The gigantic 16-metre reproduction of the World Cup mascot La’Ebb, which took part in the opening ceremony, will not be the only work of an Alicante company that will be enjoyed by visitors. Train On the occasion of football event these days. In addition to the impressive puppet of Sanvicentera focus carssome of these visitors are likely to eventually end up in one of these places: Hotels or pass by any infrastructure for more than ten years Alicante construction company Ecisa was built in the Arab country.
A journey that started a short time ago bursting of the real estate bubble The subsidiary company they created in Spain and this emirate allowed them to leave Alicante until they left the firm once and for all. legacy of more than a dozen projects four prominent sizes Impressive skyscrapers up to 53 floors high that is part of today skyline qatari
And this kind of building and especially more than 30 towers so throughout history Firm founded by Manuel Peláez has built Benidorm —almost a third of the tallest buildings in the city bear his imprint—there was a lot to do with the decision to make that leap into the Persian Gulf.
It was 2007, and although the bubble had not yet burst, it was already beginning to be anticipated what might happen a few months later. That’s when those responsible for Ecisa decided. get out in search of new markets that will enable him to navigate the coming storm. However, the choice was not easy.
” value added It was this experience that we were able to contribute to and what set us apart the most. skyscraper construction and not much is being built in Europe,” he recalls. Enrique Pelaez He is the head of Peláez Consulting alongside Ecisa’s founder’s son, Peláez Consulting, who has the responsibility to realize this international expansion and has been owned by Grupo Urbas since the founding family left the company’s shareholding. His brother javier pelaez.
Options
Peláez has toured the following countries for months: Morocco, Algeria, Libya anyone Dubai analyze the construction market until the end Train. Although Algeria would later have another foreign market, they initially excluded the Maghreb because of the huge weight of the public sector in business and the complexity this implied. Therefore, the discussion focused on the Persian Gulf countries. «Much has already been done in Dubai, While Qatar was a bit behind in this transformation that the countries of the region are doing, not much has been built yet and we saw more opportunities,” the businessman recalls.
At the time, it was not yet known whether the small emirate would host the World Cup – the designation as the venue was made in 2010 – but it already existed master plan with the main development lines that the country wants to start with the 2030 horizon.
Also, Pelaez local partner -a basic requirement to be able to operate in the country- Khaled Almarzuki, A businessman close to the royal family who helped him “understand the country and make his first contacts”.
Interestingly, and although his stronghold is skyscrapers, first project Those from Ecisa in Qatar had nothing to do with these buildings. Nothing more: the company was given the construction of a new one Kingdom Military Academy and the attached sports field for around 41 euros.
Despite the apparent contradiction, Enrique Peláez points out that this is lucky, because The contractor of the works was the Special Engineering Office. (PEO), the emir’s private office. open wide market country later if they succeed. And they understood.
Among other things, because during the execution of works the design the air conditioning system would not have the necessary power for an enclosure of these dimensions. It could have been fatal due to the delay it would cause, but Ecisa has been redesigned the project and in the emir’s office they were so satisfied that they did not even apply the prescribed penalties to the project in case of delay in such a contract.
As if that wasn’t enough, his second client was also Qatar Foundation, a powerful non-profit organization tasked by the Qatari government with transforming the country’s economy from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based one. They built two giant data centers for around 100 million euros. “had two of the most respected customers what we could have in the country and that helped us a lot”, he now reassures as a consultant.
From there contracts of private companies started coming in… And skyscrapers. The first project of this kind, bin samikh towera building 45 plants and 220 meters high, it was intended to house a hotel managed by Meliá in its early years.
Then came the commissions. Waldorf Astoria, Also known as the Buzwair Tower, named after Sheikh, the contractor behind the building. Saad Mohammed Fahad Buzvair. another giant 45 plants Trying to reproduce the aesthetic art deco The original Waldorf Astoria, completed in 1931 on Park Avenue in New York. A work with a budget of more than 120 million euros.
Room JW Marriottin total 53 height and a half-height outdoor swimming pool protruding from its façade. A 120,000 square meter building was built. Finally, Ecisa is also the responsibility of the complex. Mercure hotel“only” 22 stories, something more modest in size.
These projects have also been added to the commitments of various residential complexes. Bilal Square or three apartment towers PearlAn artificial island around Doha, the capital of Qatar.
partner change
Along the way, Ecisa changed local partners. It was in 2014, alfia backgroundLed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir’s brotherHe took over from the first ally of the people of Alicante in the Qatar subsidiary and He also became a partner in the company in Spain with 25%. will be a percentage As of 2017, the majority When it was decided to separate the subsidiary of the Arab country from its parent company, which is directly controlled by the Al Thani fund.
Works undertaken by Ecisa in total at this stage It came to add 700 million euros, According to calculations by Enrique Peláez. But the businessman points more to what this expansion is than the number. allowed the company to survive and it will not disappear like many companies in the sector at that time. Although yes, the final price to pay was the departure of the company’s founding family, and Al Alfia sold to Grupo Urbas for a share in 2021.
Meanwhile, Ecisa Came to employ more than 1,500 people in Qatar, as reminded by the former managing director of the subsidiary, louis andreu. Among them were about 30 Spaniards who traveled from Alicante to pass on all the knowledge and experience of the firm.
The main problem faced by the team is not of technical nature, but rather the lack of specialized workforce and above all, bureaucratic complexity that slows down every step that needs to be taken.
Despite criticism sparked by the World Cup celebrations for the regime’s failure to respect women’s rights or the LGTBIQ collective, Andreu assures that everyone present at that stage fondly remembers their stay in the country. Among other things, because they are clear about the cultural differences they will encounter and which are common to all countries in the region. And above all they are proud of the legacy they left there.
Marble accounts for most of Alicante’s exports to the country.
Beyond the Carros de Foc’s inauguration presence and Ecisa’s legacy, the province’s main relationship with Qatar is through the marble industry, a material highly appreciated in the Muslim world. In this way, of the few 11.1 million sales made by companies in Alicante in this Arab emirate, up to 4.8 million -43% – corresponded to shipments of processed natural stone. “For us, the entire Arab world is a classic market. In fact, this region, along with the United States, is one of our main markets abroad”, states David Beltrá, president of the Alicante Marble Association from Novel. The use of this material, which is considered a symbol of luxury, in the noble quarters of all public buildings is common, so the quality and therefore the price of the products sent is above the average.
The country does not have significant quarries of its own, so it imports all the marble it needs from Turkey, Egypt and Spain, among other production centers around the world. In the case of Spain, the province has a particular preference for the ivory-cream color from its quarries, but they also consume brown well, according to Beltrá, who points out that there are companies that currently have staff. Sent to Qatar to benefit and build relationships on the occasion of World Cup celebrations.
In addition to marble, shoes, toys and furniture have an important place in Alicante’s exports to the country, with approximately 2 million euros last year. Around 650 thousand euros of fruit were also sent, among which citrus and pomegranate stand out. Regarding direct imports, plastic polymers are the most voluminous item – although not reaching one million – according to Icex’s data.
Source: Informacion
James Sean is a writer for “Social Bites”. He covers a wide range of topics, bringing the latest news and developments to his readers. With a keen sense of what’s important and a passion for writing, James delivers unique and insightful articles that keep his readers informed and engaged.