airfield projects by developing innovative solutions in close coordination with stakeholders to avoid mission impacts. Our worldwide resources have the capacity, local knowledge, and local business relationships to rapidly position vendors, equipment, and personnel within proximity to remote sites. We have multidisciplinary personnel are prepared to mobilize rapidly anywhere in the world.
Since 2014, Gilbane Federal has worked in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on five major projects valued in excess of $400M including at King Abdulaziz Air Base (KAAB), Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB), King Faisal Air Base (KFAB), and King Khalid Air Base KKAB (KKAB). Below we offer a project spotlight that exemplifies the complexity and safety of the work we have accomplished for our clients.
Project Spotlight: F-15SA Aircraft Modernization Program at King Abdulaziz Air Base (KAAB) in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Gilbane Federal recently completed turnover of the $97.4M King Abdulaziz Air Base (KAAB) Main Base renovations and new construction project. This was a design-build project where we provided design, construction, and modification of facilities, structures, and infrastructure necessary to upgrade F-15SA aircraft facilities at KAAB, which is in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This project supports the RSAF F-15 Fleet Modernization Program, a joint effort between the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF).
Located in a remote southern region of Saudi Arabia, the project team has faced extreme conditions year-round, including time away from family and extreme weather conditions. Superintendent Arnel Carballo noted that on a typical day on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia project, the weather is 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 Fahrenheit, with sixty percent humidity, so they bring lots of water on site.
Two Million Safe Man-Hours without recordable incidents
As a project team, they have overcome many challenges, including the complex logistics of managing more than 1,200 field workers and transporting materials and equipment to a remote and austere location with ongoing operations and stringent security requirements. Throughout fieldwork, Gilbane has maintained an exceptional level of performance, exceeding international and US quality standards, and performing work with more than 2 million labor hours without a safety incident. The team’s best safety practices were shared worldwide through the American Society of Safety Professionals. The team also promoted Gilbane’s “Incident and Injury Free” program to a diverse workforce, from 11 countries speaking different languages. In total, Gilbane has worked more than 10 million safe hours with no lost time injuries since we started working in Saudi Arabia in 2014.
The Gilbane team nurtured a positive safety culture on this project, organizing and delivering safety programs in different languages. By using virtual safety walkthroughs, prevention through design, a Site Safety Health Officer training program, and borderless safety training, and safety visuals to convey safe practices to our diverse workforce, we created long-lasting relationships that strengthen workplace safety.
Client Satisfaction
Our USAF client has been very happy with our work in Saudi Arabia. As a reflection of our excellent level of service, the USAF F-15 SA program manager recently noted:
“Gilbane Federal is providing outstanding construction services to the USAF and the end user, the RSAF. Gilbane’s construction team is highly qualified and was extremely professional as they delivered quality construction during this first year of the project. Their field team is onsite all day for management, inspections, testing, monitoring, reporting, and documentation activities. Their team members are highly effective and easily cover all site requirements related to this contract.”
Join Our Family!
The Gilbane Federal Team is growing. In anticipation of additional work, we are looking for qualified candidates to join our team in cultivating a culture guided by our core values that is embraced by our employees and clients alike. We believe success is measured not just by completing a project, but by its culture that enables us to serve our communities and construct world-class facilities, all while driving our industry forward. To join a family that builds more than buildings, click here to apply.
