Arada expands into construction in the UAE with acquired Australian contractor
Arada, a community developer in the UAE, is bringing Roberts Co, its Australian construction arm, to the UAE as part of its growing Arada Industries vertical. This move will empower Arada to embed construction expertise at the design and development stage, increasing efficiencies, reducing costs and strengthening the company's competitive position. Roberts Co’s head office team is already in place in the UAE, Arada said in a press statement.
Arada, a community developer in the UAE, is bringing Roberts Co, its Australian construction arm, to the UAE as part of its growing Arada Industries vertical. This move will empower Arada to embed construction expertise at the design and development stage, increasing efficiencies, reducing costs and strengthening the company's competitive position. Roberts Co’s head office team is already in place in the UAE, Arada said in a press statement.
Arada acquired Roberts Co in 2025, following its entry into the Australian market. Roberts Co is a commercially focused, tier-one contractor with extensive experience delivering complex projects across health, education, commercial, residential, hospitality, industrial, life sciences and defence sectors. Its arrival in the UAE gives Arada access to a depth of delivery capability that will be applied across the group's growing portfolio of high-rise residential and social infrastructure projects.
Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada, said, “The arrival of Roberts Co in the UAE allows us to import skills and innovation from elsewhere in the world, and is therefore a significant moment for Arada and for the long-term, strategic way we think about construction. By bringing a tier-one contractor of Roberts Co's calibre directly into our development process, we are able to embed exceptional delivery expertise from the earliest stages of design, reducing costs, improving efficiencies and raising the bar on quality across our portfolio. Roberts Co will complement rather than replace the contractor relationships we have developed across our UAE projects, and our door remains firmly open to the best the market has to offer.”
The first UAE project for Roberts Co will be Phase 2 of the Arada Central Business District — a commercial hub located within Aljada, Arada's Dh35 billion mixed-use megaproject in Sharjah. Roberts Co is also providing preconstruction services prior to mobilising on site on a number of Arada projects both in Dubai and Sharjah.
George Kostas, CEO of Roberts Co, said, “Roberts Co was built on a simple belief — that we build a better way. Bringing that belief to the UAE, and to a pipeline of projects of the scale and quality that Arada has assembled here, is an extraordinary opportunity. We have established our core team, we have our first project confirmed, and we are looking forward to showing this market what Roberts Co can bring to some of the most ambitious construction programmes in the region.”
The establishment of Roberts Co in the UAE is the latest step in Arada's strategy of vertical integration across its business, through which the group has brought construction, cranes, MEP and smart technology capabilities in-house under the Arada Industries umbrella. The approach gives Arada greater control over quality, programme and cost across its portfolio — advantages that are particularly significant in the current construction environment.
Arada currently has projects valued at Dh171 billion under development across the UAE, United Kingdom and Australia, with more than 17,500 homes delivered to date.
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