Drake & Scull International announces further geographical expansion in the GCC

Drake & Scull International PJSC (DSI) has further progressed in its horizontal expansion plans through the establishment of its newest subsidiary, Drake & Scull International Oman (DSO), specialising in Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) contracting. The move will not only allow the company to further strengthen its presence across the Middle East and North Africa but will result in a greater flexibility to diversify its operations and backlog.

“Our focus over the last year has been to expand our business geographically and vertically, and the decision to diversify into Oman follows this very philosophy. In today’s challenging global economic environment, a well planned expansion strategy can help us reduce costs, gain access to new markets and talent pools, and most importantly can provide a healthy pipeline to fuel our company’s growth and shareholders’ return.” explained Khaldoun Tabari, CEO of DSI, “DSI has reached a stage where we have successfully gained a reputation as leading players in the MEP field within the UAE, and can now build upon this by transferring the skills and expertise which we have accumulated to other markets”.

Since the formation of DSO, the company has already been awarded its first contracts for two prestigious government projects worth a combined value of OMR 4.6 million (AED 44.2 million). DSO will undertake the complete MEP works for the Sohar Court Complex (SCC) located in Sohar and the Oman National Museum (ONM), strategically located at the footsteps of the Hajar Mountains in Muscat.

DSO will begin work immediately on SCC, which will include six court halls, judges and staff offices, a cafeteria, guard house and external plant room and is estimated to be completed within a period of 13 months. The company will simultaneously commence with the ONM project, which upon completion will display over 6000 years of the country’s history and culture, and will feature ten galleries, classrooms and studios as well as an indoor café. The ONM project completion handover date is 27th September 2011 and the museum is scheduled to open to the public on 11th November 2011.

DSI has previously worked with the Oman government on the development of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which has since come to be known as one of Oman’s most recognized and iconic landmarks.

“The value of projects in Oman that are set to go ahead in 2010 - at the prequalification, bid or engineering, procurement and construction stage - are estimated at USD 22 billion, highlighting the wealth of potential that the country has to offer,” concluded Tabari, “We are proud to have aligned ourselves with a project that holds such a significant cultural importance for Oman in the past and we hope that this trend will continue with our latest ventures”.