Dubai: Arabtec, the company that has built many iconic landmarks in the Middle East, including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, has filed for bankruptcy owing to losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arabtec filed a bankruptcy petition to the Dubai Courts, according to documents received by the Dubai Financial Markets, where it is an actively traded company.
The parent company aside, Arabtec is looking to file for bankruptcy for four of its subsidiaries: Arabtec Construction LLC, Austrian Arabian Readymix Concrete Co. LLC, Arabtec Precast LLC, and Emirates Falcon Electromechanical Co.
Two other companies operating under the parent organisation – GSI Steel Construction Contracting LLC, and Gulf Steel Industries FZE – have also been added to the bankruptcy petition.
“The bankruptcy judge decided to appoint an experts’ panel consisting of seven experts to look into the bankruptcy application, whereas their task shall be limited to the preparation of separate reports for each of the subsidiaries in addition to the preparation of a consolidated report on the holding company, and to evaluate its financial position, and whether it is considered indebted, and the possibility of restructuring,” said the letter submitted to DFM.
These experts have already met with the legal team from Arabtec, but a report on these meetings and what needs to be done next is still pending.
Aside from constructing the Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Arabtec have delivered a number of other projects, including the Address Downtown Dubai hotel, and the Fairmont Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
They have overseen the construction and expansion of several airports, including the new terminal of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport, the expansion of terminals one and two of the Dubai International Airport, the air traffic control tower and passenger terminal of Al Maktoum International Airport, and the modernisation of the Bahrain International Airport.
The company were also contracted to build the UAE Pavilion at the upcoming Expo 2020 in Dubai, as well as a number of luxury residential projects, including AKOYA Oxygen, and Tiara United Towers.
Arabtec is also building the College of Arts and College of Education at Kuwait University’s campus in Sabah Al Salem Education City, and the Al Ain Hospital.
