Gulf Construction Online - Ambitious AlKifah aims for leadership in market

Manufacturers & Procurement

AlKifah Tower ... the group’s headquarters in Al Khobar.

Ambitious AlKifah aims for leadership in market

01 January 2019

AlKifah Holding, a diversified group in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, envisions itself to be the leader in its field within the next four years in line with the government’s 2030 vision of partnering with the private sector for the kingdom’s development.

AlKifah Holding is one of the largest integrated end-to-end solution providers for the construction industry with a significant presence in construction contracting all the way to concrete precast, ready-mix concrete and blocks, manufacturing and retail of construction equipment, raw material sourcing, transportation, marketing and management of real estate through integrated facilities management, engineering and project management solutions, which complement each other and enjoy synergies and economies of scale.

“Our strength lies in our synergy with our sister companies to provide unique and integrated services to fulfil clients’ needs in terms of construction solutions or property development services,” a company spokesman tells ABDULAZIZ KHATTAK of Gulf Construction.

Two years in a row ... KCC nominated as ‘Contractor of the Year’ in the Meed Awards.

Established in the 1970s, the group owns and manages 27 subsidiaries in eight divisions, focusing primarily on contracting, construction solutions, property development, business solutions, financing, paper production and community enrichment, with an active presence across the kingdom.

AlKifah is a large civil contractor and is also active in building materials supply, with the company being one of the largest concrete producers nationwide, in addition to producing concrete batching plants. Given its presence in the end-to-end value chain in the construction industry, AlKifah is well positioned to serve a diverse customer base as well as to be a leading player in the region.

The group has, through its contracting and construction solutions divisions, been involved in the supply and delivery of readymix concrete and manufacture of precast elements. Additionally, its other services include leasing of construction equipment, logistical and transportation support, catering, and security and safety.

Leading the contracting industry from the front is AlKifah Contracting Company (KCC), listed as one of the 10 largest contracting companies in Saudi Arabia. It has been nominated as ‘Contractor of the Year’ in the Meed Awards for two years in a row.

Registered and licensed at major organisations like Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), Aramco, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Saline Water Conversion Company (SWCC), Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, Riyadh Metro and many other clients, KCC undertakes a wide spectrum of construction services, including all types of civil, industrial, commercial and residential building as well as infrastructure and utilities projects.

KRB facilities ... supplier of the year award.

It has undertaken many construction projects such as universities, hospitals, government buildings, mass housing and villa projects, which has earned it annual turnovers of over SR3 billion ($798.58 million). The ISO-certified company has accomplished more than 4 million hours (500,000 days) without workplace accidents or injuries as per the QHSE (quality, health, safety and environment) programme.

KCC is currently executing projects such as the Jizan Economic City (JEC) – City Commercial Port – Onshore, valued at more than SR1 billion; construction of administration buildings for the Royal Commission in Jubail, valued at over SR500 million; and construction of hospitals for the Ministry of Health, valued at close to SR500 million.

Its past projects have included major housing developments, for the armed forces in Dammam, valued close to SR1 billion; infrastructure and buildings for the Defence Forces, valued over SR500 million; and all apartment buildings for Saudi Aramco’s South Dhahran Project, worth more than SR400 million.

Another cornerstone of AlKifah’s strength is AlKifah Readymix and Blocks (KRB). The company has been nominated as ‘Supplier/Manufacturer of the Year’ and ‘Best Business Innovation of the Year’ for its unique ‘Green Concrete’ innovation in the Meed Awards.

KRB was established in 1977 with its head office in Ahsa. It now operates 38 branches all over the kingdom, including in Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, Hail, Makkah, Ahsa, Madinah and Jubail, in addition to many remote factories serving its clients. It has 38 factories for readymix concrete production (3,500 cu m per hour) and two fully-automated factories for blocks, in addition to five semi-automatic facilities (120,000 blocks per day). With 1,200 employees, it registers an annual turnover of SR500 million.

Major projects it has supplied to include the Riyadh Metro (over 200,000 cu m), Al Moosa hospital (over 80,000 cu m) and King Salman Maritime project in Ras Al Khair (over 1 million cu m).

Another group company AlKifah Real Estate is also no stranger when it comes to property development and facilities management. It has developed and operated projects including private residential compounds, office buildings and towers as well as multi-use commercial complexes. Gulf Pearl Compounds, Taiba Compound and Abu Hadria Complex are examples of existing facilities managed and operated by AlKifah Real Estate.

Future plans & vision

The spokesman says AlKifah’s strategy is aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030 and envisages the expansion of business in the manufacturing, healthcare and education sectors, which the company sees as complementing the Saudi Vision.

“It was clear soon after Vision 2030 was announced that we were going to go through a deep transformation in terms of government spending. We knew the biggest driver in the construction segment comes from government spending, and we saw a clear shift in the kind of demand that was going to be available and which was important to shape up the economy and allow more Saudis to join the workforce.

“So we had to consider how we would continue to be part of the future, and become a company that is sustainable within the vision. The vision has also opened up so many opportunities, especially as the government has announced plans to localise the military and other industries,” he adds.

The spokesman says AlKifah has a clear strategy to position itself among the top companies in the region in the coming three to four years.

“We understand not all companies will be agile enough to adopt the changes required to be part of the future that the government envisioned in Vision 2030. And our idea is to focus a lot internally on how we can make the transformation. I think we are moving firmly in that direction. We are optimist that all these changes were necessary, as we needed to change the growth drivers of our GDP towards something more related to the Vision 2030.”

Currently, AlKifah is focusing on participating in new opportunities with foreign investors. It has been closely working with numerous international companies that are interested in coming to Saudi Arabia to either form alliances, consortiums or joint ventures.

“We clearly see big opportunities for us as a group, especially since we have a good history of working with the government. This has made us very attractive for international companies to join hands with us. We also realise that international companies can see the opportunities in Saudi Arabia. And by partnering with a local company, they are able to understand the Vision and align well with the government initiatives,” he adds.

Considering the government’s vision to encourage the PPP model for building projects, AlKifah has been lucky to be part of many joint-venture discussions that support the oil and gas, and health sectors.

“As a contractor, we have been involved in the construction of public hospitals in the past, and in order to continue this work we have to be part of the new PPP model. The government, while trying to develop guidelines on privatisation, will work closely with local companies in order to achieve that framework,” says the spokesman.

AlKifah is working closely with the ministries of health and housing in the discussions related to development of the privatisation framework.

For the future, AlKifah will continue to focus on serving the oil and gas sector, but it also sees opportunities in the mining industry and in the aviation sector – which is a major driver of change together with the transportation sector as a whole – as well as in the health and residential sectors.

In line with its corporate social responsibility (CSR), AlKifah provides different means of education and development to the youth. An example is the Jubail FabLab, which targets 4,000 young students and offers 400 technical workshops each year to transform concepts into
prototypes.

It recognises government efforts to encourage Saudis into the workforce, which has opened up opportunities in terms of the training and development of Saudi nationals.