Arabtec wins $53m deal for Egypt's Amer resort

Dubai's Arabtec said on Sunday it won a $53 million contract to develop Egypt's Amer Group Hanging Gardens project, as the company seeks new markets away from Dubai's once-booming property sector.

Arabtec, the United Arab Emirates largest builder by market value, was hard hit when Dubai's real estate sector collapsed, leaving several projects unfinished and a trail of indebted developers and construction firms.

Egypt's property sector, in contrast, has weathered the global financial crisis relatively well, thanks largely to strong local demand and the country's insulation from international credit markets.

In a Dh195 million ($53m) contract for completion within 14 months, Arabtec will build the six residential building "Hanging Gardens" project at Golf Porto Sokhna, a Red Sea resort development, east of Cairo.

"This award comes as part of the company's strategy to diversify geographically outside of the UAE," Riad Kamal, chief executive officer of Arabtec, said in a statement.

Amer Group, which works on resort development, is building Golf Porto over 2.2 million square metres in the mountainous Ain el-Sokhna, where they will develop a mountain-top 18-hole golf course.

Amer had told Reuters in an interview in June many Europeans were interested in second homes in Egypt, despite the debt crisis, which has sparked fears of a sluggish euro zone recovery.

The two firms are expected to disclose details about a joint venture in Egypt later on Sunday.

Amer Group has developments in Cairo and on Egypt's Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts. It also has projects in the early stages in the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Arabtec's shares closed 1.6 per cent lower at Dh2.2 a share in earlier trading on Sunday, outperforming Dubai's bourse, which eased 2.3 per cent.