HKA strengthens Middle East disputes practice with George Matta
HKA has strengthened its Middle East team with George Matta, who has been appointed as a partner in the Abu Dhabi office.
A member of the Construction, Claims and Expert Services team, Matta brings more than 30 years of experience in delay analysis, project management, planning and scheduling, and claims and dispute resolution matters. Throughout his career, he has helped clients around the world and across a wide range of sectors navigate complex project and dispute challenges.
Matta has extensive expertise in project planning and controls and in providing independent expert opinions in high-value disputes, in contexts such as construction programming, delay and disruption analysis, extensions of time, acceleration, loss of productivity, expert determinations, dispute resolution negotiations, and mediation support. He has experience preparing expert reports, analysing and rebutting opposing expert evidence, and providing lay and expert testimony in local and international proceedings.
Throughout his career, Matta has worked on major infrastructure, commercial and industrial projects across the Middle East and Australia, including power stations, airports, water, healthcare and education facilities, railways, tunnels, roads and bridges, oil & gas developments, mining operations, and residential projects.
A recognised construction expert by Lexology Index, Matta joins HKA from TBH, an Australian-origin project delivery consultancy, where he spent fifteen years, latterly as a director in its Perth office. Earlier, he worked for professional services firms and contractors in Australia and the Middle East, including Hill International – a legal predecessor of HKA.
“George is in fact re-joining the business, having previously worked with us in the region,” said Haroon Niazi, Partner at HKA and Leader of the Construction, Claims and Expert Services team. “His appointment further strengthens our leading disputes practice in the Middle East and reflects HKA’s continued growth and investment in supporting clients on complex construction and infrastructure projects across the region.”
“His more recent experience in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in high-value disputes and complex major infrastructure projects further strengthens our ability to support clients facing increasingly sophisticated challenges in our key markets. At the same time, as a fluent French testifier, George will also be working closely with colleagues focusing on disputes across Francophone Africa.”
Commenting on his appointment, Matta said: “After more than three decades working across the construction and disputes industry, this represents an exciting new chapter in my career and an opportunity to bring my experience to a truly global platform. HKA’s international reach, the depth and calibre of its experts, and its involvement in some of the world’s most complex projects and disputes make it an exceptional environment in which to continue developing my practice and supporting clients.”
“The Middle East continues to deliver some of the most ambitious and complex projects in the world. HKA has played a significant role in supporting these projects, and I am looking forward to contributing to the firm’s continued growth and success across the region.”
