What We Do

Seven services that follow the project.

From market entry and bid strategy through design management, cost control, recovery, and executive governance — Handasah provides embedded advisory at every stage.

How we engage

Start small, prove value, then stay on

A confidential 30-minute discovery call, then a fixed-fee first job — a 30-day diagnostic or a PQ readiness audit, 50% paid upfront, ending in a clear plan. Monthly retainer to carry the plan through. BD retainers add a success fee on signed contracts.

01Stage 0 · Tier 1

Strategy, Market Entry & Roadmaps

Know where to play and how to enter before you spend on bids.

We work with construction SMEs to define their competitive position, identify the right markets and project types, and build actionable roadmaps for sustainable growth. Whether you are entering Egypt, UAE, or Saudi Arabia for the first time, or repositioning within a market you already operate in, Handasah provides the strategic clarity to move with confidence.

Done before

  • Rowad UAE entry roadmap, 20% win-rate target
  • Grankraft KSA roadmap; +13% client retention
  • Assystem roadmaps: KSA, UAE, Egypt, India, Uzbekistan
  • D&S Saudi and Algeria analysis: +23% top line

What you get

  • Market and competitor scan
  • Entry plan: entity, registrations, partners
  • Key-account list for master developers
  • 12–24 month roadmap with KPIs
Fee basis:Fixed strategic fee
02Stage 1 · Tier 2 · Launch offer

BD, Prequalification & Bid Management

Get on the list, then win more of what you bid.

Business development in construction is not just about relationships — it is about process, positioning, and precision. Handasah structures your BD pipeline, manages prequalification submissions, and leads bid teams through complex tender processes. Our founder has led bids at $100M+ scale across NEOM, Aramco, and Veolia frameworks.

Done before

  • NEOM USD 107M; Veolia USD 360M EPCM
  • Red Sea islands elite consultant list
  • 27% hit rate; AED 2B tenders at Grankraft
  • Mukaab PQQ and its post-mortem playbook

What you get

  • PQ readiness audit and vendor-portal set-up
  • Credentials deck and case studies
  • Go/No-Go and bid-review gates
  • Win/loss reviews and a BD KPI dashboard
Fee basis:Monthly retainer + success fee
03Stage 2 · Tier 3

Contracts, JVs & Commercial Risk

Sign partnerships and contracts that protect your margin.

Construction contracts in MENA carry significant commercial risk — particularly for SMEs without in-house legal or commercial teams. Handasah reviews and advises on FIDIC, NEC, bespoke, and government-form contracts, structures joint venture agreements, and identifies commercial exposures before they become disputes. Legal drafting goes to partner counsel.

Done before

  • Giga-project JV review: 25+ clause fixes
  • Cross-border MOUs and JVs: +18% contract value
  • PPP and concession bids; Desertec (2010)
  • Teaming and pre-bid agreements since 2019

What you get

  • JV and consortium agreement review
  • MOU, teaming and responsibility matrices
  • Back-to-back subcontract terms
  • Variation and notice protocol
Fee basis:Per review or retainer
04Stage 3 · Tier 4

Design Management & Digital Delivery

Control design output and data before they become site problems.

Design management is one of the most underserved disciplines in MENA construction. Handasah establishes design management frameworks, coordinates multi-discipline design teams, and implements digital delivery protocols — including BIM execution plans, CDE setup, and information management standards aligned to ISO 19650.

Done before

  • Aramco AI cataloguing: −70% manual work
  • Output from 4,000 to 9,000 line items
  • BI analytics: +20% planning efficiency
  • LEED Platinum design-and-build projects

What you get

  • Drawing register, RFI and approval controls
  • BIM and document-management alignment
  • PMIS and executive dashboards
  • AI and data-science use cases
Fee basis:Milestone fixed fee
05Stage 4 · Tier 5

Procurement, Planning & Cost Control

Price the risk right, and stop cash leaking through variations and certification gaps.

