Saudi Arabia construction

28 January 2013

Six executives involved in the expansion of King Abdulaziz International airport in Jeddah: Faisal al-Sugair, Bakr Binladin, Joseph Daher, Mustafa Sani Sener, Samer Khoury and Hani Yamout

Faisal al-Sugair

Position: Vice-president, General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca)

Biography: Faisal al-Sugair has been the vice-president since November 2011 of Gaca, the client overseeing the expansion of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He previously served as president of Gaca following his appointment in March 2011. Before that, Al-Sugair was general manager for corporate business development at the local Al-Muhaidib Group. He is a former vice-president for business development at the local Advanced Electronic Company. Al-Sugair was the associate professor of civil engineering and chairman of the department of civil engineering at King Saud University in Riyadh. During his time at the university, he advised the Civil Defence Authority on the planning and design of aircraft shelters. Al-Sugair graduated with a doctorate degree in civil/structural engineering from Stanford University in the US in 1988.

Contact Tel: (+966) 2 640 5000

Bakr Binladin

Position: Chairman, Saudi Binladin Group (SBG)

Biography: Bakr Binladin is the chairman of SBG, the main contractor working on the Jeddah airport expansion. SBG was founded by Bakr’s father, Mohammed Binladin, in Jeddah in the 1950s, and has emerged as one of the region’s biggest contractors. Bakr has run the company since taking over from his eldest brother, Salem, who was killed in a plane crash in 1988. In 2010, SBG was awarded two contracts totalling about SR25bn ($6.7bn) to build the new terminal and major infrastructure for Jeddah airport. For the first contract, SBG is building a 600,000-square-metre terminal that will be able to handle 30 million passengers each year once complete. The other deal covers the infrastructure and involves designing and building runways, tunnels, landscaping and a light rail system. Bakr graduated in 1972 from the University of Miami and attended Harvard Law School, both in the US.

Contact Tel: (+966) 2 664 3033

Joseph Daher

Position: Executive vice-president of operations, Almabani General Contractors

Biography: Joseph Daher has been executive vice-president of operations at the local Almabani General Contractors since 2006. Almabani was awarded major construction packages on the Jeddah airport expansion in 2009 and is one of the main contractors on the scheme. In June 2012, Almabani also won a contract to build a new apron at King Khalid International airport in Riyadh. Daher joined Almabani in 1979, and as one of his first major projects was appointed site manager for the King Abdulaziz Military Academy project in Salboukh. Between 1986 and 1989, he headed the scheme to build aircraft shelters for the Saudi Royal Air Force. In 2000, Daher was appointed projects director for Almabani’s airport projects, which mainly include work for Gaca. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the American University of Beirut in 1979.

Contact Tel: (+966) 2 614 7800

Mustafa Sani Sener

Position: President and chief executive officer (CEO), TAV Airports Holding and TAV Construction

Biography: Mustafa Sani Sener has been president and CEO of Turkey’s TAV Airports Holding and TAV Construction since 1997. In April 2012, TAV, in joint venture with UAE/Australian Habtoor Leighton, was awarded the contract by Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries to build the aircraft maintenance, repair and operation facility for the Jeddah airport expansion. Prior to his current role, Sener worked as project manager and general manager on several national and international construction projects. These included housing schemes, energy plants and roads. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Black Sea Technical University in Turkey in 1977. Sener also has a master’s degree in fluid mechanics from the department of applied sciences at the University of Sussex in the UK.

Contact Tel: (+90) 212 463 3000

Samer Khoury

Position: President of engineering and construction, Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC)

Biography: Samer Khoury is president of engineering and construction for Athens-based CCC, which in 2011 won a major contract for landside and airside construction works at the Jeddah airport expansion. From 1987-90, Khoury was in charge of more than 1,000 permanent staff as head of operations for CCC in Kuwait. In 1990, he moved to the firm’s headquarters in Greece, and became executive vice-president of operations in 1997. Khoury is a board and committee member of several associations, including the Palestinian Investment Fund, which aims to encourage investment in the telecoms, power, tourism, real estate and finance sectors in the Occupied Territories. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering from California State University in the US in 1981.

Contact Tel: (+30) 210 618 2000

Hani Yamout

Position: Senior associate, Dar al-Handasah Saudi Arabia

Biography: Hani Yamout is a senior associate for Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah in Saudi Arabia, which is the project manager for the Jeddah airport expansion scheme. Appointed in 2007, Dar al-Handasah is providing overall planning services, control of design and construction works and supervision of all construction on the project. Yamout joined Dar al-Handasah in 2000 from the Lebanese Company for the Reconstruction & Development of Central Beirut (Solidere), where he was a project manager from 1994 to 1999. He graduated with a diploma in architecture from Ecole Speciale d’Architecture in Paris in 1989. Dar al-Handasah has worked on several major airport schemes in the region, including the expansion of Dubai International airport. In 2011, the firm was awarded a design contract for the expansion of Bahrain International airport. 

Contact Tel: (+966) 2 653 3416

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