Arada Brings Australian Construction Expertise to UAE with Roberts Co Expansion
The developer has established a substantial UAE presence for tier-one Australian contractor Roberts Co, integrating advanced construction capability into its growing portfolio of high-rise residential and commercial projects.
Arada has announced the establishment of Roberts Co, a leading Australian construction firm, within the United Arab Emirates as part of its expanding Arada Industries vertical. The move represents a strategic commitment to embedding world-class construction expertise directly into the developer’s design and delivery processes across the region.
Roberts Co, acquired by Arada in 2025 following the group’s entry into the Australian market, brings substantial experience across diverse sectors including healthcare, education, commercial, residential, hospitality, industrial, life sciences and defence. The establishment of a significant head office team in the UAE marks a pivotal moment in Arada’s vertical integration strategy, enabling the group to harness construction excellence from the earliest design stages whilst simultaneously reducing costs and enhancing competitive positioning.
The first UAE project for Roberts Co will involve Phase 2 of the Arada Central Business District, a next-generation commercial hub within Aljada—Arada’s AED35 billion mixed-use megaproject in Sharjah. The Australian contractor is also providing preconstruction services across multiple Arada projects in both Dubai and Sharjah prior to full mobilisation.
Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group Chief Executive of Arada, emphasised the significance of the expansion: “The arrival of Roberts Co in the UAE allows us to import skills and innovation from elsewhere in the world. 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.” He added that Roberts Co would complement rather than replace existing contractor relationships, with Arada remaining receptive to market excellence.
George Kostas, Chief Executive of Roberts Co, reflected upon the opportunity: “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 represents the latest phase in Arada’s comprehensive vertical integration strategy, through which the group has consolidated construction, crane operations, mechanical and electrical plumbing services, and smart technology capabilities under the Arada Industries banner. This approach affords the developer enhanced governance over quality, programme delivery and costs—advantages particularly valuable within the contemporary construction landscape.
Arada currently oversees projects valued at AED171 billion under development across the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Australia, having delivered more than 17,500 homes to date.
Source: WAM