Content about Abu Dhabi

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has confirmed its acquisition of a 2.987 per cent stake in Ireland’s national carrier, Aer Lingus.

Etihad said the purchase reflected its desire to forge a commercial partnership with Aer Lingus, believing this could lead to significant commercial benefits for both airlines.

Etihad Airways operates 10 flights a week from Abu Dhabi to Dublin and has carried more than 750,000 passengers between the two destinations since it began flying the route in July 2007.

Henk Pauw, CEO of Sohar Aluminium, talks to Gay Sutton about the company’s role in promoting industry in Oman and creating jobs for local people.

ECG Engineering Consultants Group S.A. is a group of highly qualified consultants whose expertise in large and complex projects covers all major disciplines of design and construction management/supervision and lies behind some truly outstanding building throughout the Middle East and beyond.

United Engineering Construction (UNEC) is responsible for some of the most innovative and iconic buildings in the United Arab Emirates. Now, it has its sights set on neighbouring Arabian markets and the Maghreb.

Canadian engineering and construction group SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a contract by Emirates Aluminium Company (EMAL) for phase II of its smelter in Al Taweelah in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The contract involves the engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services for a new aluminium smelter, including a 1,000 MW power plant and a 1.7 km-long potline, the longest ever built.

The last few years have seen an unprecedented increase in new development in Abu Dhabi, matched by a dramatic rise in competition within the industry. Elie Saikali, GMO of Dhafir Development and Contracting, explains to Gay Sutton how the company’s management and operational principles have given it an edge in this challenging marketplace.

Pittsburgh-based TMS International Corp, through its subsidiary Tube City IMS Corporation, has won its first contract in the Middle East and has also announced a further expansion in France.

A leading provider of outsourced industrial services to steel mills around the world, Tube City IMS has secured new contracts worth over $84 million in revenue over the life of the contracts at expected production levels.

The long-term contracts are for a variety of outsourced services at steel mills in Dunkerque, France, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Jassim Transport & Stevedoring Company (JTC) has evolved far beyond its original remit of inland transportation to offer a diverse range of logistics support services. Jayne Alverca reports.

Founded in 1979, JTC began with a small fleet of trucks offering a simple inland transport proposition. Thirty years down the line, the company is firmly positioned as the largest end-to-end logistics and specialist equipment leasing operation in Kuwait.

Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Company will boost its spending to around 60 billion dirhams this year, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Bloomberg reported that the state-owned investor, which holds stakes in companies such as the Carlyle Group and General Electric, will make substantial investments during the period 2011 to 2015 in Advanced Technology Investment Co., Mubadala GE Capital, Masdar, real estate and oil & gas, as well as a number of public-private partnership projects.

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, International Petroleum Investment Co., is to take control of Cia. Espanola de Petroleos SA, Spain’s second-largest oil company, by buying out shareholder Total.

The deal, worth €3.97 billion, will see IPIC buy Total’s 48.8 per cent stake and purchase the remaining Cepsa stock at €28 a share. IPIC already holds 47 per cent in the Spanish company.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways has expressed “top level interest” in the UK airline Virgin Atlantic, according to reports.

According to the Sunday Times newspaper, the chief executive of Etihad has written to Deutsche Bank, who Virgin Atlantic hired last year to examine the aviation market and identify growth opportunities, to express his interest in acquiring the airline.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has so far refused to comment on the reports.

The story of Target Engineering Construction Company is intrinsically linked to growth and development over the past four decades in the Middle East. Ayman Taji has masterminded the company’s steady growth throughout that period; and here he talks to Andrew Pelis about the legacy he will leave behind when he shortly steps down from his role.