Bechtel, a leading engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, has announced the opening of a new regional headquarters in the heart of Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh.

Bechtel held a ribbon-cutting ceremony where Craig Albert, president and chief operating officer at Bechtel, said: “This new regional headquarters reflects our strong and long-standing commitment to our customers and partners in the region. For 80 years, Bechtel has provided training and development opportunities for the local workforce and strengthened local businesses. We are proud to build on this progress as we advance these transformational projects together.”

Bechtel has delivered some of the world’s most ambitious projects in Saudi Arabia. Current projects where Bechtel is applying its 125 years of expertise include Jubail, Ma'aden, NEOM, Trojena, the Riyadh Metro Project, and most recently, New Murabba. The new office will accommodate Bechtel’s growing team, which will help deliver these iconic projects.

At the launch event, Albert was joined by Hassan Al-Duhaim, senior adviser to the Minister of Investment, and Abdul-Rahman Al-Ghabban, vice president at Bechtel Infrastructure.

Al-Ghabban said: “Just last week, we celebrated Saudi National Day, which recognizes the unification of the Kingdom, and today we mark this important expansion of Bechtel’s presence that will play a role in the Kingdom’s continued success.”

Bechtel’s history in the Kingdom began in 1945 when it completed its first project, the Ras Tanura Refinery 1. Since then, Bechtel has completed or is currently working on over 300 projects in the Kingdom, including the Riyadh Metro Project that will provide an efficient and sustainable means of commuting for residents and visitors.

Bechtel, which celebrates its 80th anniversary working in the Kingdom this year, has nearly 3,000 professional staff working on projects, and continues to employ growing numbers of women and locals working at projects like NEOM, where more than 50 percent of women on the project are Saudi nationals.