The Oman Society of Contractors (OSC), the umbrella grouping of construction firms operating in the Sultanate, has warned that protracted delays in the final settlement of payments against state-funded infrastructure projects is causing "serious" cash-flow problems for many Omani construction firms. Worse, the crisis is having a knock-on effect on the wider sector, with associated subcontractors, vendors and service providers also suffering the fallout, according to Shahswar al Balushi, Chief Executive Officer - OSC. For its part, the Oman Society of Contractors has sought the intervention of, among others, the Majlis Ash'shura and Majlis Addawla to help address this crisis. "We have also communicated the matter to the Ministry of Finance, which is relooking at the (standard) contract terms to try to amend them to incorporate FIDIC terms, and we are part of this process. But we think the problem is more with the individual clients who, for some reason, fail to see the difficulty that their contractors face," Al Balushi added. (Oman Observer, Zawya)