Lebanon's ACC wins 124-floor Dubai tower deal

DUBAI MARINA: Site of the 124-floor Pentominium project. (Getty Images)

Lebanon's Arabian Construction Co (ACC) has won an AED1.46 billion ($397 million) contract in Dubai to build one of the world's tallest towers, the biggest skyscraper deal to be awarded in the emirate since the start of the global downturn.

The Pentominium in Dubai Marina will be 124 floors high and the second-tallest building in the world after Emaar Properties' Burj Dubai, the construction firm said in a statement on Sunday. It did not disclose an estimated height for the tower.

Dubai-based contractors have been eyeing contracts elsewhere in the Gulf region and North Africa during the global economic downturn, as property prices in Dubai fell around 50 percent from peaks last year.

ACC, which won the contract from Dubai-based Trident International Holding, said construction on the residential tower would take about two years to complete.

The Burj Dubai is expected to reach 800 metres (2,625 feet) when completed later this year, though its ultimate height has been kept a secret.

Nakheel, the state-owned developer of Dubai's palm-tree shaped islands, stopped work in January on its 1 km (3,281 feet) high tower due to the global financial downturn. Still, activity is gradually picking up in the construction sector.

The ACC deal follows a $187 million contract in Dubai awarded on Aug 25. to the UAE's largest listed contractor Arabtec, which with Samsung Engineering and Construction is part of the team working on the Burj Dubai.

ACC, whose projects have included the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, has a backlog of $4 billion worth of projects in the Middle East and is currently working on 10 projects in Dubai worth AED5.8 billion. (Reuters)

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READERS' COMMENTS

Timescale
Posted by Kevin, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday 8 September 2009 at 09:13 UAE time


Fantastic news that Dubai construction industry is starting to move again, the timescale of 2 years is a little over optimistic though. This is less than a floor per week with full fit out and commissioning!!
Sorry but not possible; developers, project managers & main contractors must be more realistic in their construction periods because in the long run this will give the end users/owners more confidence in the UAE market!!

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