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Al Arrab has developed many specialist subsidiaries

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The upcoming mega projects in Saudi Arabia will be further chance for the top players to get ahead, according to a senior executive at Al Arrab Trading & Contracting.

Samer Arafa, group executive vice president at the construction giant in Riyadh, said that the Kingdom’s big projects need the players with the capacity and resources to meet the government’s vision.

In an interview with CW, Arafa outlined the “practical and reliable” growth of Al Arrab’s subsidiaries whose specialisms will help the firm capture as much business across the spectrum of infrastructure during the regeneration of the Kingdom.

“I think this has been a very wise decision by the government to be developing the infrastructure; the time is right in terms of income, revenues and the growing population, along with the growing stress on roads, for example, or water, and systems of communication."

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“So you can draw a logical conclusion: the mega-size projects need the mega contractors who have core competence, massive resources and be able to deal with technical complications," he said

Arafa added that the government is “hospitable” rather than open to new, smaller players in contracting, though he was adamant that real success derives from being a proven player, surviving economic downturns and being diverse.

In relation to the company’s history of creating teams for water, hospitals, power plants and other specialisms, he said: “You cannot expect one company that works in one way to be able to manage multi-market. You need modules of specialities.”

Arafa explained that the drive for this approach came from the takeover of the “mother company” of Al Arrab” by Al Rajhi Holding Group. Today, the previous and current owners work together to see “project-by-project” where new lines of business can be created.

Partnerships are also welcome, adding that the capacity of some of the Chinese companies that Al Arrab has worked with reinforces the need to have the scale and resources to meet the big challenges.

Despite an “optimistic” forecast for Abu Dhabi and Qatar, Arafa, maintains that the company’s main focus is on its home market.

“This part of Riyadh has been developing not just month by month but week by week; there are new roads everyday and new hospitals.”

Read the full interview coming soon in Construction Week.