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Architects and engineers are descending on Saudi Arabia, seeking shelter from the busted real estate bubble in Dubai and lured by the resilient construction market in the oil-rich kingdom. Saudi Arabia needs to '??supply 1,000 residential units a day for at least the next five years, and we need strong firms to deliver,'?� said Fahad al-Said, the chief executive of the Riyadh-listed Saudi Real Estate Co, better known as Al Akaria. Foreign design firms, which generated big fees building skyscrapers, indoor ski slopes and man-made islands in the emirate are scrambling to secure steady business in Saudi as the Dubai'??s debt woes weigh on the building industry. Real estate developers in Saudi are preparing for an expansion in infrastructure development on a large scale, and are pulling out all the stops to attract top talent to work on their projects. Developers in Saudi Arabia are planning to spend $543bn on new real estate projects, according to research by the Dubai-based consultancy Proleads. This is stands in stark contrast with the slowdown in property markets elsewhere in the Gulf. '??Most of the request are coming out of Saudi, so we are focusing on it,'?� said Thomas Votteler, the operations manager for the Middle East for the German Kling Engineering Consultants. Votteler, who is based in Abu Dhabi, said the interest from Saudi developers for quality work has helped the firm grow in the region during the downturn, and outperform its European branches.