ECC CONTRACTING MARKS 50 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
Rooted in family, driven by excellence — how the Farah family vision has created an innovative UAE pioneer
Suneeti Ahuja-Kohli
In 1975, Hatem Farah and Khodr Aldah set up a modest contracting company in Dubai. What they were building — quietly and doggedly — was a legacy.
Today, 50 years on, Engineering Contracting Company (ECC Contracting) stands as a formidable force in the UAE’s construction sector, credited with some of the most culturally significant, technically challenging, and quietly revolutionary projects in the UAE. From restoring Dubai’s historic Clock Tower to making history by completing the world’s largest 3D-printed building — earning ECC Contracting a Guinness World Record — ECC Contracting’s journey has been anything but conventional.
Says Hatem Farah, ECC Contracting’s Founder, “You can earn money and lose it. But a reputation — built on quality, trust and respect — takes lifetimes, and one second to destroy.”
A PARTNERSHIP
BUILT TO LAST
The story of ECC Contracting began with a subcontracting offer and a refusal. In 1973, Hatem Farah was offered a lucrative job in Dubai, which he declined. Instead, he accepted a subcontracting opportunity, where he met Khodr Aldah — then a fellow engineer with sharp instincts and sharper integrity. Two years later, Hatem Farah
registered ECC Contracting, and in 1977, Khodr Aldah formally joined.
Their partnership has become the backbone of ECC Contracting — based not on hierarchy, but on mutual respect and unwavering teamwork. “We’ve worked together for five decades,” says Khodr Aldah. “Not once have we argued over ego. It was never about ‘I’, always about ‘we’.”
The result of this partnership is evident in the expansion of ECC Contracting. Today, the company is part of eight sister companies formed under the ECC Group. The portfolio includes Abanos, an interior fit-out and joinery company; Prime Metal Industries, a manufacturer and supplier of steel and aluminium products; United Masters Electromechanical, an electromechanical and plumbing contractor; DesertBoard, a manufacturer of sustainable, engineered palm-based wooden boards; ECC Fitout & Construction, a 360-degree fitout and construction company; Aurora, a real estate developer; and CoreServ, a facility management service provider.
BUILDING THE NATION, ONE LANDMARK AT A TIME
ECC Contracting’s fingerprints can be found across the UAE’s architectural landscape: the historic Mushrif Park cultural village, Zabeel Park, the restored Hatta Heritage Village constructed using traditional bricks, the first free zone offices at Jebel Ali, and countless collaborations with industry leaders like Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Emaar, and Dubai Municipality.
But the projects weren’t always straightforward. In 1992, during the refurbishment of the iconic Dubai Clock Tower, an unusual storm caused scaffolding to collapse.
“The pressure was enormous,” recalls Hatem Farah. “But we didn’t panic. We stood by our subcontractors through some challenging times, even when we didn’t have to. And in the end, we delivered with even more rigour and resolve.”
Their ethos is simple but rare in a fast-moving sector: choose reliability over economy, stand by your promises, and treat clients like partners. Unsurprisingly, ECC Contracting has completed over 380 projects to date. Noteworthy work includes many iconic and prestigious developments, starting with the Dubai Clock Tower, Zabeel Park, the Emirates Flight Catering Facility, and Zayed University (two campuses in Dubai).
The companies within the ECC Group have delivered many iconic projects including the interiors of the At.mosphere restaurant on Level 122 of the Burj Khalifa, the Emirates Towers Hotel rooms/ fit-out, Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi, and the largest Convention Centre Hall near the Dubai World Trade Centre, which was used for the IMF World Bank Conference in 2003.
INNOVATING FOR RESILIENCE
ECC Contracting’s resilience has also been a product of necessity. During the economic downturn
“A reputation — built on quality, trust and respect — takes lifetimes, and one second to destroy.”
Hatem
Farah, Founder of ECC Contracting
“We’ve worked together for five decades. Not once have we argued over ego. It was never about ‘I’, always about ‘we’.”
Khodr Aldah, General Director of ECC Contracting
of the late 1970s, when most contractors shuttered, ECC Contracting survived by inventing.
The firm built a hydraulic press to produce steam-cured concrete tiles, fast-tracking curing time from weeks to hours. It was uncharted territory — and it worked.
“We had to think differently,” says Khodr Aldah. “When the market is down, survival needs innovation,” he said.
The spirit of innovation extends across the ECC Group. Most recently, for instance, is the creation of DesertBoard — a sister company under the ECC Group portfolio.
DesertBoard stands as a trailblazer in sustainable construction, redefining the industry with its innovative Palm Strand Board (PSB®). Made by recycling discarded palm fronds, which otherwise pose significant environmental hazards when burnt or buried, the final product is a zero-formaldehyde, carbon-negative board that is already being exported to Europe, the UK, Japan, and India.
“We’re turning what was once waste into a value-add product,” says Kamal Farah, a director at DesertBoard. “It’s circular economy in action — and 100 per cent Made in the UAE.”
The factory, located in KEZAD, sprawls over 55,000 square metres and is capable of producing enough boards daily to fill 16 20-foot shipping containers. Applications range from fire-rated doors to drywall partitions, packaging, formwork for construction, and prefabricated buildings. “This isn’t a prototype,” Kamal Farah adds. “It’s industrialised. It’s happening. Now.”
SUCCESSION AND SUSTAINABILITY
Despite being a privately held family-owned business, ECC Contracting’s leadership has not
shied away from succession planning. Hatem Farah’s children — three sons and a daughter — are already embedded within the business, alongside a loyal management team.
“The legacy we want to leave behind is not just of buildings, but of values,” says Hatem Farah. “Teamwork, trust, and a deep respect for people.”
ECC Group employs over 10,000 people and boasts a staff retention rate unheard of in the industry.
“We have workers who’ve been with us for 40-plus years,” says Khodr Aldah. “We give them retirement parties and awards. It’s a family.”
Sustainability, too, has long been baked into ECC Group’s DNA — well before it became a buzzword. From heritage conservation projects in Hatta using natural materials to early adoption of Lean construction and Building Information Modelling (BIM), the Group has consistently stayed ahead of the curve.
LOOKING AHEAD
As ECC Contracting enters its sixth decade, it faces a landscape transformed by digitisation and decarbonisation. Yet its foundation remains unchanged: trust, quality, and an insatiable drive to push boundaries.
“There’s still so much to do,” says Hatem Farah. “We are ambitious. And we don’t believe in retirement.”
In a country known for its skyward ambitions, ECC Group’s story is rooted in something deeper: a reverence for the past, a mastery of the present, and a quiet confidence in the future — built not just in steel and stone, but in the enduring trust of a nation.
Hatem Farah and Khodr Aldah