Yuksel Insaat Saudia, after having maintained a leading position in the construction market in Saudi Arabia, has strengthened it further through securing major dam projects in the Kingdom.

Having already completed work on few of the major projects in the kingdom, the Saudi arm of Yuksel Insaat has recently been awarded the SR198 million (52.79 million) Baysh dam project – followed by the SR263 million ($70.12 million) Murwani Dam project.
Both the Baysh Dam – located at about 500 m from the junction of Yakhref and Baysh valley in Jizan – and the Murwani Dam in Makkah, will serve the purpose of flood protection and irrigation. In addition, the Murwani dam will also seek to supply water to Jeddah by enhancing the ground water table of the main aquifer from which the water is currently being supplied.
Once complete in 2009, the Murwani dam will have a catchment area of 2,762 sq km and a maximum height of 101 m.
The contract is part of the government’s ambitious plan to build five dams at a total cost of over SR1 billion ($266 million) within the next few years and Yuksel says that it is keen on further increasing its participation in the sector.
“Our target is to secure further dam projects as well as water transmission and water treatment projects all over the kingdom,” says Murat Bugday, tendering and business development manager.
“The Saudi government has started implementing dam projects in several locations of the Kingdom and Yuksel, as one of the most experienced dam contractors in Turkey, has decided to get involved in these projects of the Ministry of Water and Electricity,” says Bugday.
Yuksel – one of the largest Turkish construction companies – has been working to maintain its leading position in the construction market and to contribute in the infrastructural development of the Kingdom, It is quite keen to continue in development of capacity in the near future especially in water-related projects such as pipelines, big dams and water reservoirs.
Currently, the company is executing projects for the Ministry of Water and Electricity, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Saline water Conversion Cooperation (SWCC), among others.
Some of the other projects on hand include the multi-phase construction of the new campus of King Faisal University in Dammam and a project for the SWCC.
“The King Faisal University project, worth SR51.7 million to Yuksel Insaat Saudia, involves the construction of a modern campus located along the coastal road between Dammam and Al Khobar. The contract entailed construction of the infrastructure and utilities for Phase 2 and 3 including site works, piping, electrical mechanical and utility building, reverse osmosis building, pumps buildings and wells.
“In addtion, we are the lowest bidder for the Phases 4 and 6 of King Faisal University at SR95 million and we expect to sign the contract within couple of months,” he says.
“The SWCC project involves the construction of six reservoirs with a capacity of 50,000 cu m each in the Rumah area of Riyadh,” he adds.
Established in 1963, Yuksel Insaat is active in the Middle East and Central Asian regions. The company started its operations in Saudi Arabia as the Saudi-Turkish owned Yuksel Insaat Saudia in 1983 with the signing of first contract in the kingdom.
Since its establishment, Yuksel has successfully completed SR1.5 billion worth of projects in the kingdom that relate to water transmission systems between major cities, the construction and erection of power and desalination plants, turnkey construction of giant water tanks in several locations and related electro-mechanical works, several housing compounds, luxury buildings and hospitals, among other projects.
Yuksel Insaat Saudia is active especially in the field of water works, infrastructure and buildings. Over the years the company has won the confidence of clients – both from the private and the government sectors.
“We have the honour of executing segments of the construction plan made by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for providing water to all parts of the Kingdom,” says Bugday.
The projects entailed the completion of water transmission systems involving the laying of transmission pipes and the construction of storage tanks, pumping stations and other associated control facilities. Among the notable project is this sector was the SR529.68 million Yanbu-Madinah water transmission system project (completed in 2001) serving Madinah, and Riyadh-Qassim water transmission system project catering to the cities in the Qassim region – which has solved the problems of water shortage.
Yuksel had also entered into strategic partnerships with European companies for the construction of the SR100 million Yanbu Power Plant with a capacity of two by 80 MW, and the SR98.8 million Jubail reverse osmosis desalination plant with a capacity of 91,000 cu m per day – both of which have been completed successfully and are operational.
Yuksel has also been a major contractor of the Prince Sultan City for Humanitarian Services, which includes hospitals and other facilities for orphans, the aged and the physically challenged. It completed three packages worth a total of SR190 million for mechanical and electrical installation and site utility works.
In addition, Yuksel also intends to increase its participation in the construction of luxury residential and commercial buildings and hotels, to apply the vast experience it has in setting up such projects, he adds.