Saudi Arabia’s Council of Economic, Development Affairs on Monday decided to immediately start paying back dues to private construction and development companies, aiming to finish payments by the end of the year, according to the state run Saudi Press Agency.

In the wake of sustained low oil prices, government payments to the private sector were massively delayed, with some not receiving payments for months, including major players like Saudi Binladin Group and Saudi Oger.

The council meeting was presided over by the kingdom’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and also dealt with issues such as rearranging spending priorities and efficiency of government spending as well as reviewing “hundreds of contracts” in order to re-schedule execution, modify formulas or technical specifications.