Khansaheb

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Hussain bin Hassan Amad was born into a family that had a 70-year history of service for the Trucial States under the British Empire. In the late 1920s, he served as  an assistant to the British residency agent of Sharjah in.^[2] In 1929, he was conferred the title of Khan Sahib for his services by the Viceroy of India.^[3] In 1935, he became the interim residency agent in Sharjah for the British government in the Trucial States, a position of considerable influence, following the death of his uncle Isa bin Abd al-Latif Alserkal, who had served in the role, becoming the fourth person in his family to serve as residency agent, a post held as well by his grandfather and great-grandfather.^[4] The lineage of the family, known along the coast as “Bayt Sarkali,”^[5] is disputed, with some records suggesting they had Perso-Arabic roots in Kuwait while others indicate that they were natives of Bahrain. Isa bin Abd al-Latif was documented as owning a valuable part of the Sharjah souq during the period he lived there as residency agent.^[6]

Khan Saheb Hussain bin Hassan Amad served as Britain’s residency agent till 1936.^{[7] [8]} He was seen as a reliable civil servant, and in 1956, many years after his retirement, he would act as a mediator in the British negotiations with the Omani Revolutionary Movement.^{[9] [10]}

FOUNDING STORY

Toward the end of his career in government service, Khan Saheb Hussain bin Hassan Amad founded the very first contracting firm in the Trucial States in 1935 under the Khan Sahib name.^[11] It began as a trading company transporting goods such as food and garments across the colonial empire, between India and the Trucial States. Initially operating out of Abu Dhabi, the company headquarters later relocated to Dubai.^[12] In 1935, the company built the first motor track from Sharjah all the way to Ras Al Khaimah; after World War II, in 1951, the company was responsible for the construction of Al Maktoum Hospital.^[13] Khansaheb also provided maintenance to oil companies working in the desert decades before the oil boom in the region.^[14]

GROWTH PHASE

In 1954, Hussain Abdulrahman Khansaheb, the founder’s nephew, took over as chairman of the company and increasingly focused on the field of construction.^[15] In subsequent years, the company won tenders for construction projects for what would become major UAE landmarks such as St Mary’s Church and the Clock Tower Roundabout.^[16]

By the 1960s, Khansaheb was one of only two contracting companies operating in Abu Dhabi and a significant contributor to the economic development of the state.^[17] Among the company’s wide-ranging activities, it provided food support for workers in oil companies, and much of its impact on the history of contracting in the UAE stems from the company’s  focus on worker welfare.^[18] This business philosophy was exemplified in 1957, when representatives of the company took part in workmen’s compensation negotiations with the British government.^[19]

Khansaheb was a central player in the Trucial States through a key period of growth, well before the unification of the UAE in 1971. The 1980s and 1990s saw the company’s further expansion, enabled by breakthrough partnerships with leading UK-based construction companies. In 1981, a crucial partnership was established with RM Douglass (now Interserve) that facilitated a substantial diversification in Khansaheb’s services.^{[20] [21]}

TODAY

Today, the business, still fully owned by the Khansaheb family, is registered under the name Khansaheb Civil Engineering LLC. The business, which currently has over 5000 employees^[22] counts among the most respected contracting firms in the region, is currently run by members of the fourth generation, who also own multiple other businesses.^[23]