RIYADH: The number of companies operating in Saudi Arabia’s contracting sector has crossed 165,000, with small to large enterprises employing 3 million workers, Saudi Press Agency reported citing the Saudi Contractors Authority. The contracting sector employs workers from various professions, with more jobs being localized under legislative efforts, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Contractors Authority, Zakariya Al-Abdulqader said. The value of projects in the contracting sector over the past five years totaled SR20 trillion ($5.3 trillion), demonstrating its importance and its developmental role, the head of the National Committee for Contractors in the Federation of Saudi Chambers, Hamad Al-Hammad said.