UAE's Arabtec wins $533m Saudi Arabia deal

Dubai's Arabtec Holding said on Thursday it had won a two billion riyal contract ($533.3m) in Saudi Arabia, as it continues to seek new opportunities abroad and weather a downturn in its home market.

Construction firms are increasingly looking outside Dubai to drive business after a sharp decline in the emirate's property sector has led to billions of dollars worth of construction projects being scaled back or cancelled.

The firm's shares were up 0.32 percent at 3.09 dirhams at 10.24pm, UAE time.

The contract to build towers in Jeddah is the contractor's latest deal in the Kingdom after recently starting work on a university project in Riyadh.

The contract, awarded by Zahran Real Estate Co and Cayan Investment & Development Co, will take 36 months to complete, the United Arab Emirates' largest contractor by market value said in a statement on the bourse website.

Dubai construction firm Al Habtoor Leighton Group said last month it had won a 2.6 billion dirham contract to build a mixed-use development in Riyadh.

Real estate prices tumbled 41 percent in the first three months of the year, property consultants Colliers said in a recent report.

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