A joint venture between Arabtec Construction and National Projects and Construction (NPC) has won a Dh1.6 billion (US$435 million) contract from International Capital Trading (ICT) to build Nation Towers, a residential and commercial project in Abu Dhabi.
Arabtec, the largest contractor in the UAE, has also been shortlisted for two other projects in the capital worth a combined Dh3bn, and is bidding for work in Lebanon, Libya and Egypt.
The contracts should help the firm weather the slowdown in Dubai, where it is still owed more than Dh3bn in outstanding invoices, 80 per cent of which are from government-owned bodies.
Riad Kamal, the chief executive of Arabtec Holding - which owns Arabtec Construction - said he was confident the company would eventually recover the money, which was mostly for work completed this year.
"It's a question of being patient," said Mr Kamal.
"The money is actually flowing, it's just that it has to flow faster."
Nation Towers, a twin-tower development that includes a hotel on Abu Dhabi's Corniche, is the first project that Arabtec and NPC, an Abu Dhabi company, have worked on together.
NPC has about Dh5bn worth of projects under construction in the emirate. Arabtec's backlog of work is worth about Dh28.4bn.
The company has lost Dh4bn worth of contracts in the UAE because of projects being delayed or cancelled since the downturn. They include a Dh550m contract from Dubai Properties to build Mudon General Residences and a Dh900m contract for Tiara United Towers, a project by Zabeel Investments.
A contract for the Meydan Racecourse was cancelled in January after a dispute with the developer, Meydan, over the construction schedule.
Arabtec had completed more than 70 per cent of its share on the project, which was undertaken in partnership with WCT Engineering, a Malaysian contractor.
The joint venture launched arbitration proceedings in March in the hope of recovering Dh1.69bn in compensation from Meydan.
Arabtec is still awaiting the go-ahead on a Dh10bn deal to build Gazprom Neft's headquarters in St Petersburg, Russia, which was awarded last May.
If the project goes ahead, Arabtech may have to cut up to Dh3bn from the contract as the project has since been revalued. Arabtec posted a 30 per cent decline in first-quarter profit to Dh161m, down from Dh231.4m in the same period of last year, and is steering ahead with its expansion beyond the UAE.
The company is bidding for five projects in Egypt and is in talks with four partners for potential projects in Libya.
It is also looking at prospects in Lebanon and Algeria, and hopes to generate revenues of Dh1.47bn from projects in Saudi Arabia this year through its recently established subsidiary, Arabtec Saudi Arabia.
"Since we became a public company, our strategy was to diversify outside of the UAE and expand geographically... We're still pursuing that strategy but maybe a bit more rigorously now," said Thomas Barry, the chief executive of Arabtec Construction.
agiuffrida@thenational.ae
The five pillars of Islam
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
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Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
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Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)
Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg
Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Hamilton’s 2017
Australia - 2nd; China - 1st; Bahrain - 2nd; Russia - 4th; Spain - 1st; Monaco - 7th; Canada - 1st; Azerbaijan - 5th; Austria - 4th; Britain - 1st; Hungary - 4th; Belgium - 1st; Italy - 1st; Singapore - 1st; Malaysia - 2nd; Japan - 1st; United States - 1st; Mexico - 9th
BIRD BOX BARCELONA
Directors: David and Alex Pastor
Stars: Georgina Campbell, Mario Casas, Diego Calva
Rating: 2/5
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Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
THE TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
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Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
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Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5