The enormous 16‑meter replica of the World Cup mascot La’Ebb, which participated in the opening ceremony, was only the most visible sign of a broader surge from an Alicante company eagerly awaited during football celebrations. On the map were plans to showcase a string of future projects and visitors who might eventually find themselves in hotels or other facilities built by Ecisa, the Alicante construction firm that spread its wings to an Arab market.
A journey that began just as the real estate bubble began to swell led to a Spanish subsidiary and a formal branch in the Gulf. The move allowed Ecisa to cast off the old guard from Alicante and leave a lasting legacy across more than a dozen projects. Impressive structures rose, including skyscrapers reaching up to 53 floors, shaping today’s skyline in Qatar. The ambition extended to more than 30 towers scattered throughout the region, marking a bold step from a firm rooted in Benidorm and famous for its tall-building expertise.
The year was 2007. Even before the bubble burst, there was talk of what might lie ahead. Those at Ecisa chose to pursue new markets that would help navigate the coming storm, even though the decision carried risk.
What set the firm apart, according to Enrique Peláez, Ecisa’s founder’s son, was the value added by their skyscraper know‑how and the rare European focus on tall structures. As head of Peláez Consulting, he drove international expansion after the founding family exited the company. His brother Javier Peláez also played a role in steering the company through a transforming landscape.
Options
Peláez spent months surveying markets in Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Dubai, assessing the construction climate for a potential expansion. While Algeria later became a prospective market, the Maghreb was initially set aside due to the public sector’s weight and the complexity it implied. Attention turned to the Persian Gulf, where Dubai had already seen activity and Qatar seemed earlier in its transformation—but with clear opportunities emerging, the focus shifted there. When recalling the period, the executive notes that Qatar offered more room to grow.
At the time, it was unclear whether the small emirate would host the World Cup—the designation came in 2010—but the master plan already outlined the main development lines aimed at a 2030 horizon.
Key local partners helped Ecisa operate successfully. Khaled Almarzuki, a businessman close to the royal circle, became a pivotal contact, helping the team understand the country and establish initial connections.
Interestingly, although Ecisa is renowned for skyscrapers, its first project in Qatar did not involve such buildings. The company was awarded the construction of a new Kingdom Military Academy and an associated sports facility for around 41 million euros.
Ecisa later landed large contracts through an open approach to the market. The Special Engineering Office (PEO), the emir’s private office, was a key client that showed confidence in Ecisa’s capacity to handle large and complex works. Designers faced a potential hurdle—the air-conditioning system for spaces of that size needed more power than initially planned. Ecisa redesigned the system, and government offices were so satisfied with the outcome that penalties for delays were never applied.
Another major client was Qatar Foundation, a powerful nonprofit tasked by the government with diversifying the economy from oil toward knowledge. The firm built two large data centers for roughly 100 million euros, a move Peláez describes as evidence of having two of the most respected customers in the country, which greatly aided future work.
Private clients followed, and tall towers became a hallmark. The Bin Samikh tower, rising 45 floors and 220 meters high, was intended to host a Melia‑managed hotel in its early plans. Subsequent commissions included the Waldorf Astoria project, also known as the Buzwair Tower, named for Saad Mohammed Fahad Buzwaid. This building, with about 45 floors, echoed the art deco elegance of the original Waldorf Astoria in New York, with a budget surpassing 120 million euros.
Ecisa’s portfolio expanded with more residences, such as Bilal Square and the Pearl complex on artificial islands near Doha.
Partner changes
Over time, Ecisa shifted local partnerships. In 2014, Alfia Background, led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, took over as the Emir’s ally in Qatar and became a partner in the Spanish operations as well, holding a 25% stake. By 2017 the subsidiary in Qatar was separated from its parent, with ownership leaning toward the Al Thani fund.
Total Ecisa projects reached around 700 million euros at that stage, according to Enrique Peláez. The expansion helped the firm survive a tough period that saw many peers exit the market, though the founding family would eventually sell to Grupo Urbas in 2021.
Listed as Urbas eventually acquired Ecisa fully, with Al Alfia gaining access to Ecisa’s shares in a strategic reorganization.
In Qatar, Ecisa employed more than 1,500 people, including about 30 Spaniards who moved from Alicante to share knowledge and experience. The main challenge was not technical but rather the shortage of skilled labor and, above all, bureaucratic hurdles that slowed progress.
Despite criticism surrounding the World Cup celebrations and concerns about rights, the team from that era looks back with pride at the work and the cultural lessons learned. The experience left a lasting legacy in Qatar, and the connections forged there continued to influence the firm’s approach to international markets.
Marble exports from Alicante formed a major link with Qatar. The region shipped roughly 4.8 million euros in processed natural stone, about 43% of its total 11.1 million euros in sales to Qatar. The industry’s hallmark material is a luxury symbol used in public buildings across the Arab world. The region imports marble from Turkey, Egypt, and Spain, with Alicante’s ivory‑cream and brown well colors being particularly favored. Other exports from the province included shoes, toys, and furniture, totaling around 2 million euros, plus roughly 650 thousand euros of fruit like citrus and pomegranate. Plastic polymers were among the leading imports, though the scale did not reach one million euros according to trade data.