AJMI, VICE PRESIDENT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT, LAUDED THE PROJECT'S COHESIVENESS. 'GENTLEMEN, THIS PROJECT WAS A MAJOR UNDERTAKING BY ANY MEASURE,' HE SAID. 'BUT, THE STORY OF HARADH IS ALSO A STORY OF PARTNERSHIP, AND OF HOW WORLD-CLASS COMPANIES CAME TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING UNIQUE HERE IN THE SAUDI DESERT.' AL-AJMI APPLAUDED THE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF SAUDI COMPANIES ON THE PROJECT. FOR EXAMPLE, THE PROJECT'S MAJOR VESSEL SUPPLIER, GULF ENGINEERING, DELIVERED THE REQUIRED VESSELS FOUR MONTHS EARLIER THAN ANY OUT-OF-KINGDOM SUPPLIER COULD, HE SAID. 'HARADH DEMONSTRATES THE GROWING STRENGTH OF IN-KINGDOM COMPANIES AND THE DEPTH OF THE TALENT POOL AVAILABLE HERE IN SAUDI ARABIA,' AL-AJMI SAID. 'THE HARADH GOSP AND PIPELINE CONTRACTS WERE AMONG THE FIRST THAT SAUDI ARAMCO SIGNED WITH MANDATORY SAUDIZATION PROVISIONS, HELPING TO CREATE MEANINGFUL NEW JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM.' AL-AJMI SAID HARADH CONTRACTORS HIRED MANY MORE SAUDI NATIONALS THAN PREVIOUS PROJECTS, INCLUDING SKILLED PROFESSIONALS AND FIELD CRAFTSMEN. 'LOCAL MANUFACTURERS ALSO PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE, WITH STRUCTURAL STEEL PROVIDED BY ZAMIL STEEL, AND MOST OF THE PIPE COMING FROM THE NATIONAL PIPE COMPANY,' HE SAID. 'IN TOTAL, FULLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE MATERIAL FOR THE TWO MAIN CONTRACTS WAS PURCHASED IN SAUDI ARABIA.' ONE OF THE KEYS TO THE PROJECT'S SUCCESS, AL-AJMI SAID, WAS A LARGE AND GROWING RESERVOIR OF SAUDI ARAMCO EXPERIENCE DEVELOPING, MANAGING AND IMPLEMENTING MEGA PROJECTS - CUMULATIVE KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN BE EFFECTIVELY APPLIED TO EVERY NEW PROJECT. 'WE HAVE A HISTORY OF 'DOING IT RIGHT' IN SHAYBAH, THE HAWIYAH AND HARADH GAS PLANTS, AND, MOST RECENTLY, QATIF,' AL-AJMI SAID. 'MANAGEMENT OF WORLD-SCALE PROJECTS IS NOW A RECOGNIZED CORE COMPETENCY WITHIN SAUDI ARABIA, AND BOTH OUR CURRENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAMS AND OUR PROPONENTS ARE ABLE TO BUILD ON THE FIRM FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED BY OUR PREDECESSORS.' 'HARADH WASN'T JUST A MATTER OF WORKING HARDER, BUT ALSO WORKING SMARTER. THE IMPROVEMENTS INITIATED THROUGH VALUE ENGINEERING AND INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS NETTED SAVINGS OF NEARLY 10 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL PROGRAM BUDGET,' HE ADDED. AL-AJMI SAID COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT AND WORLD-CLASS PERFORMANCE WAS BY NO MEANS LIMITED TO SAUDI ARAMCO. KEY CONTRACTORS, SUCH AS TECHINT AND SUEDROHRBAU, NOT ONLY BROUGHT INTERNATIONAL STATURE TO THE TABLE BUT ALSO A ROBUST COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE AND INVALUABLE PAST EXPERIENCE IN SUCH PROJECTS. --MORE 10 21 LOCAL TIME 07 21 GMT
