Dr. Abdulmalek Al-Jolahy

Senior Structural Engineer/ Senior Advisor/ DEEP Executive Director

Dr. Abdulmalek Al-Jolahy is a professional civil engineer and a professor of structural engineering with more than 30 years of experience in academia and industry. He also works as a consultant for government agencies and private sectors. As a former First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Works and Highways (MPWH) in Yemen, Dr. Al-Jolahy co-led the MPWH for ten years, from July 2007 through October 2017, and co-led the ministry’s annual agenda and plans. He effectively participated to the development of housing, public buildings, and road sectors in Yemen. During his term of service, he headed the Ministry’s four organizational sectors—Public Works, Highways, Housing, and Financial and Administration. In this capacity, he issued and revised the financial and progress reports; implemented, monitored and evaluated plans; provided guidance and directions; chaired meetings and steering committees; and issued decisions. He also oversaw affiliated Projects Management Units (PMUs) within the MPWH for all projects, which had been financed by external bilateral cooperation and local fundings. He headed joint meetings with donors during monitoring and evaluation missions, chaired meetings of the Ministry’s Tender Committee, and approved action plans. He represented Yemen and MPWH in high profile regional and international meetings and events.

Dr. Al-Jolahy has an extensive experience in construction and quality management, cost and time controls, procedures on procurement requirements, claims and dispute resolutions, budgeting, and financial management. He is proficient in managing large- and small-scale programs, identifying needs and priorities, resource management and mobilization, and achieving goals and results. In addition, Dr. Al-Jolahy is experienced in developing reconstruction strategies and plans after either natural or man-made disasters. He remarkably contributed to the Development of the International Disaster Recovery Framework Guide (issued by the World Bank, European Union, and United Nations in Washington D.C., U.S.A.) as well as the Development of Several Unified Arabic Building Codes (issued by the Arab League in Cairo, Egypt).

Dr. Al-Jolahy is a member of the teaching group in the Department of Civil Engineering at Sana’a University. He participated in a number of regional and international conferences, forums and workshops and published a number of scientific papers. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.Sc. from University of Manchester (UMIST), 2001 and 1997 respectively. In 1988, he received his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia.