EEI Corporation, a member of the Yuchengco Group, is seeking to diversify from its main line of EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) work for the petroleum industry into civil works in the Middle East where there is growing demand for the construction of buildings and infrastructure.
In an interview, EEI President Henry D. Antonio said “in Saudi, there's a lot of development going on…They're transitioning their energy plan, they're building a lot of ammonia plants… to prepare them for the next wave of energy sustainability."
He noted that “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 though that, “there's a lot of demand for civil work also. So, buildings and warehouses. So traditionally, we haven't done that in Saudi, at least not in a big way."
“So one of the things have to look into is to develop at least one or two teams to start the civil work (business)… I met with a number of Saudi business leaders. And that's one of the things that they're saying, we need a lot of help in construction and civil construction," he added.
Antonio said a project called Neon City is being developed on the south side of Saudi Arabia and it is envisioned to be like the new Dubai.
“There is a lot of infrastructure and buildings that will be built there…So we're really looking at it and we've agreed with our partners that we probably need to develop several teams to go there to help out,” he added.
Antonio explained that they need to diversify “because the oil and gas business will probably start slowing down over the next decade and we need to reinvent ourselves in terms of (what) we're doing in Saudi Arabia.”
In 1974, EEI first ventured in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has since won major contracts in Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Libya, Brunei, Qatar, Malaysia, New Caledonia, and Singapore for large-scale industrial projects including petroleum refineries, power plants, and industrial installations.
EEI maintains its presence in some foreign markets through alliances with domestic partners. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, EEI forged a joint venture with engineering and construction giant Al-Rushaid Petroleum Investment Group of Companies and formed Al Rushaid Construction Company, Ltd. (ARCC), which has implemented numerous projects in its more than 20 years of existence.