Effective procurement, planning, and cost control are the foundation of project delivery. Handasah establishes procurement strategies, builds master programmes, and implements cost control frameworks that give project owners and contractors real-time visibility over their financial and schedule position.

Done before

  • 26-project portfolio tracker, ≈AED 788M
  • Package-level tender lessons on a substation
  • Supplier negotiations and P&P at Rowad
  • +20% planning and delivery at Grankraft

What you get

  • Sourcing strategy and supplier negotiation
  • Tender pricing-risk checklist
  • Variation and certification tracker
  • Baseline review and early warnings
Fee basis:Base fee + gain-share
06Stage 5 · Tier 6 · Launch offer

Delivery Diagnostics, Recovery & Claims

Find where the time is going in 30 days, and get it back.

When a project is in distress — behind programme, over budget, or heading toward dispute — Handasah provides rapid diagnostic assessment, recovery planning, and claims management. Middle East projects add an average of 83% to their planned timeline. The average value of a claim in the region is $154M. Early diagnosis changes the outcome.

Done before

  • 400-person fast-track power team mobilised
  • Recovery plan for drawings 42–111 days late
  • Delay-cause log across live projects
  • Field project management, Schlumberger

What you get

  • 30-day root-cause diagnostic
  • Approval and payment-cycle map
  • Acceleration plan with cost and conditions
  • EOT and claim support with specialists
Fee basis:Fixed diagnostic fee, 50% upfront
07Tier 7 · Across the lifecycle

Executive Governance & Fractional Leadership

A seasoned GM in your corner, without a full-time salary.

Not every SME can afford a full-time Project Director, Commercial Director, or Technical Director — but every project needs that level of leadership. Handasah provides fractional executive advisory, embedding senior professionals at board or project-director level on a part-time or interim basis.

Done before

  • Country Manager P&L; Oracle rollout with KPIs
  • GM Grankraft: P&P overhaul, +13% retention
  • Assystem board, Steerco and key-account plans
  • Deputy GM, IGI, North Africa

What you get

  • Monthly and quarterly business reviews
  • KPI and P&L dashboards
  • Policies and procedures overhaul
  • Board and steering-committee packs
Fee basis:Monthly retainer, 12–16 hours

Evidence · Tier 6

Why Tier 6 matters

+83%

Added to the planned timeline by delays, on average

$154M

Average value of a claim per project

Top five causes of claims in the region

  1. 1Change in scope
  2. 2Design information issued late
  3. 3Contract interpretation issues
  4. 4Design incomplete
  5. 5Contract administration failures

Source: HKA, CRUX Insight report 2022 (380 Middle East projects)

Evidence · Tier 5

Where margin hides in a real portfolio

26 design-and-build projects in KSA, UAE, Oman and India, about AED 788M of contract value, December 2023.

11.3%

Of contract value added through approved variations

3.6%

More still waiting for approval

≈9%

Of invoiced value not yet certified by clients

Unapproved variations and certification gaps are cash the contractor has earned but cannot collect. The audit's job is to find them early.

Source: Grankraft project status report, Dec 2023 (anonymised)

Process

How we work

1

Discovery

Confidential 30-minute meeting with the owner, a document review, then a short scope of work.

2

Exploration

A 30-day paid diagnostic audit, team meeting and deliverables identified.

3

Delivery

Small retainer and success fee, iterations, weekly meetings and calls, presentations, 3 months first cut

Not sure which service fits your situation?

Most of our engagements start with a conversation. Tell us where you are and we will tell you where we can add value.

Handasah

Engineering and construction advisory for SMEs across Egypt, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

handasah.net

Regional

CairoEgypt

New Cairo, Cairo Governorate

DubaiUAE

Business Bay, Dubai

RiyadhSaudi Arabia

King Fahd Road, Riyadh

© 2026 Handasah. All rights reserved.

Advisory · Egypt · UAE · Saudi Arabia