and structural workers, move into MEP and finishing trades, and eventually transition into facilities, hospitality and maintenance personnel.
For manpower suppliers, understanding this cycle makes it possible to support contractors beyond the initial recruitment order.
Why Qualified Manpower Matters More on Major Projects?
Large-scale projects bring greater complexity. Multiple contractors, subcontractors and suppliers may be working on the same development, often with workers from different countries and professional backgrounds.
That makes experience and technical competence particularly important.
A skilled worker who understands drawings, equipment, tools, safety procedures and site discipline can contribute more effectively than someone who has only basic experience in the trade.
For professional positions, employers may require relevant academic qualifications, project experience, software knowledge and familiarity with applicable engineering or construction practices.
For trade workers, practical experience and trade testing can be equally important.
Safety is another major consideration. Workers on large construction sites need to understand personal protective equipment, site procedures, working-at-height requirements, equipment safety and other relevant precautions.
For this reason, recruitment should involve more than reviewing CVs. Depending on the position, employers may benefit from interviews, document verification, practical trade testing and experience screening before candidates are selected.
Why Pakistan Can Be an Important Manpower Source for Riyadh Projects?
Pakistan has a long-established overseas employment market, and Pakistani workers are already present across construction, engineering, technical, industrial and service sectors in the Gulf.
For Saudi employers, Pakistan can therefore be a useful recruitment market when there is a requirement for skilled, semi-skilled or general manpower.
However, successful recruitment depends on matching candidates to the actual project requirement.
For example, an employer looking for pipe fitters should not receive candidates whose experience is primarily in general construction. A project requiring experienced HVAC technicians needs candidates with relevant technical experience rather than simply workers who have worked on construction sites.
The same principle applies to engineers, supervisors, safety professionals and other technical positions.
A well-defined manpower request should therefore specify the trade, number of workers, minimum experience, qualifications, project location, contract duration and other employment conditions before recruitment begins.
What Saudi Contractors Should Prepare Before Requesting Manpower?
When a Riyadh contractor approaches an overseas recruitment agency, the quality of the manpower requirement has a direct impact on the recruitment process.
The employer should ideally provide clear job descriptions and distinguish between different trades rather than combining multiple positions under a broad category such as “construction workers.”
Information about salary, working hours, overtime, accommodation, transportation, food or allowances, contract duration and other employment conditions should also be clearly established.
For technical positions, employers should specify required qualifications, certifications and experience. If workers need to pass a practical test before deployment, that should be established at the beginning of the recruitment process.
The expected mobilization schedule is equally important.
A project that needs 500 workers within several weeks requires a different recruitment strategy from a project expecting to require 500 workers gradually over six months.
Early workforce planning gives recruiters more time to source candidates, conduct screening and arrange interviews and trade tests before workers are required on site.
The Role of an Overseas Manpower Recruitment Agency in Pakistan
For large Riyadh projects, recruitment can involve hundreds of candidates, multiple trades and strict timelines. Managing the process internally can place considerable pressure on project and HR teams.
An experienced overseas recruitment agency in Pakistan can support the process from candidate sourcing through mobilization.
This may include identifying suitable candidates in Pakistan, preliminary screening, CV shortlisting, interviews, trade testing, document verification, medical processing, visa coordination and other deployment-related requirements.
The agency’s role should not simply be to provide a large number of CVs. It should help the employer build a workforce that corresponds with the project’s actual requirements.
This becomes particularly valuable when a project needs multiple categories of workers at the same time—for example, civil engineers, electricians, welders, HVAC technicians, masons and general workers.
Planning Manpower Before the Project Reaches Its Peak
The strongest recruitment strategy is usually the one that begins before the manpower shortage becomes urgent.
If a contractor waits until a project is already behind schedule to start recruiting, finding hundreds of appropriately qualified workers within a short period can become difficult.
Instead, project teams can forecast manpower requirements according to their construction schedule and communicate those requirements to recruitment partners in advance.
This allows recruitment to take place in stages.
A contractor may initially require engineers, supervisors and skilled trades, followed by larger numbers of construction workers and technicians. Later, the requirement may shift towards finishing workers, commissioning specialists and maintenance personnel.
This phased approach can reduce unnecessary recruitment and help ensure that workers arrive when their skills are actually required.
Riyadh’s Project Growth Will Require Better Workforce Planning
The development taking place around Riyadh is creating opportunities for contractors, suppliers and workers, but the scale of these projects also makes manpower planning more complicated.
Projects such as Qiddiya and Diriyah are not single-building developments with one fixed workforce. They involve multiple facilities, contractors, construction phases and operational requirements. Qiddiya alone is being developed as a large destination incorporating sports, entertainment, culture, hospitality and other uses.
That means manpower requirements will continue to evolve.
For Saudi contractors, the priority should be to identify the skills required at each stage of the project and establish recruitment timelines before those skills become difficult to source.
For Pakistani recruitment agencies, the responsibility is to understand those requirements accurately and provide candidates whose skills, experience and documentation match the employer’s needs.
Recruiting Manpower for Riyadh Projects from Pakistan
For contractors and project companies planning recruitment from Pakistan, the process should begin with a detailed manpower requirement rather than a simple request for workers.
Marfa Overseas Recruitment Agency can support Saudi employers with the sourcing and recruitment of skilled, semi-skilled and general manpower from Pakistan for project-based requirements.
Whether the requirement involves construction trades, engineering professionals, technicians or large-scale workforce deployment, the recruitment process should be built around the project’s actual workforce plan.
Need Manpower for a Project in Riyadh?
Share your required trades, workforce numbers and project timeline with Marfa Overseas recruitment agency in Pakistan for Saudi Arabia to discuss a suitable recruitment strategy.
