George Paraskevaides, co-founder of the J&P construction colossus and great philanthropist, died Wednesday in The London Clinic, aged 91.
Paraskevaides was born in Athens in 1916, but soon after his birth he moved with his family to Cyprus, where he excelled at the Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nicosia and studied architecture at the Milan Polytechnic, Italy.
The rags-to-riches real-life legend of the founders of one of the leading construction and development companies in the world started when George Paraskevaides, fresh out of university after World War II, partnered with Stelios Ioannou to establish Joannou & Paraskevaides.
Together they embarked on a historic journey that would take six decades and span across the Middle East, North Africa, Cyprus and the Balkans, starting with renting construction equipment and later becoming civil engineers and contractors for major projects under British-ruled Cyprus and other territories.
By 1961, the two partners established Joannou & Paraskevaides (Overseas) Ltd. based in London that soon became one of the world’s leading construction enterprises with activities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The company’s activities presently cover the entire spectrum of construction business enabling it to undertake almost every type of project from hotels and office buildings, to residential complexes and palaces, highways, airports and ports, as well military bases and oil and gas facilities.
Currently the company has a presence in Greece and Southeast Europe, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Jordan, Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Kingdom.
Joannou and Paraskevaides (Overseas) Ltd together with its subsidiaries and associated companies, which are privately-owned, form the J&P Group. The group specialises in the fields of construction, investment and financing of civil engineering projects, building projects, and energy (oil/gas).
With an annual turnover in the order of USD 738 mln and workforce exceeding 14,000 people, J&P was ranked 45th in the world in ENR-Engineering News Record’s 2006 survey of the world’s top 225 contractors.
Beyond J&P, the Paraskevaides Group includes Cosmos Developers in Cyprus and Greece and GP Homes in the U.S., medical distributors Phadisco, consumer goods distributors Christodoulides Bros., EP Global Energy and maintains interests in Pepsi Co. bottling plants and KFC franchises in Cyprus and the region, as well as hotels in Cyprus and Greece.
Often described as a humble man of few words and great actions, George Paraskevaides, as his recently deceased partner Stelios Ioannou, constantly supported social and community projects.
Stelios Ioannou established the Christou Steliou Ioannou foundation for mentally handicapped children, while the George and Thelma Paraskevaides Foundation set up the Paraskevaidion Surgical and Transplant Centre and financed the medical treatment of sick Cypriot children to the US through its ties with Shriners Hospital in Springfield, MA, and Children’s Heart Fund Hospital in Minneapolis. Paraskevaides founded the Cyprus Kidney Association, the Surgical and Transplant Foundation and the Cyprus Heart Association.
Paraskevaides received several prestigious honours, including the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II and other orders and awards from Oman, the Rotary Foundation, the Lions International Clubs, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America, and the St. Marcus Medal by the Pope.
He was an honorary citizen of Nicosia and received the Golden Apple Award from Mayor Edward Koch, of New York. He was awarded the Aristotelian Award by the Greek-American Organization AHEPA, the Person of the Year for 1986 by the Hellenic-American Neighborhood Action Committee, and Distinguished Hellene Award by the Hellenic Medical Society of New York and the Freedom Award of the Pancyprian Association of America.
Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos issued a written statement expressing his profound and sincere grief, noting that Cyprus owes a lot to him.
“He was a model of humanity, dignity and kindness. He offered a lot in a selfless way to those who needed help and was a benefactor for Cyprus, serving his country with patriotism,†the statement said.
“He leaves behind him charity work for which he will be dearly remembered as a man of high moral standards,†he added.
