theceomagazine.com | 33“We appreciate the collaboration with Beca’s
experienced and qualified team. We value the
symbiotic relationship that has been built over
decades. The mutual trust in this partnership has
seen us through the challenges and changes of the
industry.” – Chua Hai Kuey, Managing Director,
King Wan Construction Pte Ltd
believe they will retain their key people,
the business will stay strong and relevant,
and continue to do well in the market. I’ve
found with some of the local engineering
consulting firms here that, once their founder
has retired, the business dies with them, or
somebody purchases the business so their
brand will no longer be around, which is
something I find really sad. But if an
organisation is prepared to invest in people
and looks at succession, the company will
continue for ages, because you have a plan
in place to continue bringing in people to
breathe life into and lead the business. That
is what I like to see.
You’ve been involved in many projects
throughout your career. Are there any
that you’re most proud of?
Well, I must say that my most memorable
project is the Republic Polytechnic Campus.
It won the President’s Design Award in 2006.
I was the Director in charge of the project
and Beca was involved in the Mechanical and
Electrical disciplines. It was considered one
of the largest projects at that time, and we
had both local and foreign architects and
engineers working very well together. So
that’s one project that I find personally very
satisfying. The other one is obviously the
Universal Studio project at Resorts World.
That was exciting because it was the first
Universal Studio theme park in South East
Asia. With theme parks, the input we have to
put into the project is quite different from
what we would do with typical buildings.
I was leading a team in developing the
project towards a good outcome under
very trying and challenging conditions.How do you see your business
developing over the medium term?
Over the next five years, I’d like to see
growth in our business by at least 10 per cent
every year. That would be my ambition.
I would like to see my business expand
geographically as well. I want Beca to get
more involved in projects in countries such
as Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
I also want to reach new industries. In
Singapore, we want to increase our market
share on projects in health care, education,
airports and commercial office space, as well
as hospitality through hotels.Interview | INSPIRE