Saudi suspends Saudi Binladin Group over Mecca crane disaster

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Tue Sep 15, 2015 1:29pm EDT

Saudi suspends Saudi Binladin Group over Mecca crane disaster

RIYADH

Saudi Arabia suspended construction giant Saudi Binladin Group from new contracts on Tuesday following Friday's collapse of a crane in Mecca's Grand Mosque which killed 107 people.

It also ordered the Finance Ministry to review existing projects by the firm, a titan of the Arab business world.

King Salman also ordered that the group's board members and senior executives be barred from travel abroad after an investigation into last week's incident showed the crane was not erected in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

The disaster was embarrassing for the Saudi ruling family, which defines itself as guardian of Islam's holiest places and has embarked on a series of enormous construction projects in Mecca aimed at expanding its pilgrimage sites.

Saudi Binladin Group has long been regarded in the conservative Islamic kingdom as the government's favorite contractor for important or sensitive work, including defense and security projects.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/15/us-saudi-haj-binladen-idUSKCN0RF20C20150915

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. "the crane was not erected in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. "

I had read a comment on a site by an American who worked in Dubai construction.

He said that basically people in the ME area were kind of ......slip-shod....in how they maintained and handled equipment.