Listed construction company Group Five (GRF) has announced that, in conjunction with its sponsors Al Naboodah Contracting Company, it had been awarded a contract by Dubai Civil Aviation (DCA) for the construction of the Cargo Mega Terminal at Dubai International Airport worth an approximate value of 940 million rand.

According to the group, this will be one of the largest multi-disciplinary projects ever undertaken by Group Five and brings the group's total value of current contracts in Dubai to over 1.2 billion rand.

The terminal forms part of the government of Dubai's US$4.1-billion expansion project at the airport designed to meet an escalating influx of travellers.

Projections show that the current rate of approximately 20 million passengers passing through the airport in 2004 could rise to 60 million by 2010.

Group Five will construct a multi-storey building, cargo handling and packaging area, a large multi-level car park, mechanical, electrical and piping installations and a steel connecting bridge.

The contract's duration is 15 months and work commenced on June 4, 2005.

The group is already working in a consortium with BK Gulf and in a joint venture with Al Naboodah Contracting Company at the International Airport on a 550 million rand contract for the Central Utilities Complex-6.

The group also announced the awarding of a contract for the Emirates aeroplane test centre for General Electric/Emirates Airlines with an equivalent value of 110 million rand.

This project started on June 1 and is due for completion in October 2006.

The contract includes the construction of inlet and exhaust stacks to test the new A380 aircraft engines, a large warehouse, an office block, roads, paving and landscaping.

Group Five CEO, Mike Lomas said that these contracts confirmed the group's ability to successfully establish a strong, viable international operation in the region.

"These contracts also validate our strategy of balancing our income streams between local and international currencies, with more than 30% of revenues currently coming from offshore. We are confident that with our partners and the valuable experience gained in the Gulf region over the past 18 months, we have the expertise and capabilities to successfully complete these projects. This positive boost comes at a time when we have downsized our South African Civil business due to the lack of local work and also during a period of extreme Rand volatility."