Fouad El Chikhani

Managing Director | Construction Delay & Programme Expert NZ | Certified International Negotiator (CIN)™

Fouad El Chikhani, founding and managing director, provides specialist expertise in construction delays, programme assurance, forensic delay analysis, extension of time (EOT) claims, construction disputes and expert witness services in New Zealand.

After graduating as an architect, Fouad spent the first decade of his career in New York, gaining hands-on experience on large and complex construction projects. Beginning in site management and working closely with construction teams and subcontractors, he progressively moved into project management, construction planning, and ultimately delay, disruption and claims work. This progression gave him a practical understanding of how projects are designed, planned and built, how problems develop on site, and how those events are reflected in the programme and project records.

Today, his approach is impartial and evidence-led, examining the programme, critical path, contemporaneous project records and underlying facts before forming conclusions.

Clients engage Fouad El Chikhani directly. From early construction programme reviews and delay-risk assessments through to complex EOT claims, delay and disruption matters and construction disputes, his focus is on identifying the issues that matter, testing them against the available evidence and communicating his findings clearly. Engaged early, this approach can also help identify programme and evidence risks before they develop into larger claims or disputes.

Hani Al Olabi

Technical Director | Construction Delay & Programme Assurance Specialist

Hani brings together practical construction experience, programme expertise and experience in extension of time (EOT) claims. Having worked closely with construction teams and subcontractors on site, he understands the sequencing, trade interfaces and constraints that influence how projects are actually delivered.

That site knowledge is particularly valuable when assessing delays and EOT claims, where understanding what occurred, why it occurred and how it affected the programme is essential.

His approach combines practical construction knowledge with programme analysis to support credible programme assessments and well-founded EOT claims.