Arabtec expects Saudi deal value to rise to $400m

Arabtec Holding said the value of a contract it won in Saudi Arabia may rise to SR1.5bn ($400m) as the UAE’s largest construction company expands in the biggest Arab market. Arabtec was awarded a contract valued at SR670m for an infrastructure project in Jeddah, the Dubai-based company said in a statement Wednesday. The company is in talks to increase the value of the contract, it said. The builder of the world’s tallest tower in Dubai has been increasingly eyeing opportunities outside its home market after construction works slowed. In October, Arabtec’s joint venture in India won a contract valued at AED750m ($204m) to build three mixed-use projects in New Delhi and Gurgaon. Arabtec’s unit in Saudi Arabia is developing 46 buildings for the Princess Noura University in Riyadh and 5,000 villas in the Eastern Province of the kingdom. Arabtec’s third-quarter profit rose to AED39.1m from AED6.8m a year earlier. The shares were unchanged at 1.45 dirhams in Dubai today after losing 8 percent this year.