Project management expertise from Sweden is being offered throughout the Middle East through a joint venture based in Saudi Arabia.

Hifab Middle East Company is a Saudi Arabian joint venture managed by Hifab, a leading project management consulting group in Sweden, formed in 1947 and today active in more than 40 countries.

"An independent organisation that is owned by its employees, Hifab is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified and employs more than 400 engineers, technicians and specialists," says Ulf Blomdhal of Hifab Netcom, which is part of the Hifab group.

He continues: "The mission of the joint venture company is to provide professional project management services to private and governmental clients within the GCC. Hifab Middle East offers services for the telecommunication, civil and construction work and environmental projects."

For telecommunication projects, Hifab undertakes: general project management; prestudies and planning; project risk management; site acquisition management and services; detail design management; civil works management; procurement and cost control services; documentation management and services; QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) management; and training management and services.

Hifab has played a role in key telecommunication projects in Saudi Arabia over the years. It was involved in the TEP 1 project (with Philips and Ericsson) between 1980 and 1982, the $300 million GSME4 project (with Ericsson) between 2000 and 2001, and most recently, in October last year, Hifab Netcom signed a management contract with Ericsson for Saudi Arabia's GSM expansion project. "The $826 million project, named GSME5, calls for the expansion of the GSM network by adding some 600 BTS (base transceiver stations)," says Blomdhal. "Totally, Ericsson will install 2.8 million new mobile lines under a 15-month implementation period.

"The project which extends nationwide, calls for rapid rollout of infrastructure and involves approximately 550 new, 320 change-out and 1,100 upgrade sites. At present, the local operator STC (Saudi Telecom Company) has 2.2 million mobile lines."

For the project, Hifab Netcom is providing 50 engineers including 12 men who were involved in the GSME4 phase.

For civil and construciton projects, Hifab offers: general project management; project risk management; feasibility studies and planning; property management; surveying management; detail design management; civil works management; installation coordination; procurement and cost control services; QA/QC; and commissioning.

Projects of note in this field that Hifab has been involved with in the region include the Riyadh Sewage Treatment Plant in 1987-89, and Tomohar's vocational training project in Egypt, in 1985-87.

For environmental projects, Hifab specialises in: environmental investigations; identification of applicable laws and regulations; preparation of checklists; preparation of environmental programmes for organisations and projects; establishing control routines and documentation; control of the environmental work of contractors, suppliers and consultants.

Hifab Middle East is based in Riyadh.