Qatar construction

28 November 2013

Six executives involved in the development of the $5.5bn Downtown Doha project: Mohammed al-Marri, Ali Odeh, Tim Page, Grigoris Christofides, David Barwell and Daniel Hajjar 

Mohammed al-Marri

Position: Chief officer for design and delivery, Msheireb Properties

Biography: Mohammed al-Marri is chief officer for design and delivery at Qatar’s Msheireb Properties, the firm driving the development of the $5.5bn Downtown Doha project. The scheme aims to rejuvenate the downtown area of Doha through the construction of more than 100 buildings covering an area of 310 million square metres. The site is immediately adjacent to the Amiri Diwan, Qatar’s seat of government and the ruler’s palace. Al-Marri has overall responsibility for project management and administration of the company’s major projects, touching on areas of costing, contracting, procurement, financial control and project feasibility. He has more than 17 years of international experience, including 14 years in the energy industry, where he directed several multibillion-dollar schemes. Al-Marri has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Miami in the US.

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 483 7539

Ali Odeh

Position: Chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Turner International Middle East

Biography: As chairman and CEO of Dubai-based Turner International Middle East, Ali Odeh leads the company’s activities in providing programme, project and construction management services in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent. He joined Turner as a field engineer in the Detroit unit in the US in 1981, and then transferred to the international office in New York City to work as business development manager. In 1987, Odeh was assigned to Kuwait as a project engineer and was later promoted to project manager in 1993 and project executive in 1996. In 2000, he was appointed vice-president and general manager and in 2004 he moved to the firm’s offices in Dubai. Odeh has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Michigan in the US and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Contact Tel: (+971) 4 337 0990

Tim Page

Position: Group director, Buro Happold

Biography: Tim Page has more than 30 years’ experience as a design and project manager, working on various complex building and engineering schemes. Since joining the UK’s Buro Happold in 2001, he has helped deliver a number of major projects including a retail, commercial and residential development in Dubai; Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates Stadium in London; the Ascot Racecourse redevelopment in Berkshire and the Scunthorpe sports centre in the UK. In the Middle East, Page has led the company’s work on the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi and the Msheireb Downtown Doha scheme. Operating from Buro Happold’s Bath office in the UK, he leads the internal project management and project delivery teams, and specialises in delivering large, multi-discipline schemes. Page graduated with a bachelor of science degree from the University of Salford in the UK. He is a chartered engineer.

Contact Tel: (+971) 4 335 8180

Grigoris Christofides

Position: CEO, Arabtec Construction

Biography: Grigoris Christofides is the CEO of Arabtec Construction, a fully-owned subsidiary of Dubai-based Arabtec Holding, which won the main construction contract for phase 2 of the Downtown Doha project. Christofides began his career with US engineering and management firm Bechtel in 1986. In 1989, he joined the UK’s Ove Arup & Partners as a structural design engineer. In 1992, Christofides moved to the UAE and worked for the UK’s WS Atkins & Partners as a construction manager. He joined Arabtec Construction in 1996 as a project manager and served as an executive director from 2006. Christofides was appointed to his current position in March 2011. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in structural engineering from McGill University in Canada. Christofides also has a master’s degree in civil engineering from the Imperial College London.

Contact Tel: (+971) 4 340 0700

David Barwell

Position: Regional CEO, Aecom

Biography: David Barwell is regional CEO, Middle East, for the US-based Aecom, which serves as the master development consultant for the Msheireb Downtown Doha project along with Arup and urban planners Allies & Morrison, both of the UK. In this role, Barwell leads business activities across the Middle East in the fields of architecture, engineering and planning. He has been involved with technical professional services for more than 20 years in the UK, Australia, Asia and the Middle East. Before moving to the region, Barwell was the chief operating officer of Aecom in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining the firm, he was involved with the planning and design of urban mass transit systems in London, Hong Kong, Manila, Sydney and Brisbane. Barwell has an engineering degree from Brighton University in the UK and is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia.

Contact Tel: (+971) 2 613 4000

Daniel Hajjar 

Position: Senior vice-president, HOK

Biography: As senior vice-president and management principal for the US-based architecture, engineering and consulting firm HOK, Daniel Hajjar is responsible for managing and developing the firm’s portfolio of services within the Middle East and North Africa. HOK will lead the design of phase 4 of the Downtown Doha project, which consists of 12 buildings including commercial, retail, healthcare and residential facilities, a four-star hotel, civic buildings and public spaces. Hajjar is a registered architect with 25 years of experience in design, planning, architecture and project management. He has been based in Dubai since HOK set up its local office in 2000, and has led numerous masterplanning and architecture schemes in the region. Hajjar has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and environmental design/architecture, and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Manitoba in Canada.

Contact Tel: (+971) 4 382 6800

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