SAUDI Arabian general contractor Global Vision is poised to spread its wings across the Gulf as it looks to tap into the region’s business potential.

“We plan to expand in the contracting sector and open new offices in Qatar and Bahrain, in line with our vision and business trends in the region,” says Mohammed Ahmed Al Saad, the services and operations manager of the company.

World-class ... a September 2010 construction snapshot of one of the colleges at Princess Nora University.

Established eight years ago, Global Vision has its headquarters in Al Khobar with branch offices in Riyadh and Al Ahsa within the kingdom. From these offices, the company serves the Saudi construction market with “all kinds of contracting work” including design, manufacturing, supply and installation services, says Al Saad.

“We have consistently raised the bar in terms of quality and accuracy in design and implementation of projects,” he adds.

Global Vision has worked on several major projects within Saudi Arabia and its portfolio includes the Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, where it worked on the housing for the university’s faculty, the King Abdullah Financial District (KFAD), also in Riyadh, the Al Kifah Factory in Al Ahsa, AlMajdouie Motors, and a charity project for Sheikh Abdullah Fouad, whose diversified business group’s activities include manufacturing, engineering, computing, service, real estate, investment and commercial trading.

Commenting on the company’s performance over the last year, Al Saad says that the company has held its own despite the tough business environment.

“Our business has been satisfactory to a great extent. Though the Saudi market has been affected by the global economic downturn, our business has not been hurt as the government has been pumping large sums of money into the construction sector and towards the development of large projects in the Middle East,” he says.

He continues: “Also, the labour market in Saudi Arabia has been more stable this year compared to previous years, thanks to the government’s efforts to support this sector.”

Al Saad says that the construction industry is witnessing “significant development” across the region in general and in Saudi Arabia in particular both in terms of stature and technology.

“For example, the Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University is the largest of its kind in the Middle East in terms of size and capacity, and it is being constructed using technology that’s state of the art,” he says. “This university is a testament to the quality of construction that’s found today in large projects across the region and highlights the increasing demand for cutting-edge technology and the latest trends in design. Projects such as these will encourage other developers and builders from within and outside the country to embark on new challenges in the coming years.”

Looking ahead, Al Saad says that as Global Vision expands, the company will seek to maintain an edge over the competition by raising the bar on quality, right from the planning stage through to the completion and delivery of projects to its clients.

“We will continue to aspire for international standards in quality and project management,” he concludes.