Engineering Discipline

Hyder Consulting's Wael Allan.

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Right at the start of 2010, with much fanfare and fireworks, the world’s tallest man-made structure was officially opened.

The Burj Khalifa was one of the most anticipated, watched and reported on construction projects of all time and its opening is also ranked as the best moment so far, in the tenure of Hyder Consulting’s regional managing director Wael Allan.

“The inauguration of the Burj Khalifa was the culmination of a long and concentrated effort, full of innovation and lots of challenges for the company,” said Allan. “We were very proud to be part of that historic moment.”

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While it would be easy to think that the day after such a momentous project is brought to a public finish, the work would be finished too, but that’s not the case. The Burj Khalifa is still an ongoing job for the company.

“Although the building itself is the icon and the ultimate achievement, when it was opened there was still a lot of work to be done and we continue to support Emaar,” said Allan.

An engineer with a background in chemical engineering and biotechnology, Allan has spent 20 years engineering everything from pharmaceutical factories and petroleum plants in different countries around the world, while also developing what he describes as a ‘strong multi-national business background’.

The role with Hyder came along around 18 months ago, at a time when the construction industry in the region was facing up to significant challenges.

Allan’s remit covers the entire Middle East region, which means the three offices in the UAE, plus the Doha and Bahrain operations.

Recent additions include new offices in Riyadh and Jeddah, but the Middle East region also has countries such as India and Turkey under its umbrella.

The office also draws on resources from the group’s two global design centres in Bangalore and Manila. The Manila office serves as Hyder’s global ‘centre of excellence’ for its MEP design work.