Construction firm EEI Corp. is diversifying into civil works in Saudi Arabia where it is constructing a gigantic city called Neom.
“We need to reinvent ourselves in terms of the business that we’re doing in Saudi Arabia,” Henry Dizon Antonio, company CEO, said.
Antonio said oil and gas as mainstay projects in the region are starting to wane.
He said Saudi Arabia is already laying the groundwork for a hydrogen supply chain with the gas touted as potential alternative to the fossil-based petroleum products.
“A lot of the Saudi development plan on energy is associated to developing the supply chain on hydrogen. So that’s a lot of the projects we’re doing right now,” he said.
On civil works, Antonio said Saudi Arabia requires a lot for such work as buildings and warehouses, specially now when it is building the Neom, which is also related to the kingdom’s plan to reduce its economic dependence on oil and develop other sectors like the technology sector.
“Traditionally, we haven’t done that in Saudi, at least not in a big way. One of the things we have to look into in our next series to develop at least one or two teams to start the civil works there,” he said.
Antonio said he agreed with his partners on the need to develop several themes to help out in the civil component of business.