A WISE strategy to diversify its area of operations has ensured that Al Osais Contracting Company remains a thriving contracting business, offsetting the repercussions of the global financial crisis that has affected the region’s construction industry.

Although Saudi Arabia, like many countries worldwide, has been unable to avoid the negative effects of the downturn, there is optimism in the market that it will evade any major impact, according to the company.
“Although the world is reeling from the economic downturn, we see a number of opportunities in the kingdom since the government of Saudi Arabia is committed to infrastructural development,” says Ahmed M Al Abdulaali, managing director of Al Osais.
Al Osais offers a range of construction services as a general contractor including civil and mechanical contracting, electrical works (high-volt substations and overhead transmission lines – OHTL), road construction, earthworks, telecommunications works, as well as heavy equipment/crane rental.
While Al Osais has had a number of excellent years of business until 2008, Abdulaali admits that the financial downturn has had an impact on the company’s business, “since most of its upcoming projects have either been cancelled or being delayed”.
The company, however, has been trying to maintain its position in the market as a leading construction firm by banking on the support of its parent group and its diverse client base.
“As part of a resourceful group, we are  maintaining stability by entering into other areas of business and expanding our client base, which will give us an edge in the market. We will continue our efforts to diversify from purely civil construction projects into fields such as infrastructure, including road construction and site development,” Abdulaali says.
“We are also looking at implementing cost control measures in order to be competitive,” he adds.
In fact, Al Osais embarked on its strategy to diversify its area of operations a few years ago when it set up a dedicated division specialised in the field of power, handling OHTL and substations of up to 132 kV).
“We have also ventured into high power (up to 380 kV) OHTL and substation projects by establishing a joint venture with Inabensa of Spain.
“In addition, we have joined hands with an Italian company for our telecommunication division,” he adds.
The company is driven by its goal of becoming a leading engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for major projects in Saudi Arabia and the neighbouring GCC countries, providing quality execution of projects, building a high degree of customer confidence, through its commitment to excellence, motivated workforce and adopting leading technologies, according to Abdulaali.
The firm has demonstrated its ability to rise to challenges when it successfully completed a residential and recreational complex recently for Aramco at Khurais.
The project entailed the construction of A-class residential buildings, and camps, offices and utilities for 2,000 people.
It includes a dining/laundry facility, an administration building, a community centre, a medical clinic, mosque, buildings, pool support buildings, a residential workshop, a warehouse, waste enclosures, shelters, parking facilities, landscaping, roads and pavements, fencing with gates as well as recreational facilities such as a soccer field, a tennis court and a swimming pool.
Al Osais has been involved in a number of other high-profile projects in the country, such as building substations for Saudi Electricity Company at Buraydah, Riyadh’s First Industrial City, As’shate, Gornatha, Arar, Al Theebiyyah, New Haradh, Riyadh and Qassim.
Other projects include construction of Aramco’s Khurais central processing facility, Khursaniya programme site preparation, and Phase One of Yanbu refinery electrical distribution system upgrade; radio studios in Jeddah; and construction of a 500-bed hospital at Baljuraishi.
Al Osais Contracting Company, established in 1972 in Dammam, employs a staff of about 4,000 and has offices in Jubail, Riyadh and Jeddah, spread over an area of 800,000 sq m.
It is a member of Al Osais International Holding Company, a group of companies with interests in the fields of construction, services, manufacturing and investment.
The group owns major shares in more than 16 companies as well as stakes in more than 50 other local and global companies and investment institutes. Other subsidiaries of Al Osais International Holding Company are Al Osais Heavy Equipment Division, Al Osais Transportation and Road Construction Company, Al Osais Petroleum Services Company, Al Osais Real Estate Company, Al Osais MCM Company, Middle East Resources Company (Merco), Al Arabi Steel Structure Manufacturing Company, Al Berri United Food Company (Aufco), Arabian Pipeline Services Company (Anabeeb), Rehal Al Sharq (Ralco), KPA Arabia KPA Arabia, and Al Osais Investment Company.