Stratanal Talks to Kings: Kings Group is a reputable, tightly-knit, family-owned business specializing in Greenfield, Commercial, Residential development, and Real State Contracting services. With a legacy dating back to 1977, in last 13 years Kings Group has successfully delivered 18 projects covering more than 10 million square feet. King Group is a registered No Limit Company with 26 fields of specializations.
Stratanal had the opportunity to interact with Mr Taha Thanvi, General Manager Kings Group, on construction business. Let us see what are his thoughts on his companies’ strategy and construction market.
Stratanal Talks to Kings
Stratanal: Can you outline the core elements of your construction business strategy that have contributed to your company’s success in Pakistan?
Kings: In my opinion, the core reason for the success of Kings Group is that we have managed to ensure a win-win situation for all stakeholders in the value chain while giving adequate returns ahead of curve to our investors and customers.
Besides, we have also meticulously optimized designs and cost at every stage of development.
Stratanal: How do you approach budgeting for your construction projects, and what methods do you use to ensure cost efficiency?
Kings: We have integrated our operations along the construction stages and converted key stages to in-house operations. We can confidently say that our cost of construction is far lesser than others without a compromise on the quality.
Stratanal: In a competitive market, what marketing strategies have proven effective for your company in attracting clients and projects?
Kings: We ensure an omni channel strategy to keep our potential customers engaged along the cycle. Digital marketing has been most effective for us.
Stratanal: Could you share insights on your approach to material procurement to ensure quality and timely availability while managing costs?
Kings: We have nurtured our supply chain over the years and a team of dedicated employees are always keeping a keen eye on all purchases. We finalize procurement requirements in advance during project feasibility and analysis. We have a strong network of trusted local and foreign companies having a long-term business relationship. Construction materials used are in accordance with engineering standards and trials/testing is ensured in every stage.
Stratanal: What are the key steps and considerations involved in navigating the civil engineering aspects of your construction projects?
Kings: Kings Group has always invested ahead of curve and invested on able employees. Our in-house design for Steel and Concrete is far superior and perfected over the years with thorough R&D. We have also imported a state-of-the-art shuttering material to ensure speed, quality and cost efficiency. The time, cost and quality are the basic determining factors in tackling the Civil Engineering aspects.
Stratanal: Can you explain the registration and NOC processes your company follows to comply with regulatory requirements in Pakistan?
Kings: Regulatory hurdles are very cumbersome in the country and it also acts as a barrier to entry for clean and above the board individuals to enter the industry. It’s a very long and lengthy process which needs to be addressed. In construction business engineering council, federal and provincial laws, building codes, verifications and many other aspects are involved. It is a long discussion. However, bottom line is that the system is not efficient, creates more hurdles than facilitation and process is extremely slow sometimes.
Stratanal: How do you handle the complexities of obtaining government approvals for construction projects, and what challenges do you often encounter?
Kings: We have a team of consultants who get the approvals done on our behalf. Though it’s a complex process but over the years it has become easier to navigate through.
Stratanal: What project management techniques do you employ to ensure projects are completed on time and within scope?
Kings: The project management is honed over a period of time that dates back to 1977. Besides Land cost, all recovery goes into construction until the grey structure is complete. However, in the event of sharp devaluation and subsequent inflation, it becomes very difficult to complete projects on time. As being experienced in today’s volatile market.
Stratanal: Could you discuss the current scope of the construction industry in Pakistan and the emerging trends you’re observing?
Kings: The construction industry has very solid fundamentals in Pakistan and this will further strengthen with time. We also foresee a lot of modernization in Construction techniques. The cities will continue to expand vertically and horizontally with the continuous increase in population and intercity migration.
Stratanal: What are some common impediments your company faces during project execution, and how do you address them?
Kings: The most common impediment in construction is the ever-increasing material prices and ill-fated judgements to ban high rise and stop the construction activity one way or the other. Intermittent development hampers the progress grossly and affects the project feasibility as well.
Stratanal: How do you ensure the safety and compliance of your construction projects with regard to environmental regulations?
Kings: We have a clear HSE policy in place to keep the environment and staff safe from the hazards at a Construction Site. Compliance is mandatory for all involved in the value chain
Stratanal: What role does technology play in your construction business, and how do you integrate innovative solutions for improved efficiency?
Kings: We are very keen on developing the in-house capability to manage various aspects of construction. Advancement in Technology has helped us to save cost and time and improve upon the quality as well.
