It has been a year since we last spoke with Rafael Khanoyan, the CEO of the turnkey construction company Al Ryum. Back then we learned how this company, founded in Abu Dhabi in the 1980s, grew from a simple landscaping firm into a company capable of taking on the biggest and most prestigious projects in the region.
“The founder of the company wanted to support our late founder Sheikh Zayed’s vision to create a desert oasis as an entire country,” Khanoyan told us last time. “That is why Abu Dhabi is so green today. He wanted to build lush parks and roads, and that has expanded into all the other Emirates. We have planted millions of trees.”
As Al Ryum’s ambitions and creativity grew, so did the projects it carried out, gaining the capability to execute heavy infrastructure, MEP and civil developments. It diversified and established its own infrastructure and building departments, becoming the total solutions provider its clients could depend on.
Since we last spoke with Khanoyan, Al Ryum has been busy.
“It has been a very good year,” he told us. “From 2019 to 2022 the industry experienced major challenges, however by 2023 the market had picked up, and by 2024 we are working to capacity, and have doubled in size.”
To the Next Level
2024 has been the year that Al Ryum has capitalised on our portfolio of prestigious projects. As the development ambitions have substantially increased, Al Ryum has found itself in a position for exponential growth.
“Our clients have more volume of projects to deliver, however have less available supply change hence the volume of competent contractors increased dramatically,” Khanoyan points out.
Al Ryum has shown time and time again that it is ready to address those projects. It has delivered over 30 parks for the Department of Municipalities and Transport over the last year, multiple infrastructure and roads projects across the UAE; while also carrying out prestigious assignments such as Marsa al Arab in Dubai and the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi which will catalogue the life of United Arab Emirates’ late founder, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
“The Zayed National Museum is one of our most important projects,” Khanoyan says. “We were very proud to have been given that opportunity, it is the feather in our cap and a personal lifetime achievement. It will live on forever and carry on his legacy, a spectacular vision of which Al Ryum is honored to be a part of from the very first day.”
A project of this scale and prestige requires a slightly different approach to Al Ryum’s usual work, but before getting into that Khanoyan points out that its fundamentals are the same as any other commission.
“At the end of the day we execute and deliver all of our projects the same way,” he says. “We still go in with the same intention, to finish ahead of schedule, below budget and to the level of quality our client expects and deserves.”
But while Khanoyan is passionate about Al Ryum’s unyielding standards across all of its projects, there is no denying that one as prestigious as the Zayed National Museum merits special attention.
“Our board of directors and myself are very involved in this project because of what it represents,” Khanoyan says.
The project’s design demands an exceptional level of quality, while including elements that had never been seen in a construction project in the UAE before.
“The project requires a steep on-the-job learning curve, especially as it is for such a high profile, global monument, representing the founder of the best country in the world.” Khanoyan says. “We know that even during the course of the execution there will be aesthetic changes, so the final product might not look exactly like the design, and we have had to manage that efficiently. We have also had to manage all the stakeholders, the main contractor, the client, and the various consultants. It has required a great deal of coordination and attention to detail.”
The Talent Landscape
Of course, to carry out projects of this scale and ambition it is critical to have a dedicated and skilled workforce in place to carry out that work. At a time when a lot of mega projects are being executed in the region, that workforce is in high demand.
“With all the projects that are being executed in Saudi, it has absorbed a lot of professionals and labour,” Khanoyan acknowledges. “Many of these projects launched at the same time, so we have seen a turnover of staff that we haven’t seen since 2007.”
Khanoyan reports that when the company advertises a position, they get thousands of applications within the space of a single day – many of them from people working at Al Ryum’s competitors, but still looking for the next opportunity. It creates an environment where hanging on to talent is as much of a challenge as recruiting it.
“Fortunately, we have 5,000+ dedicated staff under our management, giving us room to manoeuvre,” Khanoyan says. “One thing that has supported us is our company culture. I am not only the CEO of Al Ryum, but it is a mandate that all senior management also get involved with the details. We are in the trenches with our teams on site, not sitting behind a desk.”
It is an approach that Khanoyan says makes a big difference, giving the company a family feel.
“Even after staff move on to new opportunities, we still communicate, we have executed miracles together and that can’t be forgotten or taken for granted.” Khanoyan says. “When I hear back from them the common sentiment is that Al Ryum will always be home, and many want to return. Our staff are our family, we spend more time with each other than our actual families, and we treat them as such. When someone needs help and support our doors are open.”
With that talent on board, and the culture that encourages it, Al Ryum is well positioned for the future. The company is in discussions for multiple major projects across the GCC that are set to kick off in 2025. These projects will see Al Ryum collaborating with major international companies from the United States and Europe in a joint venture.
“We are also offering to bring financing to the table to execute complete EPC finance solutions,” says Khanoyan. “We are bringing in some new innovative ideas to attract clients. We are also expanding our infrastructure portfolio because the last few years have been primarily focused on landscaping. By the end of next year, we expect our infrastructure and landscaping businesses to be equivalent to one another.”
Al Ryum has seen a strong recovery since the start of the pandemic and while the construction industry was severely affected, those who were able to survive have the opportunity to thrive in ways not seen since before the 2008 recession; but Khanoyan is keen to point out that Al Ryum’s strategy going forward will be enhancing the culture and professionalism that has been displayed over the 35+ year history. Advanced technology, Environmental and Sustainable Governance, and modern/efficient methods of execution are at the forefront of the companies’ ambitions while promoting the in-country value system, promoting UAE businesses.
“We have learned a lot about how to manage our ambitions and develop our profile,” Khanoyan shares. “We are able to win work, but most importantly we have focussed on delivery, making sure our clients are satisfied while still maintaining an acceptable bottom line. We are learning to manage higher volumes while maintaining our efficiency, staying on target to hit the $1 billion revenue mark.”
