Dear Subscriber,

DMS would like to present an interview with Mr. Nabiel Y. Jokhdar, General Manager of Dar Al Riyadh.

Mr. Jokhdar has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He has previously worked with Parsons, Saudi Bechtel Company, Zuhair Fayez and Associates and is at present the General Manager at Dar Al Riyadh.

He has over 24 years of professional experience in the fields of general management, engineering management, administration management, marketing, sales, project management, industrial coordination, project engineering and supervision and structural designing.

Mr. Nabiel Y. Jokhdar was interviewed by DMS’ Editor for Saudi Arabia, Mr Abdul Naeem.

Good morning and thank you for giving us the opportunity to interview you

The pleasure is mine.

How is Dar Al Riyadh cashing in on the influx of major projects in the Gulf?

Dar Al Riyadh is targeting selective clients in the gulf region. We are continuing to work on increasing our resources both in terms of numbers and expertise.

Kindly highlight the recent sectors in which Dar Al Riyadh has accomplished projects in Saudi Arabia?

Some of the recent sectors are:-

- Bulk Plants
- Waste Water & Sewage Treatment Projects
- New Arabia – Bahrain Pipeline Project
- 2 Grade Gasoline Distribution
- Control systems
- Reverse Osmosis plants

Are there any other industry sectors that you are interested in venturing into at the moment?

We are interested in Petrochemicals, EPC and PMC.

If you were to compare the energy sector in the Middle East versus Europe, who do you think is currently leading the field?

There is no doubt that the Middle East has the leading edge because we are still in the development and expansion stage while Europe is already developed.

Considering the current boom in projects in the energy sector, how do you see the industry in five years time?

The boom will continue to rise due to new projects that are ongoing or will start very soon in sectors such as oil and gas, petrochemical, rail-roads and industrial cities. There is also the increasing world demand for energy.

What would you say is the main reason for Dar Al Riyadh’s success in the Middle East during this time?

The main reasons for success are flexibility, resources and the ability to transfer technology.

Kindly highlight Dar Al Riyadh’s global presence

We have recently started an experiment to off-load work to Asian countries. We have also had a couple of projects were our staff were allocated to EPC contractors out of the kingdom.

What is Dar Al Riyadh’s target for the next five years?

We will be focusing on PMC, PDS, EPC and Offshore Projects.

What is Dar Al Riyadh’s point of view on the GES Conference being organised by DMS?

Dar Al Riyadh will support any activity that is related to the local engineering community.

It is rumoured that Saudi Aramco is reducing the number of their GES qualified contractors.How do you think this would affect business? In your opinion what would be the best alternative?

As you have mentioned it is a rumour.

Saudi Aramco is depending more on international EPC contractors for major in-kingdom projects. However, there is a point of view that other local EPC contractors should be taken into account?

I agree that a local contractor has to be given a chance but also we have to consider the urgency of some of these projects in terms of size and schedule.

How is Dar Al Riyadh contributing to Saudisation?

Dar Al Riyadh has ongoing training programmes for Saudi Arabian engineers and CADD operators. In addition we have a separate training programme for high school graduates. At the same time we are introducing new initiatives to some clients to provide practical on-the-job training. Dar Al Riyadh also received a Saudisation trophy from Saudi Aramco in 2004 in which we achieved the first position among all GES offices in hiring, training and maintaining Saudi Arabians.

How would you compare Dar Al Riyadh to it’s competitors?

I believe that Dar Al Riyadh as a group is very unique. We had the vision many years ago to diversify into new businesses related to engineering, such as procurement, system integration, manpower supply and IT.

In addition, when we venture into new fields we try to execute it in a professional way by using methodical assistance. This is what we are doing presently.

How do you rate the DMS Correspondent project tracking system?

DMS needs to improve updating its information and add new search categories such as new projects, Saudi Aramco projects and Sabic projects etc. More details are needed in projects such as schedules and key contacts.