Upbeat China firm to open unit in Dubai

China Architectural Engineering (CAE), which designs and installs curtain wall systems of glass, steel and stone for commercial applications and has won a contract for Dubai Metro, has announced it will open a subsidiary office in Dubai in 2008.

Ken Y Luo, chairman and CEO of CAE, said the expansion to Dubai is aimed at targeting the massive construction boom in the region.

“CAE has a long-term commitment to the Middle East and foresees significant future demand for construction projects from Dubai and other cities in this region. We are in the process of setting up a subsidiary in Dubai this year to capture this significant demand,” said Y Luo.

He was speaking after announcing the company’s first Middle East order to build external covers for walkways and bridges for stations on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro System.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority signed the Dh183.6 million contract with CAE to design, engineer, fabricate and install external envelopes for eight out of 23 Red Line stations.

The company also announced that it expects to be awarded contracts in the range of $80 to $100 million (Dh367m) for auxiliary structures on the same transit line.

Under the pending contract, it will build external envelopes, including entranceways, walkways, bridges and parking spaces for associated facilities of the Red Line.

“The Dubai Metro project promises to be our largest effort yet outside China, with potential revenue far beyond that of the initial contract. As a major step forward in CAE’s expansion strategy, it will serve as an announcement of CAE’s arrival in one of the largest construction markets in the world,” added Y Luo.

Work on both Dubai projects is expected to be finished by the second quarter of 2009.

Revenue from them will be recognised in the last three quarters of 2008 and the first two quarters of 2009.