Dubai: Carillion is a name embedded deep in the UAE’c construction space, through its joint venture with Al-Futtaim’s construction arm. The entity since its formation in 1999 had ben associated with some of the biggest and most complex development works in the country, including that of the Dubai Marina and early last year for a Dh2.2 billion project to build three “Theme Districts” at the Expo 2020 site.
Al-Futtaim has not issued a statement so far on what the liquidation process initiated by Carillion’s UK head office would mean for the UAE venture. The website currently lists “Carillion Construction Overseas Limited, the international contracting and services group from the United Kingdom” as holding 49 per cent in the joint venture. It’s not clear whether there was any change in the shareholding pattern in the recent past.
The original Al-Futtaim venture was with Wimpey, another UK headquarter contractor, in the early 1970s. One of the first big contracts was for Al Maktoum Bridge (in 1974) and the Dubai Aluminum smelter (in 1977).
In 1994, following Tarmac’s acquisition of Wimpey, Al-Futtaim Wimpey was renamed Al-Futtaim Tarmac. It was also the year when the work on Deira City Centre commenced.
And then in 1999, there came the Tarmac PLC de-merger and Carillion PLC was launched. It then led the way for Al-Futtaim Carillion’s formation.
