US-based Bechtel has appointed Abdulrahman Al-Ghabban as its country manager for Saudi Arabia.

“I am honoured to be the first Saudi national to hold the position as country manager for one of the most respected engineering companies in the world. Bechtel has a strong footprint in Saudi Arabia and I look forward to helping advance my country’s economic development with all the support that Bechtel can provide,” said Al-Ghabban.

Al-Ghabban joined Bechtel in 2013 as business development manager for the power business unit. In 2015, he was appointed deputy country manager for Saudi Arabia in addition to continuing his business development role. Prior to joining Bechtel, Al-Ghabban worked for more than ten years in both the public and the private sectors in Saudi Arabia.

Bechtel says Al-Ghabban’s new leadership role reaffirms its commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia achieve the goals of its 2030 Vision. In mid-February Bechtel was awarded the contract to support setting up and operating Saudi Arabia’s National Project Management Organisation (NPMO).

Known as Mashroat, the NPMO will support Saudi government agencies to effectively deliver complex infrastructure projects.

Bechtel is also working on lines 1 and 2 of the Riyadh metro project.