Consolidated Contractors Company facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Oil and gas; heavy civil engineering; air, water, and effluent systems |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founders | Said Khoury, Hasib Sabbagh |
| Headquarters | Athens, Greece |
| Products | Construction, engineering |
| Revenue | US$2.32 billion (2023) |
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Number of employees
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60,000 (2024) |
Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) is one of the biggest construction companies in the Middle East. It's also one of the top 25 international builders in the world. In 2023, CCC had about 36,000 employees. They work on projects in over 40 countries. Most of their work, about 80%, is in the Middle East.
CCC was started in 1952. It's a private company, meaning it's not owned by the public through stocks. CCC helps manage, design, buy materials for, and build many different kinds of projects. They work on construction, engineering, and even investing in new developments. Their projects stretch from the Middle East to Africa, Australia, and Papua New Guinea.
History of CCC
How CCC Started
In 1941, a man named Hasib Sabbagh finished college. He decided to start his own business. In 1948, he moved to Beirut and teamed up with his brother-in-law, Said Khoury, and other business people. They created the Consolidated Contractors Company.
Growing the Company
CCC's first office was in Homs, Syria. Later, it moved to Beirut. Hasib Sabbagh, Said Khoury, and Kamel Abedelrahman became the main owners. They wanted to build a strong Arab construction company.
In 1950, CCC won a big job to build pipelines from Kirkuk in Iraq to Syria and Lebanon. Two years later, they got another major contract in Aden. This project was to build a large oil refinery and a camp for workers. Soon after, CCC started projects in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar. In 1973, they helped start the National Petroleum Construction Company in Abu Dhabi. This company provides services for oil and gas industries in the Arabian Gulf.
Moving Headquarters and Expanding
In 1975, a civil war started in Lebanon. CCC moved its main office first to London, then to Athens in 1976. Around this time, one of the founders, Abd al-Rahman, sold his shares to Sabbagh and Khoury.
In the 1980s, CCC grew even more. They wanted to work in Europe, the United States, and Asia. They bought several companies, including:
- Underwater Engineering, a British company working on underwater oil projects.
- ACWa, an environmental company.
- SICON, an Italian company specializing in oil projects.
- The Morganti Group, a construction company in the United States.
CCC also explored for oil in South Yemen and found a lot! This helped the company grow even more.
Facing Challenges and Becoming Stronger
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, it was tough for CCC. They had to move all their employees out of Kuwait and close their business there. But by the mid-1990s, CCC bounced back. They successfully handled the economic and political problems of that time. Today, CCC is a very strong and diverse international construction company.
In 2019, CCC was known for building many things. These include:
- Heavy civil construction (like bridges and tunnels).
- Buildings and civil engineering works.
- Industrial plants.
- Marine works (like ports).
- Highways, roads, and airports.
- Pipelines for water, gas, oil, and other materials.
Amazing Projects by CCC
CCC has built many impressive structures around the world. Their projects include:
- Oil and gas plants.
- Refineries and chemical facilities.
- Pipelines.
- Power and water treatment plants.
- Airports and seaports.
- Dams and reservoirs.
- Road networks and tall skyscrapers.
Long Pipelines and Big Palaces
CCC built the part of The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline that runs through Azerbaijan. This pipeline is about 1,768 kilometers (1,099 miles) long. It carries crude oil from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It connects Baku, Azerbaijan, to Ceyhan, Turkey, passing through Tbilisi, Georgia. CCC was in charge of designing, buying materials, installing, building, and starting up 886 kilometers of this oil and gas pipeline.
CCC also built the $1-billion Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi. This huge palace has offices for the president, the Crown Prince, and government ministers. It covers a massive area, including the palace itself and other buildings like a public meeting hall, a mosque, and housing for staff. The project also involved building a long seawall and moving a lot of earth.
City Transport and Energy Projects
CCC is working with other companies to build the Riyadh metro system. This is a huge project to create a modern train network for the city.
In western Kazakhstan, CCC worked with another company, Saipem, on the main parts of the Karachaganak field. This project was worth about $1.1 billion. It involved building civil works, infrastructure, and mechanical parts for a production unit and gas facilities. They also built a 635-kilometer (395-mile) pipeline.
