This feature is part of a series highlighting the most prominent engineering and design consultancy firms with headquarters in Jordan or that have a significant presence in the Kingdom.
Founded: 1975
President and Managing Director: Hani Hakki
Number of employees: Approximately 320
Offices: Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Libya, Iraq, and Yemen
SIGMA was formed through the merger of three local companies back in the 1970s. Sole ownership was later taken on by Hani Hakki, who today leads a company that’s been responsible for some of the most impressive construction projects in Jordan and the wider region.
Within Jordan, SIGMA has designed numerous high profile projects, including the Amman Grand Hyatt Hotel, the Mövenpick in both Tala Bay and the Dead Sea, and is of course now famous for the Abdali project’s 50-storey, 427-room Rotana Hotel, which at a height of 188 meters, is now the tallest building in Jordan.
SIGMA has also recently designed the Al Fahares Development Project. Construction of the 2 kilometer stretch along the Dead Sea has not yet begun, but it’s set to be a significant addition to the Dead Sea’s beachfront. The development will include a beauty and treatment hotel, a heritage site, a museum, residential villas, a promenade, and a five star hotel.
More further afield, SIGMA won a bid to design the Advanced Learning School in Saudi Arabia over American, Turkish, and other Arab firms.
Despite SIGMA’s recent achievements, the last few years have been challenging with the sector hit hard by the global financial crisis. “It affected us quite a great deal,” said Ismail Hakki, director of Development and Planning at SIGMA. He explained that of the four buildings they were commissioned to design for the Abdali development, two were put on hold.
But matters now seem to be back on track for SIGMA, with several new promising projects in the pipeline. If all goes according to plan, Hakki expects the company will double in size in the near future.
Hakki said his firm now intends to expand its reach internationally. “We’re exactly in the transition now where we’re focusing more on the international market,” he explained, adding that he expected the number of SIGMA’s international projects will overtake domestic ones by next year.
Significant projects:
Amman Rotana Hotel – Jordan
Al Fahares Development Project – Dead Sea, Jordan
Mövenpick Hotel at Tala Bay – Aqaba, Jordan
Mövenpick Hotel & Resort – Dead Sea, Jordan
Amman Grand Hyatt Hotel and Zara Towers – Jordan
King Hussein Cancer Center (Extension Building) – Jordan
Prince Hashem Bin Abdullah II Military Hospital – Aqaba, Jordan
Advanced Learning School – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
New Master Plan, Extension and Renovation of The Royal Hashemite Court – Jordan
Wadi Zara, Ma’in and Mujib Water Treatment and Conveyance System – Jordan
Articles in the series of the engineering and design firms shaping Jordan:
