Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

UAE wealth fund ADQ buys stake in Abu Dhabi builder

By Andy Sambidge
The under-construction Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi Creative Commons
The under-construction Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi
  • Alpha Dhabi Holding makes deal
  • 49% of subsidiary ADCH divested
  • Major construction jobs underway

UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ is acquiring a stake in the construction company building the Guggenheim and Zayed National museums in Abu Dhabi.

Alpha Dhabi Holding (ADH), an investment holding company, announced in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange on Tuesday that it will divest 49 percent of its subsidiary Alpha Dhabi Construction Holding (ADCH) to ADQ.

The value of the deal was not disclosed. ADH will retain a 51 percent shareholding in ADCH.

Person, Electronics, Mobile Phone

Newsletter
Get the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week

Led by its subsidiary Trojan Construction, ADCH has a track record of building major projects in the UAE, as well as supporting critical infrastructure such as the national railway network. 

ADCH has also executed large-scale residential projects for real estate developers including Aldar, Modon Properties and Emaar Properties.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, comes as the construction sector plays an increasingly important role in Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy.

Estimates published last month by the emirate’s statistics office revealed that construction activity increased by more than 13 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. The added value of the sector to the economy reached more than AED97 billion, the highest in 10 years, equivalent to 8.5 percent of GDP. 

In its statement, ADH said the size of the UAE construction market is estimated at $41 billion and expected to grow to over $50 billion by 2029. 

ADH, established in 2013, has more than 250 businesses spread across healthcare, renewable energy, petrochemicals, real estate, construction and hospitality.

According to its website, ADQ’s investments span key sectors of the UAE’s economy and contributed 22 percent to Abu Dhabi’s non-oil GDP in 2022.

Latest articles

Pedestrians cross a road in Sharjah. The emirate is the UAE's 'manufacturing base', according to an official

UAE to open manufacturing centre of excellence in Sharjah

A manufacturing centre of excellence is to be set up in Sharjah, its backers announced on Monday. The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (known as Sheraa), the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Emirates Development Bank (EDB) have signed a memorandum of understanding for the project.  “Hopefully it […]

The Baladna project is intended to produce 1.7 billion litres of milk a year from 270,000 cows

Baladna lines up $3.5bn Algerian dairy venture

Baladna, the largest dairy food producer in Qatar, is exploring plans for a $3.5 billion venture in Algeria that will be based on a herd of more than a quarter of a million dairy cows. The company has signed a framework agreement with the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to set up what […]

UAE Ukraine cepa Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s minister of economic development and trade, and Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, sign the deal between the two countries

UAE prepares for ‘new era’ in Ukraine with trade deal

The UAE has finalised the terms of a trade deal with Ukraine, as the Gulf state looks to become a key player in rebuilding the country once its war with Russia is over. The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) aims to build on the $386 million bilateral non-oil trade between the two countries last year. […]

TotalEnergies Iraq

TotalEnergies targets 2025 for first phase of Iraq projects

France’s TotalEnergies aims to complete the first phase of a solar power project and the initial phase of the associated gas project in Iraq in 2025, its chief executive Patrick Pouyanné has said. Pouyanné met with the Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, the Iraqi […]