Arabtec wins US$2.7 billion Russia contract

UAE. Gazprom Neft and the Office of the Mayor of St Petersburg have issued a letter of award to Arabtec Construction, a subsidiary of Arabtec Holding, for the construction of the Okhta Centre valued at AED 10 billion (US$2.7 billion).

The project consists of the construction of a 400-meter tower and five other buildings over a common podium including ancillary works to be completed over 43 months. Work to start soon on the project.

This is the first stage of the planned complex known as Okhta Centre owned jointly by Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of the Russian national gas company Gazprom and the City of St Petersburg.

The project will include office space plus leisure and entertainment facilities as well as a library and a sports centre.

The selection of Arabtec Construction came in a strong competition with Russian and European bidders and was based on the experience that Arabtec has gained in recent years in the construction of high rise buildings in the United Arab Emirates. These include the Burj Dubai project, the tallest building in the world today, in which Arabtec is a JV partner in the construction team that includes Samsung Engineering and Besix of Belgium.

Riad Kamal, CEO of Arabtec said: "We are pleased and proud to be selected for the implementation of this giant project and we are certain that this selection has been done on the basis of our extensive experience and successful record of implementation of similar projects."