Setting up in Saudi: Imran Afzal

More interviews: Geoff Sanderson | Sultan A Y Faden | Augusto Cagnardi | Why should firms tackle Saudi Arabia now? 

Imran Afzal, principal, Archcorp Architectural and Engineering, speaking at the Building Expansion conference in Riyadh.

Where are you from and why have you come to Saudi Arabia?

We are a Dubai-based firm of about 45 staff in various fields. We’ve come to Saudi Arabia to look at expanding our operation and the possibility of finding a niche. We are keen on specialising in sustainable design because we believe it is the next big thing and the way the world should go.

Why is now a good time to tackle Saudi Arabia?

We have been too busy in the UAE up until a few months ago, but the UAE market has slowed down tremendously and it is time to look elsewhere. We have always thought of ourselves as an international company and we are looking at the present economic situation as an opportunity to go out of the bounds of the UAE. We are already doing a project in Morocco and one in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia is the obvious target in the GCC. I think now the market here is ready for fast tracked projects, design build solutions and to learn from the experience of UAE projects.

Are you finding other foreign companies have the same agenda?

Absolutely, we have bumped into quite a few people at this exhibition from the UAE, which is good because we are all bringing our collective expertise to the Saudi Arabian market.

Have you got any projects yet in Saudi Arabia?

No not yet, we are hoping that as an outcome of this exhibition we will be shaking hands with some influential people, people who would like to talk to us in future and open some doors. In the three hours that we have been in this exhibition we have heard of some big projects being launched and had a number of good conversations with potential clients. We also heard there are new real estate companies emerging in Saudi Arabia – their websites are not even functioning yet but they have delegates here. This is music to our ears.