meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

EXCLUSIVE: Alec acquires Abu Dhabi contractor Target

16 December 2022

 

Dubai-based contractor Alec has completed the acquisition of Abu Dhabi contractor Target Engineering Construction Company. The $100m deal creates a contracting group with cross-sector capabilities that hopes to double its turnover in the next five years.

Alec is one of the region’s leading building contractors and is working on landmark projects such as One Zabeel in Dubai and the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi.

Target is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor working on oil and gas projects including the Borouge 4 petrochemicals complex in Abu Dhabi and the North West Development of the Dalma field, also in Abu Dhabi.  

Ambitions to double size

Target, previously owned by Arabtec, has an annual turnover of about AED1.5bn ($408m) and is a significant addition to the Alec business.

“Target will constitute about 30 per cent of our [combined] turnover,” says Kez Taylor, CEO, Alec.

“Going into the future, we see both businesses growing because there is work out there that needs to be executed for both Alec and Target. We see the size of both businesses doubling over the next five years.”

Although Alec and Target are both contractors, their operations are complementary.

“It is a very good fit for us,” says Taylor. “We do complex building jobs; they do oil and gas, energy and marine.”

We have been able to save 11,000 jobs and keep a company working

John Deeb, CFO, Alec

Workforce of 21,000

In terms of manpower, the group is now one of the largest in the region. Target has a workforce of 11,000, and together with Alec’s 10,000, the group has a total workforce of 21,000.

“We feel we have a good cultural mix because they are contractors and are similar to us. When we interact, we talk the same language,” says Taylor. 

While both companies will assist one another and work together, in terms of management, Target will continue to have its own management.

“Target will run Target and we will allow them to operate,” says Taylor.

Financial standing

Alec was able to complete the acquisition thanks to its strong financial position.

“We don’t have debt as a business. Over the years, we have actually avoided it. We have a strong balance sheet and that’s why we were in a position to make a move like this,” says Taylor.

Target was available for sale after its previous owner Arabtec filed for bankruptcy in 2020. 

“It started when Arabtec went under,” says John Deeb, CFO, Alec. “If you look at Alec in the past, we’ve never really done big acquisitions. We have grown our businesses organically, so we weren’t looking [to acquire].

“Oil and gas was something we had been looking at. We wanted to do something, and then when Arabtec went insolvent, we talked to people about what was good at Arabtec because obviously it wasn’t all bad. Target was the one thing that stood out.”

Bankruptcy law

The Arabtec insolvency has been a key test of the UAE’s bankruptcy law, which came into force in late 2016.

“This deal is one of the first to show how the process works,” says Deeb. “We have been able to save 11,000 jobs and keep a company working.”

Acquisition benefits

The acquisition helps Alec diversify its business and gain access to one of the region’s most active sectors.

“We have focused on the high-end building market. We haven’t done roads, bridges – we decided to stay away from that, but oil and gas is something that does make a lot more sense as the barriers to entry are higher and it’s more challenging work,” says Deeb.

The outlook for investment in projects in the oil and gas sector is backed by strong economic fundamentals and the increasingly important energy transition.

“The UAE has the capacity to produce 4 million barrels a day (b/d) and they want to get it up to 5 million b/d by 2027. In Saudi Arabia, they are producing about 10 million b/d, and they want to increase that to 13 million b/d. That’s a 25 per cent increase for the UAE and a 30 per cent increase for Saudi Arabia. Coupled with that, you have net-zero targets,” says Taylor. 

Geographically, the two main markets for the group are Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“There is a huge amount of work to be done. The market share in the UAE for Alec is about 2 per cent and in Saudi Arabia, we see it being about 1 per cent,” says Taylor. 

Saudi gigaprojects gear up for $569bn of contract awards

Construction will also play a key role in helping the UAE and Saudi Arabia achieve their long-term economic aspirations.

“The UAE wants to be the leading country and economy in the world by 2071 and 10 per cent of that GDP is made up of the construction sector,” says Taylor.

“Saudi Arabia and the UAE are closely aligned in terms of their ambitions, and we believe we can play a significant role in achieving this.”

Watch: Saudi Arabia gigaprojects market outlook

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10443479/main.gif
Colin Foreman

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Aramco receives interest for major gas processing plant

    30 September 2026

     

    Saudi Aramco has received expressions of interest from contractors to participate in the main tendering exercise for a project to expand the Alhada gas processing plant, located about 85 kilometres northwest of Jubail in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

    The Alhada gas processing plant expansion is critical to Aramco’s goal of increasing gas production capacity by 80% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline.

    Aramco issued a solicitation of interest document for the main tendering exercise in early September, with contractors submitting responses by 17 September, sources told MEED.

    The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope of work has been divided into three main packages, sources said.

    The first EPC package relates to the main gas treatment facilities, primarily three processing trains, along with:

    • Three acid gas removal units
    • Triethylene glycol (TEG) dehydration unit
    • Two high-pressure and two low-pressure flares
    • Two flare gas recovery units
    • Two T&l flares
    • Two burn pits
    • A digital twin

    The acid gas removal units will treat sour gas by removing hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide to produce sales gas, as well as acid-gas feed for the downstream acid gas enrichment unit and sulphur recovery unit.

    The acid gas removal units will also process gas from the flare gas recovery units through a dedicated amine contactor to meet specifications for use as fuel gas. The TEG dehydration unit will then remove water from the treated gas to meet sales-gas specifications.

    The project’s second EPC package covers the sulphur recovery units. The third package involves inlet channels for monoethylene glycol, as well as common utilities and supporting structures.