In Abu Dhabi, CCC helped build the Offshore Associated Gas Project and the Habshan Facilities. They also worked on the largest ethylene cracker in the world. The Landmark project in Abu Dhabi, finished in 2011, was the second tallest tower in Abu Dhabi at 324 meters (1,063 feet). CCC also worked on the Khalifa Port Shah Sulfur Station & Pipelines.
Elsewhere in the Persian Gulf, CCC has completed many big projects in Qatar. These include the Khursaniyah Producing Facilities & Gas Plants in Saudi Arabia. They also built the Khalifa Sports Hall in Doha, Qatar. This sports hall is the world’s largest indoor facility with air conditioning!
CCC also built the Nile Corniche Project in Cairo, Egypt, which is one of the largest construction projects in the country. They also built the Ritz Carlton hotel in Doha.
The Bethlehem Convention Palace is a project CCC invested in. This site includes historic pools, a castle museum, an amphitheater for nearly 1,500 people, a traditional market, and a natural forest.
Major Achievements
World's Largest Projects
CCC has completed the largest gas to liquids (GTL) project in the world. This was the Qatargas 3 & 4 LNG Plant, Trains 6 & 7 in Qatar. These are the largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) trains in the world. With these two trains finished, CCC is now the most experienced LNG construction company globally. They have completed 17 LNG trains, which is about 30% of all LNG facilities in the world!
The Dubai Mall, built by CCC, is the largest shopping center in the world. The mall area is huge, about the size of 50 soccer fields! It has a massive parking area and a cooling plant. The mall features 1,200 stores. It also has the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, an Olympic-sized ice rink, a children’s "edutainment" center called Kidzania, and a huge indoor cinema. The Aquarium has a 270-degree walk-through tunnel and the world's largest viewing window. This window even holds a Guinness World Record!
Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University in Saudi Arabia is another huge project. CCC built the infrastructure and utility plant for this university. It is one of the ten largest universities in the world and the largest university just for women. It's also the first "green campus" in Saudi Arabia. The university covers a massive area and includes academic buildings, a hospital, research centers, housing, schools, and sports facilities. It can hold up to 40,000 students and 4,000 employees.
In 2019, CCC proudly listed some of its most important projects. These included the Dubai Mall, the Abu Dhabi International Airport – Midfield Terminal Building, the Riyadh Metro Project, and 30% of all LNG facilities worldwide. They also mentioned residential towers, hotels, power stations, water and sewage treatment plants, roads, bridges, and industrial plants.
Airport Projects
CCC has played a big part in building and expanding many airports around the world.
Huge Airport Terminals
The Midfield Terminal of the Abu Dhabi International Airport is a massive project worth $3.2 billion. CCC worked on this with other companies. This 700,000 square meter (7.5 million sq ft) terminal building is one of the biggest airport projects ever. It will more than double the airport's passenger capacity to 47 million people each year.
The Muscat International Airport expansion in Oman was a multi-million dollar project. CCC worked with Turkey's TAV on this $1.3 billion contract. They built a new airfield, refurbished the old one, and constructed all the necessary utility buildings and roads, including bridges. This expansion will increase the airport's capacity by 12 million passengers per year. CCC also built a six-lane flyover bridge connecting the new Muscat Airport to a main street.
CCC was also very involved in building the new Hamad International Airport in Qatar. They built the air traffic control tower, fire stations, administrative buildings, a medical center, and even an employee village. They also built the general aviation hangar and the solid waste handling facility.
A group of companies, including CCC, won a $2 billion contract in 2007 to build new terminal buildings for the Tripoli International Airport in Libya. These two terminals will be very large and able to handle up to 20 million passengers every year. Construction on this project has now restarted. CCC is also building a new passenger terminal at the Sabha Airport in Southern Libya.
Between 1994 and 2000, CCC worked with Hochtief to build the $490 million Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon.
Unique Airport Locations
The Komo Airport and Infrastructure in Papua New Guinea was built by a joint venture between McConnell and CCC. This airport is located 1,600 meters (about a mile) above sea level! The runway is 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) long and 45 meters (148 feet) wide. It's specially designed for huge Antonov An-124 Ruslan planes. These massive cargo planes bring in large equipment for a gas project nearby. The airfield will also be used to fly in workers for future projects in the region.
