Burj Khalifa builder Arabtec to close down, file for liquidation

DUBAI: Shareholders of United Arab Emirates-based Arabtec Holding, which helped build the world’s tallest skyscraper, voted to dissolve the debt-laden firm in a move likely to threaten thousands of jobs and scores of suppliers and sub-contractors in the Persian Gulf.

Construction firms that sprang up more than a decade ago as a building bonanza swept Dubai and much of the Gulf are facing a reckoning as governments pull back on spending. Arabtec’s board will have a maximum of two months “to allow for discussions with the main stakeholders before a liquidation application may be submitted to the competent courts,” the company said.

The impact on jobs would be “substantial” since the firm has about 40,000 employees, Jaap Meijer, head of equity research at Arqaam Capital, told a news channel.