Construction consultancy Atkins says mega projects in Saudi Arabia are driving growth in business
UK-headquartered construction consultancy Atkins is looking to double the headcount of its recently opened office in Riyadh by the end of 2019.
Adrian Lindon, the company's managing director for engineering, design, and project management in the Middle East and Africa, told Construction Week that the growth is being driven by ongoing work on megaprojects such as Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) and the Diriyah Gate development.
Lindon said: “[Our] office in Riyadh has already grown just this year up to 60 staff in the design business alone,” he said, adding that figure stands at 120 after including the staff of Faithful+Gould, a project management consultancy that is part of the Atkins business.
“We’re looking at [...] probably doubling the headcount in the [Riyadh] office by the end of the year.”
Atkins, which is also working on Saudi Arabian construction projects such as Riyadh Metro and Mall of Saudi, announced the inauguration of its 1,500 sq m office at Hamad Tower, located on Riyadh’s King Fahd Road, in March.
Lindon said gigaprojects were driving Atkins' growth in the kingdom, adding that the company was “also looking at Qiddiya, Neom, Amaala, and The Red Sea Project".
He added: “We have done quite a bit of work in the kingdom already, but, we are now really seeing a push for growth, driven by the key gigaprojects.”
The Atkins businesses are part of Canada-headquartered SNC-Lavalin Group.
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