Emaar Properties has awarded Arabtec a Dh1.03 billion contract to build more than 1,500 town houses at its Reem development in Dubailand.
Arabtec said that its subsidiary Arabtec Construction would build 1,582 town houses located between Emaar’s Arabian Ranches and Global Village on Al Qudra Road and Emirates Road.
Construction work will begin in the first quarter of this year and the project will be delivered in 24 months, Arabtec said.
Emaar first marketed the homes last April on a first-come, first-served basis at prices starting from Dh988,888. The sale attracted crowds of more than 400 people, many of them workers paid to save places.Police were called to restore order at the event.
Emaar said that the new development would include a central park, which would feature interactive fountains and a water feature as well as a desert botanical park, sand surfing and camel riding trails, go-kart track, dune buggies, rock-climbing wall, cricket pitch, football field and a skate park.
The construction contract is the latest in a long line of recent contract wins for Arabtec as the company continues to benefit from an upswing in the Dubai and Abu Dhabi property markets.
A month ago the company landed a Dh22bn order from the Abu Dhabi government-controlled fund Aabar to build 37 new towers, mostly on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi and Business Bay in Dubai.
The company also announced major contracts for a Dh5.7bn theme park in Jordan and a Dh2.9bn contract to build the final phase of Gate Towers on Reem Island.
“This project adds further momentum to an already strong start of the year,” said Hasan Abdullah Ismaik, the managing director and chief executive of Arabtec. “The volume of contract wins we have bagged so far promises to take our backlog to unprecedented heights. We certainly look forward to another exceptional year for Arabtec.”
Emaar shares rose 5 fils in trading on Wednesday to close at Dh8.90 while Arabtec shares fell 8 fils to close at Dh4.66.
“A Dh1bn contract award from Emaar won’t really move the needle,” said Mohammad Kamal, the research director at the Dubai-based investment bank Arqaam Capital. “What does move the needle is Arabtec’s recent massive award win from Aabar, and over time we expect to see Arabtec’s market valuation increasingly price in backlog growth and improve in terms of its perception of execution risk’
Also yesterday, the Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International said it had been awarded two contracts worth Dh50 million to build water treatment projects in India.
The Dubai listed mechanical engineering and plumbing specialist said that its German subsidiary, Passavant-Roediger, had won contracts to build 80 kilometres of sewers in Rajasthan and a wastewater treatment plant in Gujarat.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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