A decrease in infrastructure spending by GCC governments on the back of constantly fluctuating oil prices has posed sizeable challenges for contractors over the last year. But Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), with a geographically diverse portfolio and over 130,000 employees at the moment, has become a frontrunner in tackling such concerns.
The Greece-based contractor was able to bag notable works in 2014, which includes the $10bn Riyadh Metro project, despite socio-economic upheavals in the region. The company is involved in more than 50 projects within the GCC, Africa, Australia, Kazakhstan, and Southeast Asia. CCC’s significant project wins in the GCC include the $3bn Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal in a joint venture with Arabtec and TAV, $300m roadworks in Oman, and the $4bn Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) Lower Fars heavy oil development with Petrofac.
The company’s other overseas projects include the $800m Abu Dhabi Plaza in Astana, Kazakhstan, in conjunction with Arabtec; projects in Basra, Iraq; power plant projects in Thailand; and pipelines in Australia.
The company ranks among the top 20 contractors in the Middle East, with revenues around $5bn recorded in 2014. Samer Khoury, son of CCC’s late founder Said Khoury, and president for engineering and construction at CCC, explains how diversification has helped his firm gain solid footing globally.
“We are present in 50 countries around the world. Diversifying our portfolio is the only solution for such challenging times.
“Owing to [our] project wins, we expect our margins to improve in 2015 as compared to last year. It is still early to comment, but hopefully, we will perform well.”
Born in the north of Palestine in 1923, Said Khoury emigrated with his family to nearby Lebanon as a result of the 1948 Israeli-Arab war. In 1952, he joined hands with his brother-in-law Haseeb Sabbagh, and Kamel Abdul Rahman, to establish CCC in Beirut.
Khoury’s three sons now sit on CCC’s board and play an active role in running the company. Wael Khoury supports Samer as the chairman and president of CCC’s petroleum and minerals division, while Tawfic Khoury is CCC’s current executive vice-chairman.
“Our father pretty much handed us over the business 10 years ago, to make sure that we are on the right track,” Khoury says, adding the firm’s operations remain broadly similar despite his father’s death in 2014 because CCC’s management team is unchanged.
