Harasani and Richard Barrett signing the agreement on Nov. 10 last year. Atkins Engineering Consultancy announces partnership with Mohamed H. Al-Harasani and seeks to contribute to Saudi Arabia's infrastructural developmentThe partnership between one of the UK's leading engineering and design consultancy firms, and one of Saudi Arabia's eminent architectural practices was announced at the British Consulate in Jeddah on June 12. The firms in question are Atkins and Mohamed H. Al-Harasani, with Atkins investing 70 percent into the new partnership, and Al-Harasani contributing the remaining 30 percent. The result of this partnership is that Atkins, who are already well established in the Middle East in countries such as Dubai and Oman, will now have a permanent presence in Saudi Arabia with the name W.S. Atkins & Partners Overseas Engineering Consultants. Atkins is a huge multinational organization with over 300 offices around the world employing over 17,500 people. Currently, one of its most high-profile contracts is its involvement with the construction of some 100 temporary venues in London, and around the UK, for the 2012 Olympics. In addition, they have been charged with the task of converting 246 hectares of derelict land in East London into beautiful parkland, not just for the period of the Olympics, but for the City's enjoyment for decades to come.In Saudi Arabia, Atkins is already involved in major projects, one of them being the expansion project of King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. Another Middle East project is with the Etihad rail project which involves carrying out the concept and preliminary design for 1,200 kms of freight rail, eventually connecting the seven Emirates. This weight of expertise has found a solid Saudi partner in Mohamed H. Al-Harasani who has been established as an architect in Saudi Arabia for over 25 years. His firm has been involved in a wide variety of projects operating from offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Qatar. These range from private residential homes to large urban and commercial developments. Al-Harasani said of the new partnership: “In the Kingdom today, there are a lot of infrastructure programmes and huge mega projects taking place. The vision of His Majesty King Abdullah, is very far-sighted and a lot of projects have been implemented and should be carried through in the next few years. This new partnership will help us to be able contribute to the Kingdom's, and the region's, programs.” The Director of UK Trade & Investment for Saudi Arabia, Chris Innes-Hopkins, welcomed the new venture: “This partnership represents a Atkins' commitment to Saudi Arabia at a time of unparalleled activity in infrastructure development and economic diversification. Moreover, the partnership gives Atkins the opportunity to contribute to the transfer of skills to their Saudi employees and the promotion of home grown talent.” Richard Barrett, the Regional Managing Director for Atkins in the Middle East, added: “This marks a very exciting time for us and is a great launch pad to have the company registered as a local company. It now enables us to broaden the service offering, which we are very keen to develop in partnership with Mohamed Al-Harasani. We have been working with him for about a year and we share very similar values. We think there are great opportunities, and we are very keen to excel by working with people here in the Kingdom.” He expanded on aspects that are unique to Saudi Arabia. “I think one of the things that a lot of people underestimate is the scale of the projects here – they are huge. I don't think anywhere else in the world are there such huge capital programs being envisaged, and to be delivered, than the ones that are here. Right here is one of the largest airports being done at the moment, and I believe there are about 28 other airports in the Kingdom. There are some big plans for metros, and then there is high-speed rail. Everything here is large, so it is very much about logistics, about how you actually put these large capital programs together and make sure they get the right skills to construct and deliver these projects.” Al-Harasani continued on this theme: “The Government is becoming serious and dedicated to really ensure delivery. For instance, here in Jeddah they launched a project on the Corniche last week. Prince Khaled, the Governor of Makkah, attended the ceremony and he told the contractor: ‘I want a report on a daily basis.' This never happened before. They are really very serious now when they offer a contract and are following up.” The Sunday Times newspaper in the UK has included Atkins in the “25 Best Big Companies to Work for 2011” list. The employment of Saudis, and developing their careers is an important factor. “We will reinforce our teams at times from experts outside, but we are very much into building local businesses, and that is what we have done in the Middle East for about thirty years. We are looking to employ local people and develop their careers within the partnership,” explained Barrett. The new partnership will have its headquarters in Riyadh, with a branch in Jeddah, with Nassib Al-Sibassi as the General Manager. He has been with Atkins for 13 years and has been in the Kingdom for over two years. “My background is as a Civil Engineer, and I am extremely excited to be here now, offering our assistance to His Majesty's vision to take this country forward. Atkins is known for delivery. If you talk about challenging projects like the 2012 Olympic Park, and the Dubai Metro where we mobilized our staff from around the world to satisfy the time scale for that project, this is what we can bring to this country.” Barrett was not prepared to talk in detail about specific projects that the new partnership is bidding for but said: “We are going to be targeting the spend on the infrastructure, whether it is on airports, or the rail side, or even on highways. We have a strong reputation in the region on the housing and the building side, and we see that as a significant part as well. We have formed another partnership with a French company called Nuclear Atkins Assystem Alliance (NAAA), and that is being put together to look at nuclear opportunities. We are encouraged that, here within the Kingdom, it was reported that they are looking to go ahead with 16 reactors in the next few years, so there is a program there on the power side which we are interested in as well.”
