TDIC, Leighton abandon $1.4bn JV plan

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JV ABANDONED: TDIC and Leighton have decided not to progress with a joint venture amid the global slowdown. (Getty Images)

Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) and Leighton, the largest construction company in Australia, have abandoned a $1.4bn joint venture following the economic slowdown.

TDIC agreed to form a joint venture company with Leighton in December in 2007 but said on Wednesday that the changing economic climate now makes it more cost efficient to work with different contractors.

“TDIC and Leighton will continue to work together on various projects. Leighton will also be invited to tender for all future TDIC contracts,” the Abu Dhabi agency said in a statement.

TDIC would have held 51 percent in the venture, which was expected to generate annual revenue of $270m in the first year, to a minimum of $1.4 billion in the fifth.

Since then the UAE’s real estate and tourism sectors have been badly hit by the international recession.

TDIC said all of its announced projects, including residential, leisure and cultural projects on Saadiyat Island, are progressing as scheduled.

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