The Al-Khayyat family, owners of Qatar-based conglomerate Power International Holding, is emerging as one of the most ambitious foreign investors targeting Africa’s fast-growing infrastructure sector, with plans spanning airports, highways, energy and agriculture projects across the continent.
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The family’s latest move is a bid for Ethiopia’s planned $12.5 billion airport near Addis Ababa, a landmark project designed to transform the East African nation into the continent’s largest aviation hub.
The bid is being led through PIH’s construction subsidiary, UCC Holding, according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Boyd Merrett, who disclosed that construction could commence by 2027 if the group secures the contract.
The proposed airport is one of Africa’s largest infrastructure projects currently under consideration and forms part of Ethiopia’s strategy to expand the dominance of Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s biggest carrier.
Beyond Ethiopia, the Al-Khayyat family is also eyeing a 400-kilometre highway project in the Democratic Republic of Congo as it deepens its presence in Africa.
- “Africa is becoming a much larger percentage of our business,” Merrett said during an interview in Kigali, highlighting the continent’s growing importance to the conglomerate’s expansion plans.
Brief profile on the billionaire family
The business empire is led by billionaire brothers Moutaz Al-Khayyat and Ramez Al-Khayyat, Syrian-born entrepreneurs who built one of Qatar’s fastest-growing privately held conglomerates.
- Moutaz Al-Khayyat, born in 1983 and educated at the University of the West of Scotland, co-founded Power International Holding and UCC Holding alongside his brother in 2011.
- Under their leadership, PIH expanded aggressively across construction, energy, telecoms, agriculture, hospitality and real estate markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe.
The group rose to international prominence after delivering major infrastructure projects tied to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Its portfolio includes developments such as the Mall of Qatar, Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara and the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
Experience and career
Moutaz Al-Khayyat also gained global attention during the Gulf diplomatic crisis when Qatar faced food supply shortages between 2017 and 2021.
He co-founded Baladna Food Industries, the dairy company that famously airlifted about 4,000 cows into Qatar to strengthen domestic milk production during the blockade. The company later completed a successful listing on the Qatar Stock Exchange.
Today, the Al-Khayyat family’s African expansion pipeline includes Rwanda’s Bugesera airport, energy infrastructure in Libya, hospital developments in Algeria and plans to import 30,000 dairy cows from the United States for an Algerian milk-processing project.
The family’s growing focus on Africa reflects rising investor confidence in the continent’s infrastructure deficit, urbanisation growth and expanding trade corridors.
