A Joint Venture between Habtoor Leighton Specon (HLS) and Drake & Scull International (DSI) has been awarded a AED 403 million project to undertake the complete MEP systems for the Al Habtoor City project in Dubai

[UAE, 24 September, 2013]Habtoor Leighton Specon (HLS), a market leader in design, engineering, procurement and construction of Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Energy and Power projects, has been awarded a AED 206 million project to provide turnkey MEP solutions for the Al Habtoor City project, in Dubai, UAE. HLS has signed a joint venture agreement with Drake & Scull Engineering (DSE) a division of Drake & Scull International PJSC ( DSI) to undertake the MEP works for a total value of AED 403 million of which HLS's share is 51%.

Under the agreement, the HLS-DSE JV will be responsible for all MEP works for what will become the largest integrated hotel complex in the Middle East.

The Al Habtoor City project comprises the construction of 3 hotels, Fashion Hotel - W (27 levels), Luxury Hotel - St. Regis (6 levels) and the Main hotel - Westin (37 levels), a 1400 seat Las Vegas-style "aqua" theatre, 3 large basement levels, Ground and Mezzanine levels and a large car park (2290 cars). The 3 hotels will be managed by Starwood and will have in total 1623 units. The total built area is approximately 390,000 square metres plus 27,000 square metres of Provencal-style gardens.

The new development will be located on the site of the old Metropolitan Hotel - previously Dubai's oldest hotel - on Sheikh Zayed Road at the southernmost point of the "Old Town" development, which includes the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall. The development is scheduled for completion at the beginning of 2016.

The Main Contractor is the Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) who signed an AED 1.9 billion contract with the Al Habtoor Group as part of the AED 4.9 billion Al Habtoor City development in Dubai.

Thrasos Thrasyvoulou, Managing Director of HLS, said: "We are very proud to be associated with such a prestigious project. We look forward to working closely with our Client to deliver the project to the highest quality. This will be a landmark hotel complex in the region."

"We have successfully worked with the Al Habtoor Group in the past and have always maintained an excellent working relationship with them. We look forward to working with them and HLG again to create a development that will be a landmark not only in Dubai, but for the entire Middle East."

"The quality of the delivery of MEP systems is a critical element of luxury hotel projects. We use state of the art techniques to ensure the highest comfort of the guests when it comes to noise criteria, temperature and humidity, water quality, lighting control, access and security, and smart/ interactive communication and entertainment systems. The quality of the MEP systems on luxury hotel projects is what differentiates the good MEP contractors."

"This award takes the value of our awarded contracts in 2013 to over AED 1.7 billion, solidifying our position as one of the leading MEP players in the region. In addition it adds to our unparalleled hotels portfolio that, over the last 5 years especially, is second to none."

Commenting on the award, Khaldoun Tabari, CEO of Drake & Scull International, said: "Our partnership with HLS brings exceptional value and solid engineering expertise to the international Joint Venture of this prestigious project. We are confident that our combined efforts and commitment to excellence will satisfy the very high standards of this iconic landmark and will allow us to complete the project on time."

HLS has recently worked with operators such as Jumeirah, Movenpick, Millennium, Kempinski, Rotana, Shangri-La, Ritz Carlton, Merweb, and Marriott, amongst others and is currently completing the Daman Towers hotel and residential towers in Dubai.

- Ends -

About Habtoor Leighton Specon

Habtoor Leighton Specon (HLS) is a partnership between the Habtoor Leighton Group and Specon Ltd and is one of the leading Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) specialist construction companies in the region, with vast experience in turn-key MEP projects.

With more than three decades of experience in the regional MEP sector, HLS key personnel have delivered landmark projects including airports, hotels, hospitals, commercial and residential towers, universities, military developments, HV/MV substations and overhead transmission lines. HLS' experience spans all sectors of the construction industry and includes proven capability across the full spectrum of Engineering Services for buildings and infrastructure.

HLS holds in-house capability in high & medium voltage (HV/ MV) and extra-low voltage technologies (ELV), as well as in the fields of Rail & Metro, Energy & Power, including renewable energy power generation (solar) and other green and sustainable solutions, and Oil & Gas.

HLS employs more than 5,000 people across the region and has the capability to deliver complex projects using industry's best practices and modern construction and project planning techniques. HLS is certified to ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2005 and OSHAS 18001:2007 standards and is committed to providing a safe, healthy, environmentally friendly and sustainable project experience for its employees, clients and members of the public.

For more information:

Al Habtoor Specon LLC

Corporate Office

PO Box 87134, Dubai, U.A.E.

T: +971 4 294 0420 F: +971 4 295 3856

info@hlspecon.com

About Drake & Scull InternationalPJSC

Drake & Scull International PJSC (DSI) is a regional market leader delivering world class quality projects via end to end solutions that provide integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines of Engineering (Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) and Water & Power), General Contracting, Oil and Gas, Rail and Infrastructure, through People, Innovation, and Passion.

DSI established its first office in Abu Dhabi in 1966, and has since expanded operations to encompass offices in Dubai, Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, Jordan and India, Thailand, as well as managing projects in Europe and other parts of North Africa.

DSI 's main business streams include Drake & Scull Engineering, which serves as the MEP and Water & Power arm, Drake & Scull Construction (DSC), which is the General Civil Contracting unit and Drake and Scull Development, focusing on the Infrastructure sector.

In 2008, DSI offered 55% of its shares to the public and the IPO was oversubscribed 101 times. Ernst & Young ranked the IPO among the top 20 global IPOs in 2008.

DSI has since then used the funds to integrate, establish and acquire businesses that complement its corporate strategy of expansion into new markets, via organic and inorganic growth.

The fully Integrated Management Systems, certified to ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2005 and OSHAS 18001:2007 standards are compliant with leading building, health and safety regulations, as well as sound environmental and energy management procedures.

DSI is a leader through experience, and has established a regional leadership position over 48 years of successfully completing the most complex projects on time, within budgets and matching set quality parameters.

distributed by