Interview with D.G. Jones, one of the top construction consultancy companies in Egypt

Interview with Mohammad Halabi, Managing Director of D.G. Jones and Partners (Egypt)

What is your personal evaluation of the business environment in Egypt at the end of 2014?

Generally speaking, doing business in Egypt is not the easiest of things. I’m not saying it is very difficult but there is a certain amount of bureaucratic procedure to go through. I won’t talk a lot about corruption, but obviously that is something to be considered. However, once you are established here, you get used to all the pitfalls. After a while, it’s like doing business anywhere else in the world.

What is your assessment of the current state of your sector, which in general terms would be Construction and Contracting, with your specialty in Consultation?

At the moment the construction sector in Egypt is going through a lot of turmoil. The new government has introduced a lot of new decrees that are affecting the construction industry. Contractors in particular are very hard hit. The increase in fuel prices have pushed up all the costs. In Egypt in general inflation is a bit high. High inflation has an obvious effect on the construction industry. However, I must say the outlook is promising but I think we have to wait awhile before it really takes off.

Given the turmoil, did a lot of projects stall? Are they re-starting work on them?

In 2010, a lot of new projects were sold. Foreign investors were waiting for things to normalize again. A lot of those projects will start again. That’s why I say the prospects are good.

As to your company, D.G. Jones and Partners, you have many offices across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as far as Southeast Asia and Australia. That’s basically all around the world. You specialize in construction cost control and quantity surveying. How would you describe your presence in Egypt?

We have had a permanent presence in Egypt for the past 15 years. We have worked with almost all the developers and investors. Particularly with the big names that came in from the Gulf. We have worked with Emaar, Al Futtaim and MAF. We are now working with Qatari Diar, who are our major clients right now. We tend to be of better service to the larger projects. We at D. G. Jones and Partners are very specialized. We offer a very specialized service called Cost Management or Cost Consultancy. It is big projects with a lot of money involved that get the real value of cost management. It is a turnkey service. We are involved with the investor from inception through delivery of a project. We watch and track what is most important to the investor, where the money is going. We offer the investor insights on how much the project is going to cost and how to best manage the money. The two major phases of any construction project are the pre-contract and the post-contract periods. We offer cost management services through both phases.

Apart from cost consultancy, what other activities are you involved in, here in Egypt?

Currently, we also offer other specialized services like claims management and contract administration. Our plans for the near future include offering more specialized services geared to the construction industry in Egypt. D. G. Jones and Partners is increasingly involved in Project Management around the world. We would like to offer this expertise to our clientele in Egypt. That means we get involved in project management as a whole, not just one specialized area.

What are the main projects you are currently working on in Egypt? You did mention that your staff is presently on site in two different projects.

We are providing cost consultancy services to Emaar on one of the largest projects in Cairo. It is called Uptown Cairo. It is partially finished and still under construction. It’s one of the largest building projects in Cairo. We are also consultants to Qatari Diyar on the St. Regis Hotel on the Corniche in Cairo. Again, this is a very large project. There are more large projects in the pipeline that I cannot mention by name now, but they are huge projects.

What is your strategy for next year, 2015/ where would you like to see the company?

For the next year or two, I want to try and turn our focus away from the traditional services that we are known for, like quantity surveying and contract administration. We would like to offer new services, in the areas of project management and facilities management. However, we cannot steer too far from our fundamental role, which is cost consultancy.

What is your clients’ view of your company? Are they recommending D. G. Jones to others, abroad and here in Egypt?

Here in Egypt we will start participating in specialized real estate trade exhibitions. This will put us closer to the investors. For the time being, our name recognition is mainly word of mouth. Because we are a well-established company, a lot of major players in the market already know about us. I can’t say I’m fully satisfied with it, but we are working on it.

How do you differentiate yourself from other companies in your particular sector? What are your strengths?

I think our strong local knowledge gives us the edge over our competition. We have been here long enough to know how things work in Egypt and how much things cost, particularly in our industry. When an investor or developer comes to us, we are offering our experience and hands on expertise.

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