    ALSO READ: Contractors express interest in sixth Jafurah expansion phase
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20127671/main4900.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Libya refinery expected to be worth more than $600m

    30 September 2026

     

    The main contract for Libya’s planned South Refinery project is expected to be worth more than $600m, according to industry sources.

    The project, located in Ubari in southern Libya, has gained momentum over the past year. The main contract is expected to be procured under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.

    In March, US-based engineering company KBR was awarded a contract by Zallaf Exploration, Production & Refining of Oil & Gas Company to provide project management and technical services for the project.

    Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide contract management, project management and supporting technical services throughout the project’s EPC phases.

    The EPC work is expected to take 50 months, and the facility will be designed to process 30,000 barrels a day (b/d) of crude oil.

    The refinery is expected to produce:

    • Propane and butane for domestic and industrial uses
    • Gasoline
    • Kerosene
    • Diesel
    • Fuel oil

    In March, KBR said that the project was aligned with its “long-standing commitment to advancing vital oil and gas infrastructure in Libya”.

    Libya currently operates five main refineries with a combined nameplate capacity of 380,000 b/d, but actual throughput is closer to 180,000 b/d due to poor maintenance and damage from military clashes.

    In addition to the South Refinery project, Libya also plans to upgrade the Zawiya refinery and carry out projects at the Serir, Brega, Tobruk and Ras Lanuf refineries.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20124329/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Joint venture wins $230m Ras El-Hekma buildings

    30 September 2026

    A joint venture of UK-based Innovo Build and Egypt’s Redcon Construction has won a contract worth about E£12bn ($230m) to carry out infrastructure and construction works for the DP03 East package of the Wadi Yemm development at Ras El-Hekma on Egypt’s North Coast.

    Wadi Yemm is being developed by the UAE’s Modon Development as the first phase of its Ras El-Hekma masterplan, which will comprise 17 planned districts.

    DP03 East has a built-up area of 323,000 square metres and is scheduled for completion within 21 months.

    The scope of work includes more than 660 residential units – comprising standalone villas and townhouses – as well as public service areas, lakes, a commercial mall, landscaping and roadworks.

    The delivery of units at Wadi Yemm is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2029.

    Ras El-Hekma is located on a spur of land on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean coast, about 240 kilometres west of Alexandria.

    Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ appointed Modon Holding as master developer for the Ras El-Hekma project in 2024. Modon will oversee the overall development, which covers more than 170 million square metres (sq m).

    Modon will develop the first phase, covering 50 million sq m. The remaining 120 million sq m will be developed in partnership with private developers, under the supervision of the recently established ADQ subsidiary Ras El-Hekma Urban Development Project Company and Modon.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20123189/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Hassan Allam wins $1bn Cairo mixed-use project deal

    30 September 2026

    Grova Developments, the real estate development arm of Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding, has awarded Hassan Allam Construction a $1bn contract to deliver the Grova Westfields project in West Cairo.

    Hassan Allam Construction’s scope of work includes a 150-key five-star hotel, branded residences, luxury villas and apartments, as well as infrastructure and landscaping works.

    The project spans about 1.2 million square metres and is being developed in partnership with the Egyptian Kuwaiti Company for Real Estate Development.

    Broadway Malyan has been appointed to lead the master planning and architectural design.

    In October last year, Hassan Allam Construction announced that it had won a $550m contract to build another mixed-use development spanning more than 128 hectares in New Cairo.

    That development comprises villas, townhouses, commercial and office space, mixed-use buildings, infrastructure and other associated facilities.

    Hassan Allam Properties is co-developing the project with Grova Developments.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20123048/main.jpeg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Neom tenders Oxagon freight rail design

    30 September 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Neom has tendered a contract to prepare a concept design, feasibility study and route-alignment studies for a freight rail network connecting to the Port of Neom at Oxagon.

    Neom issued the tender last week, with a submission deadline of 29 October.

    Consultants expressed interest in the contract on 16 September, as MEED previously reported.

    The estimated 400-kilometre (km)-plus rail line is expected to connect the Port of Neom with Saudi Arabia Railways’ (SAR) North-South Railway at the Al-Baseeta junction.

    SAR’s North-South Railway is a 2,750km network built primarily to move minerals from mines in the north of the kingdom to industrial and export hubs on the Gulf coast. Its core route links the Al-Jalamid and Baitha phosphate and bauxite mines to Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam, with branch lines to Riyadh and to the Jordanian border at Al-Haditha.

    Al-Baseeta junction, where Oxagon’s proposed line would connect, sits on this network in Al-Jawf province, in the northwest of the country. The railway also carries passengers between Riyadh and Qurayyat, and has transported commercial freight such as sulphur and phosphoric acid.

    The Port of Neom currently has no rail link to the rest of Saudi Arabia, meaning cargo landing there depends on road transport or a further sea leg to reach Riyadh, the Gulf coast or export markets beyond.

    Connecting to the North-South network at Al-Baseeta would give the port direct rail access to the kingdom’s interior and, via existing branch lines, to Jordan and the Gulf coast industrial cluster around Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam.

    The proposed link would also give SAR’s network a new outlet to the Red Sea. To date, the North-South Railway has focused on Gulf coast export points, but a connection to Oxagon would provide a second maritime gateway on the opposite coast, allowing mineral and freight traffic from the north of the kingdom to reach either coastline.

    The latest development follows Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) naming Neom as one of six strategic ecosystems in its 2026-30 strategy.

    This backing comes as Neom’s operational focus appears to be evolving in response to shifting regional dynamics and global economic conditions. For example, on 15 April, Neom posted on its official X account about a new Europe-Egypt-Neom-GCC corridor, describing it as a faster route for time-sensitive goods.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20122376/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal