Arabtec Holding PJSC


Arabtec Holding PJSC, Dubai's most heavily traded and largest construction group in Middle East, together with its subsidiaries, provides construction services for residential, commercial, oil and gas, infrastructure, power, facilities management, and property development sectors in the United Arab Emirates and internationally. It operates through Construction; Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing; Oil & Gas, Infrastructure and Power; and other segments. The company is involved in the construction of high-rise towers, buildings, and residential villas, as well as undertakes drainage, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, contracting and related, and civil and infrastructure construction works. It also engages in the real estate investment, development, leasing, and management activities; buys and sells real estate properties; and leases and manages third party properties. In addition, the company manufactures precast panels; and fabricates steel structures and profiles, as well as manufactures and transports ready mixed concrete
Arabtec has executed a number of high-profile construction projects, including the Burj Khalifa, the fit out of Burj Al Arab, Terminal 1 of Dubai International Airport and passenger terminal of Dubai World Central International Airport.
Arabtec has business agreements with a number of major construction conglomerates across the world, including the Saudi Binladin Group.

Overview

Arabtec Construction is a multinational construction company that is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where it is one of the leading companies in its sector. Arabtec Construction was established in Dubai in 1975 and has completed a number of projects in different construction sectors such as High Rise Developments, Hotels and Hotel Interiors, Office Blocks, Commercial Developments, Industrial Projects, Major Airport Developments, Stadiums, Infrastructure and Drainage works, Offshore Oil and Gas Installations and Residential Complexes.
Growth in Dubai was followed by geographical diversification and local and international expansion. Arabtec Construction has associated companies based in Abu Dhabi, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Arabtec Construction operates under Arabtec Holding PJSC. The group now consists of 13 subsidiaries, each one providing end-to-end contracting services across the construction value chain.
Arabtec Holding was the first privately held company as well as the first construction company to go public in the UAE. The company was listed on the Dubai Financial Market in 2005 and since the IPO the stock has been one of the most traded in the region. In 2010 Dubai Financial Market awarded Arabtec Holding as the most traded stock from year 2000 to 2010.
Arabtec on May 14, 2014 signed an sponsorship agreement with Premier League giants Manchester City F.C. to sponsor the football club for 3 years.

History

Founded in 1975, Arabtec took advantage of the emerging markets in the UAE during the construction boom of the 1970s. Arabtec Construction started as a construction company specialized in high tech civil engineering and infrastructure works.
During the 1980s Arabtec began an involvement with the oil and gas sectors in Abu Dhabi. In 1995 Arabtec diversified into airport work which played a key role in the company's expansion and its rise to become one of the top contractors in Dubai. In the 1990s Arabtec also expanded into the villa sector. The expansion into villas and housing led to the creation of a division called Arabtec Living, which marked a key milestone in the expansion and growth of the company. As early as in 1976 Arabtec made its first foray into high rise construction.
In 2011, Arabtec formed a joint-venture with Raheja Developers of India. Raheja Developers awarded construction contracts worth US$204 million to the JV. The company's first project is to construct a 56-story, residential complex, known as , in Gurgaon.
In 2013, Arabtec formed a joint-venture with Samsung Engineering of South Korea. They will collaborate to undertake large-scale projects in oil & gas, power and infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa. Arabtec-Samsung will bid for contracts that range from $3 billion to $10 billion in value.
In 2015, Arabtec posted a loss of $626 million.
In 2016, Arabtec won the US$1.1 billion contract to build a new terminal at Bahrain International Airport under the name of Bahrain International Airport Modernization Program having a Joint Venture with a Turkish Company called TAV Construction; together the company is referred as ATJV in Bahrain.

Labour Welfare

In 2016, Arabtec was awarded a 5 star rating Taqdeer Award. The Taqdeer Award, launched by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai is the first of its kind in the world that seeks to recognise companies for their labour policies and efforts, so as to inspire them to further improve their labour practices. Arabtec was evaluated based on factors considered for the ratings, which include labour policies, facilities and infrastructure, health and safety, labour security, recruitment and wages, justice and transparency, labour relations and other indicators.

Controversy

In a 2009 BBC Panorama program, Arabtec was exposed as treating their migrant workers inhumanely. The program showed how Arabtec failed to provide its workers with basic amenities to live with conditions deteriorating rapidly across the camp.
Armed with secret cameras, BBC reporters sneaked into the camp to be met with the smell of raw sewage. Sewage had leaked out all over the camp, and workers had to create a network of stepping stones to cross it and get back to their accommodation blocks.
Documents which had been obtained by the BBC clearly show that a month previous to the television crews' visit, the Dubai municipality described the sewage situation at the site as critical. Arabtec had also been fined 10,000 AED, which is approximately £2,000, for neglecting hygiene standards and allowing sewage to overflow into accommodation used by workers.
Arabtec said it did not accept that there were unsanitary conditions at any of its camps' toilets. It blamed the workers, saying, despite training, their "standards of cleanliness and hygiene are not up to your or our standards".

Joint ventures and subsidiaries

Arabtec is one of the largest contractors for civil and infrastructure works, having executed several notable projects such as the Burj Khalifa, completed in January 2010 the tower is the tallest in the world standing 828 metres above ground.
Major projects executed or under progress —
Arabtec Construction has announced plans to expand into the emerging markets of the Middle East and North Africa. Plans are set to enter Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Libya, and Turkmenistan.
Arabtec was in 2009 ranked as the 104th largest Global Contractor, based on the total firm contracting revenue, according to the Engineering News Record.

Awards

Company awards
Project awards