Orascom joint venture wins Dh661m Fujairah airport contract

Scope of work includes building a new control tower, extension of runway

Orascom Construction and its UAE joint venture partner have won a Dh661m Fujairah International Airport expansion contract. Dana Smillie / The National
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Orascom Construction and its UAE joint venture partner won the Dh661 million Fujairah International Airport expansion contract as the Egyptian contractor continues to pursue projects outside its home market.

Orascom, which owns 60 per cent of the JV with the UAE's Al Sahraa Group, will undertake the main infrastructure work for the airport expansion, it said in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai, where its shares are traded. The scope of work includes a new air traffic control tower, extension of the existing runway and a new emergency runway, it said without saying when the project will commence or the deadline for completion.

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Orascom, which added $650m worth of contracts to its backlog in the fourth quarter of 2017, mostly relies on its home market for business. The company secured around $580m of projects in Egypt during the three months to the end of December, across sectors including renewable energy, marine and commercial buildings, it said in February.

The company, which largely focuses on infrastructure projects, is pursuing more deals outside of Egypt to diversify its portfolio.

“This project underscores Orascom Construction’s strategy to pursue quality projects outside of Egypt in sectors across the group’s core competencies,” the construction firm said.

Orascom has extensive experience in the airport sector. The group has undertaken contracts to execute similar work for the majority of military and civilian airports in Egypt as well as Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, it said.

In November, Orascom reported a 13.8 per cent drop in third-quarter profit, as losses from its US operations outweighed higher profitability from its operations in the Middle East and North African region.