Arabtec writes off Dubai full recovery

Arabtec Construction does not see Dubai's construction market returning to the heyday of the emirate's property boom, giving impetus to its expansion abroad, its chief executive said on Friday.

The Dubai-based contractor, the United Arab Emirates' largest by market value, has won contracts in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi so far this year as it ventured further afield to weather a property downturn in its home market.

"They talk about (the Dubai market) turning around, maybe by the middle of next year, but I don't think it will ever achieve the scale and the heights that it was at before," Arabtec Construction CEO Thomas Barry told news agency Reuters on the sidelines of the Global Irish Economic Forum.

"We will always bid for projects in Dubai, whatever happens and however limited that may be, but our focus has shifted obviously to Abu Dhabi which has more oil money to use for development," Barry said.END