Arabtec, the construction firm part-owned by Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar, said it launched a joint venture with South Korea's Samsung Engineering Co that would focus on large energy and power-related projects in the region.

Each company will own 40 per cent of the new venture, Arabtec-Samsung Engineering, and the remaining 20 per cent will be owned by Tasameem Property Investment, Arabtec said in a bourse statement on Tuesday.

Activity in the oil and gas, power and infrastructure sectors in the Mena region and beyond is set to increase dramatically in the coming years, it said.

The top 50 projects currently planned or already under way across the region are valued at $1.56 trillion, representing a 42 per cent increase compared to 2012.

Arabtec-Samsung Engineering will provide engineering, procurement and construction services (EPC) on large-scale multi-billion dollar projects in the oil and gas, power and related infrastructure sectors, said the statement.

It will engage in the full range of sectors from Hydrocarbon (hydrocarbon processing, refining, petrochemicals and fertilisers) to industrial and related infrastructure projects (power plants, water treatment & environmental, metallurgy and industrial projects), it said.

The company will also establish a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in Abu Dhabi for training Emirati engineers, giving aspiring Emirati engineers access to both companies’ expertise, technology, know-how, support and resources.

Arabtec and Samsung first agreed on the venture in April, saying the two companies would bid for projects in oil and gas, power and infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa, for contracts worth $3-$10 billion. - Reuters and TradeArabia News Service