AECOM’s multi-award-winning MEP team has been active in the Middle East since 1948. Since then, the team has had a significant impact as they deliver some of the region’s most transformative projects. The team is mainly situated in Abu Dhabi and has extensive expertise in providing practical and technically superior MEP solutions, especially for intricate challenges.
The team is led by Operations Director, Reid Donovan and Technical Directors, Jonathan Roberts and Srinivas Reddy. The team has a strong pool of Associates and Senior Associate Directors who have built their careers with AECOM. The team comprises dynamic building services engineers and specialists in sustainability, acoustics, fire life safety and digital design. Supporting all of AECOM’s building services projects, these specialists provide a comprehensive mechanical, electrical engineering, public health and specialist design consultancy service.
The team’s key projects include a confidential hotel and residences in the UAE and two confidential projects in Saudi Arabia: a mixed-use development and a high-end retail facility. Both these developments are set to transform the Kingdom’s leisure and tourism offerings. AECOM provides full design services for all these large-scale projects from the concept stage through construction.
The team now comprises over 150 members, each bringing their unique perspectives and experiences. Supported by AECOM’s Enterprise Capability team, diversity and inclusion are not just buzzwords; they’re at the heart of our hiring agenda. The team is actively working to increase female talent, with the current team standing at 10% female. Specific mentoring programs have been established to identify high potential female talent for senior positions, and the graduate program has attracted more women, year-on-year.
This year has seen a further intake of building services graduates, ensuring many of these are local to the UAE. AECOM is showing young Emirati graduates the benefits of working in the private sector, offering them exposure to international projects and a wealth of dedicated and diverse opportunities. Several of the past graduates have been promoted to fully-fledged engineers this year.
The caliber of talent in our team is not just a claim, it’s proven by industry contributions and awards received over the last few years. For example, Mostafa AboElkheir recently won Mechanical Engineer of the Year at CBNME’s MEP Awards 2024. This achievement is not just a one-time success; it’s the second year running for AECOM staff as last year Rime Harajly, who began her career with AECOM as a graduate, received Mechanical Engineer of the Year. Rime was recently promoted to an Associate, making her the youngest Associate in the buildings services department. Looking at junior talent, Alya Alhosani, a Graduate Electrical Engineer, recently won a NAFIS Award in the engineering category for her contribution to the industry in her home country of the UAE.
Many team members are focused on supporting the improvement of the industry and have been long-standing members of CIBSE. Last year, Reid Donovan received a CIBSE bronze medal for his 30 years of service to improving the building services engineering industry. He also played an active part in setting up the CIBSE UAE Chapter in 2014 and previously chaired the committee. Reid still plays a vital role on the committee, mentoring candidates through MCIBSE/CEng applications. Within AECOM, he is leading a scheme to mentor team members, and currently, a high percentage are either already chartered or nearing achievement. Our Director of Innovation and ESG, Farah Naz, has also played a pivotal role in championing CIBSE as a past Chair.
Now in its third year, AECOM’s Sustainable Legacies strategy is not just a strategy, it’s a commitment. It’s changing how the team does business, listening to clients and communities to offer end-to-end support that delivers lasting change. AECOM’s place as an ESG leader in the region is not just a title, it’s a responsibility, proved by their recognition at the ME Sustainability Innovation Awards, as the Green Consultant of the Year for the second year running.
In keeping with the philosophy of the circular economy, AECOM focuses on reducing the consumption of primary resources by designing optimized buildings that result in reduced energy and water usage. AECOM designs include analysis of technologies, controls, on-site generation and water reuse on a project-by-project basis. In keeping with this approach, AECOM implements design solutions to capture waste energy to be utilized to serve other processes within the building.
Named as one of the top MEP Consultancies in 2023, as well as achieving the highly commended MEP Consultancy in CBNME’s MEP Awards 2024, AECOM’s highly experienced team works to design with purpose, digitization and innovation. The team has proven it’s a force of technical excellence to be reckoned with as they not only deliver exceptional work, but they strive to contribute to its development.