UAE Edition 
MENA+ Edition 
Egypt Edition 
Saudi Edition 
AI + Innovation (MENA) 
Infrastructure 
Share
Read Full Issue 
Dubai Holding hands CSCEC ME its biggest-ever building contract
Dubai Holding awarded China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East (CSCEC ME) an AED 5 bn contract to build its new headquarters and Jumeirah Residences Emirates Towers, state news agency Wam reports. The award is the largest construction contract Dubai Holding has issued to date.
The details: The headquarters is slated to open in 2029, while Jumeirah Residences Emirates Towers will deliver 754 branded homes across two towers, with handover scheduled for 2030. We first flagged the residential project last year, when Jumeirah said work had begun on the 754-unit development.
CSCEC ME is also no stranger to Dubai Holding’s portfolio. Meraas previously awarded the contractor an AED 1 bn contract to build the 678-unit Bluewaters Bay project.
DP World joins Cochin Shipyard in ship-repair JV
DP World is digging deeper into India's ship-repair market: DP World's subsidiary Drydocks World approved a proposal to form a 50/50 JV with Cochin Shipyard to take over the International Ship Repair Facility in Kochi. The facility will be transferred to the JV for at least INR 18 bn (c. USD 189 mn), with Cochin Shipyard receiving half of the consideration as a direct payment and the other half through shares in the new company, CNBC TV reports. The transaction still requires regulatory and shareholder approvals, with completion targeted before the end of FY 2027.
The agreement puts the yard into expansion mode: The roughly 30-hectare ISRF, built for INR 9.7 bn and operational since August 2024, will add 10 more workstations to its existing six, on top of a 6k-ton ship lift and 1.4 km of berthing space that already let it handle up to six vessels at once and up to 82 ships a year. The JV will handle dry-docking, maintenance, repair, and overhaul of commercial and naval vessels — though equal ownership won't mean equal control: Drydocks World will nominate three of the JV's five directors, versus two for Cochin Shipyard, plus the right to name senior management, including the CEO, CFO, and COO.
BACKGROUND- This follows a head-of-terms agreement between Drydocks World and Cochin Shipyard signed last October to build what they called India's first vessel repair cluster at the same Kochi site, itself a follow-on to an earlier MoU to develop repair clusters in both Kochi and Vadinar (we covered it at the time). It also sits inside a broader push of UAE capital into India's shipbuilding and ports sector: around the same time, Abu Dhabi Ports Group, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and Maharashtra's ports department separately agreed to steer up to USD 2 bn into shipbuilding, ship-breaking, and port infrastructure in the state, as the two countries work to widen their bilateral trade pact to cover new sectors, including logistics.
BlueFive capital completes EUR 1 bn Porsche stake takeover
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm BlueFive Capital has completed its takeover of a 30% stake in Bugatti Rimac for EUR 1 bn, it said in a press release (pdf). The move makes the investment firm the second biggest shareholder in Bugatti Rimac, after Rimac Group, as the largest investor within the consortium leading the acquisition. We now also have a transaction size, with the takeover worth EUR 1 bn, according to a press release — previous reports had estimated it at the USD 1.2 bn mark.
ICYMI- In April, the investment player was part of a consortium led by US-based HOF Capital that took over Porsche’s stake in Bugatti, giving HOF a 45% share in JV Bugatti Rimac alongside Rimac Group, which held 55%.
DDSC rolled out at PoS locations
AED-backed stablecoins can now be used for PoS transactions after Dubai-based payments firm Network International rolled out the service with AED-backed stablecoin DDSC, according to a press release. Clients with a DDSC wallet can pay for transactions at certain Network International PoS locations through a QR code mechanism.
BACKGROUND- DDSC, developed by IHC, FAB, and Sirius International Holding, secured the green light from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) to become available to Vara-regulated trading platforms in July. The UAE is currently moving to create AED-backed stablecoins for use for a range of purposes. Zand Bank and Rakbank are both developing their own, after AE Coin was the first CBUAE-licensed stablecoin.
Umm Al Quwain + Sri Lanka freezones eye cooperation
Investment and business ties between the UAE and Sri Lanka may be about to expand. Umm Al Quwain Freetrade Zone has teamed up with Sri Lanka’s special economic zone Port City Colombo to explore increasing cooperation across investment and business, according to a press release. Investor events, business delegations, and joint roadshows are all on the cards for now.
