Meinhardt builds on fair trade opportunities in KSA

Fair deals in the Kingdom’s market coupled with the booming economy of the region presents an opportunity for Meinhardt to boost its presence in Saudi Arabia.
The booming economy of the Gulf region, high oil prices and fair trade have presented opportunities for Meinhardt to boost its presence in the Kingdom, said Shahzad Nasim, global CEO of Meinhardt Group International, a major international engineering, planning and management consultancy firm.
“This includes establishing an office in Riyadh and plans to unveil a new office in Jeddah to support operations in Makkah and Madinah,” Nasim told Arab News in a recent interview.
Nasim, who has pioneered a new concept of design engineering and applied them in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the engineering category in 2013. He expressed his commitment to the growing business in Middle East and North Africa, especially for opportunities in project management and design related to Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure and real estate industry.
“Thanks to the wise leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the Saudi nation can boast of peace and security as well as offer the most conducive business opportunities today,” Nasim said.
Citing the latest report from online project tracker BNC Network, the Meinhardt Group chairman said the total value of planned construction projects in the Gulf region had reached $2.91 trillion.
“Of this, $489.39 billion worth of projects are currently under construction, $81.45 billion worth of projects are in the tendering phase, $125.12 billion worth of projects are in design phase while $265.25 billion worth of projects are in the initial planning and concept phase, and these figures are encouraging me as an investor in the Kingdom,” he said.
“It is good to have strong support from the government agencies,” Nasim added.
Commenting on winning Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, he said: “It proves that anyone can succeed by having a positive attitude and being open to exploring new ideas and innovations.”
Nasim also attributed his personal success to Meinhardt Group’s teamwork, acknowledging the commitment and support of over 3,500 strong staff members across 38 offices as well as the support of their clients.
“Over the years, Meinhardt’s proven track record is testament to the company’s commitment to providing highly innovative, buildable and cost-effective solutions for not just tall buildings but also complex infrastructure projects,” Nasim said.
Meinhardt was also named Asia’s second-largest independent engineering firm by ENR Magazine in 2013.
Referring to the services the group offers, he highlighted Meinhardt’s role as a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, providing engineering consulting capabilities in infrastructure and environment, structures, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) project management and planning and urban development.
Spelling out the vision for the company, Nasim said Meinhardt aims to provide a ‘one-stop’ approach for total project delivery, with its specialist capabilities spanning facade engineering, environmentally sustainable design (ESD), specialist and architectural lighting, fire performance engineering, integrated design management and mission critical facility design.
“With a team of experienced and responsive consultants, our clients can expect original and highly buildable design solutions that satisfy their cost and time requirements,” Nasim added.
Nasim, who has been instrumental in the group’s expansion and diversification of its international business as well as forging strategic alliances with other international companies, said the first step in its brand integration initiative was the unveiling of Meinhardt Facade Technology (MFT), which positioned itself as a highly
specialized facade design and engineering consultancy with a record of more than 1,300 projects in the last 20 years on some of the world’s most iconic buildings.
Outlining the features of the new initiative, Nasim said: “The addition of the facade engineering team enables Meinhardt to become one of the few multidisciplinary consultancies in the world to offer facade engineering, a rising professional discipline that is critical in the design of high performance and low-carbon buildings.”
He also spoke about the group’s strategic alliance with Ineco, one of the world’s major transport engineering and consultancy firms to provide specialized rail infrastructure advice, project management and engineering solutions to help meet specific and complex challenges of the rail sector.
On top of this, Meinhardt has also set up a group design division whose role is to promote sustainable design innovations and encourage the customization of engineering solutions to set and maintain standards across the group, Nasim added.
He said the outlook for the Middle East region remains positive, especially in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. “This is in line with King Abdullah’s visionary plan for economic development and creating jobs for the population.”
Nasim is keen to ensure that Meinhardt stays well-positioned to play a key role in development plans for the future.
The company recently appointed Omar Shahzad as the group CEO. Omar, who previously served as deputy CEO of Meinhardt Group for three years, will succeed Nasim, who has served as the group CEO since 2010.
Nasim will continue to play a key role as group chairman and global CEO.