Saudi Arabia-based interior decoration specialist AlArabi Decoration and Construction Company is looking forward to a positive year in business after having created some of the most regal interiors for palaces and some of the larger projects in the kingdom and elsewhere in the Gulf.

It is also positioning itself strategically to win further business in the region through opening another office in Abu Dhabi.
With the revival of the construction boom in Saudi Arabia – fuelled by the sharp increase in oil prices – AlArabi is confident of a better year ahead.
“The boom in the kingdom has now started to take off, with construction under way on several high-rise buildings across the various cities,” says Renato Zimmerman, general manager. “It is a just of matter of a time that these projects reach their finishing stages and contractors will call upon our services.
“This year, we have set our eyes on maintaining our leadership position in the market and further expanding our business and enhancing the quality of our services. We are also gearing up to meet the increased demand for our services,” he adds.
Although the construction industry has been sluggish over the recent past, AlArabi has seen another year of growth and increased acceptance in the market.
AlArabi undertakes decorative gypsum, special painting and various artistic decoration works. The company was restructured last year into a limited company in a bid to make it stronger in the market, with well-defined areas of specialisation in gypsum-based decorative works as well as in special and artistic paintings.
The Jeddah-based firm, which started operations in 1982, has recently completed several projects of repute in the region. Among the projects in hand is the Dhahran Shopping City in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. AlArabi is now putting the finishing touches to the vaulted decorative gypsum false ceiling at the 6,000 sq m deluxe complex.
Work is also in progress on the supply and installation of gypsum suspended ceilings at the King Abdul Aziz Endowment for the Two Holy Mosques project in Makkah, says Zimmerman.
AlArabi has also recently completed the decorative gypsum work on the highly prestigious Phase II of the Jeddah Hilton, known as the Qasr Al Sharq – which is considered to be the largest hotel in the kingdom – and the Al Corniche Hotel.
Other recent projects include the 4,000 sq m Official Reception Building in Riyadh and the renovation of a royal palace in Obhor, Jeddah – both of which have been undertaken for Saudi Oger.
“AlArabi has become one of the leading major subcontractors of Saudi Arabia’s leading contracting firm the Saudi Oger,” Zimmerman continues. “It has worked on most of the royal palaces in Jeddah, Riyadh, Makkah, and elsewhere in the kingdom for this firm.”
Besides the kingdom, AlArabi has been involved in numerous decoration projects in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Some of its landmark international projects include the Casino du Liban in Beirut (Lebanon); Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); the new extension of the Meredien Hotel in Cairo (Egypt); the Royal Palace in Marbella (Spain) and the Marina Hotel and Shopping Mall in Kuwait.
The firm boasts a large team of professionals that include architects, artists, a dozen engineers and about 800 craftsmen. It has two manufacturing facilities – a 2,000 sq m workshop in Jeddah and another 1,500 sq m facility at the Riyadh branch.
Over the years, the company has expanded into some of the growing markets in the region through establishing offices at Kuwait – AlArabi International for Decoration, Kuwait, which started off operations in March last year and the AlArabi Decoration, Abu Dhabi, which is expected to start operations within a couple of months, he concludes.