SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., is opening its regional head office for the Middle East and Africa in Abu Dhabi. The opening of the office, an important milestone in SNC-Lavalin's development, coincides with a contract the company recently signed with Ma'aden in Saudi Arabia.
Estimated at USD $500 million, the contract includes the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up of a three-line 15,150-metric-tonne/d sulphuric acid plant.
"With estimated GDP growth of over 5.6% per year until 2018, and with major projects in the infrastructure, oil and gas, mining and power sectors, the Middle East region offers significant development opportunities for SNC-Lavalin," CEO and President of SNC-Lanvin, Rober G. Card said. "This is a target region for the Group's activities, and the opening of this regional head office is an indication of our intention to expand our activities and make important contributions in this region."
The Middle East and Africa region contributes significantly to the business volume of the company's mining & metallurgy and oil & gas business units (18% and 25% respectively as of December 2012). In December 2013, the company had more than 3,000 employees across the Middle East and Africa. "The opening of this regional head office will allow us to strengthen our client relationships, expand our commercial opportunities and have the best business platform to deliver projects according to clients' expectations," Christian Jacqui, executive vice-president, global operations, SNC-Lavalin said.
Under the leadership of Ziad Awad, senior vice-president and regional head for the Middle East and Africa, this office will work closely with existing offices across the region, specifically in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
SNC-Lavalin is already present in the Middle East through major projects. Having installed cooling equipment with more than 530,000 refrigeration-tonnes of capacity, primarily in the Middle East, SNC-Lavalin has become the main supplier of district cooling solutions in the world. The Group has also recently been awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the Dubai subway cooling system project.
SNC-Lavalin is also a leader in the region's metallurgy sector, particularly as a result of the DUBAL aluminum smelter expansion project in Dubai and, more recently, the EMAL II aluminum smelter project in Abu Dhabi. The EMAL aluminum smelter complex is one of the largest in the world, with a production capacity of 1.35 million tonnes per year.
In Saudi Arabia, the general engineering services (GES+) contract between SNC-Lavalin and Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producer, is a recognition of the Company's ability to create value in the Kingdom by supporting its world-class oil and gas projects and pairing its expertise with that of its Saudi partners.