23 Projects: • Ibn Battuta Mall extension in Dubai • Nakheel Mall on The Palm Jumeirah • Deira Islands, Dubai • St Regis The Palm
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Nakheel
Ali Rashid Lootah, Chairperson
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fter years of debt restructuring and stalled projects Nakheel has made significant gains in the growth of its portfolio over recent months with the announcement and commencement of projects such as the Ibn Battuta Mall extension in Dubai, Nakheel Mall on The Palm Jumeirah and Deira Islands in Dubai. The news comes as 2015 profits rose 20% compared to 2014 and the first of 10 new Nakheel developed hotels launched; a portfolio that will comprise Dubai’s third St. Regis hotel on The Palm Jumeirah. Well known as a community and retail developer, in Q1 2016 Nakheel handed over 536 completed units to customers, in addition to officially opening Dragonmart 2, and launching Deira Islands. To date, Nakheel has awarded more than AED 3bn worth of contracts for Deira Islands, including infrastructure work, coastal work
and construction of the Deira Islands Night Souk, one of several new attractions at the master development. Spanning 15.3 square kilometres, Deira Islands is set to transform Dubai’s Deira district into a world-class hub for tourism, retail and entertainment, adding 40 km including 21 km of beach, to the city’s coastline in the process. Nakheel’s other master developments include Palm Jumeirah, The World, Deira Islands, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Heights, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Warsan Village, Dragon City, International City, Jebel Ali Gardens and Nad Al Sheba Community. Together, these span more than 15,000 hectares and currently provide homes for over 270,000 people. Nakheel has nearly 21,000 residential units under construction or in the pipeline and the current and future retail project portfolio covers more than 15 million square feet of leasable space.
Arabtec Holding
Raja Hani Ghanma, CEO
he largest market listed construction contractor in the UAE has known better days. Arabtec, in a joint venture with Samsung E&C, built the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, for Emaar Properties and the company has collaborated with Dubai’s largest developer on many other noteworthy projects. However the company has suffered in recent years. It booked a $640mn loss in 2015 and recently posted its sixth straight quarterly deficit. The contractor blamed increased costs and tough market conditions for a loss of AED 46.4mn ($12.6mn) in the three months to March 31, though that was an 83 percent improvement compared with a loss of AED 279.8mn in the corresponding leg of 2015. Revenue for the period rose to AED 1.94bn from AED 1.79bn a year earlier.
Arabtec is currently undergoing a restructuring and has hired AlixPartners as an advisor for the process. The company is looking at streamlining its operations by shedding a number of related businesses to focus on its core capability of construction. Despite the tough times the company has managed to add four good project wins so far this year, including a AED 1.7bn ($462m) contract to build a 1,100 unit villa project for UAE nationals in Fujairah. It was also awarded a AED 1.1bn contract to build a 50-storey twin-tower project in Dubai. Earlier this year, Arabtec was awarded a contract to build Bahrain’s new $1bn airport terminal in partnership with TAV Construction. And the year began with a AED 2bn project to build 1,017 villas for Aldar Properties as part of its prominent West Vas development, in Abu Dhabi. Things are beginning to look up.
Projects: • Burj Khalifa • Dubai International Airport • Bahrain Airport • Jumeirah Beach Residences • Al Fattan Marine Towers
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