Dubai Holding Taps CSCEC for $1.4B Headquarters and Emirates Towers Residences
The AED 5 billion award covers a headquarters due in 2029 and 754 branded residences.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
Dubai Holding has awarded China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East (CSCEC ME) a construction contract valued at $1.4 billion, or AED 5 billion. The award covers the group’s new headquarters and Jumeirah Residences Emirates Towers, a flagship residential development by Meraas. Dubai Holding announced the contract on Wednesday, describing it as the largest single building contract the company has awarded to date.
Dubai Holding’s headquarters is scheduled to open in 2029. The residential project by Meraas will include 754 branded residences across two towers. CSCEC ME will deliver that residential development as well as the headquarters. One contract therefore contains two distinct pieces of work: a new corporate base for Dubai Holding and a large branded residential scheme tied to the Emirates Towers name.
Amit Kaushal, Group CEO of Dubai Holding, and Tian Sanchuan, Chairman of CSCEC ME, attended the signing ceremony. Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Ou Boqian, Consul General of China in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, were also present.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Holding, said the group has helped shape Dubai for more than two decades. He also said Dubai Holding enables economic activity equivalent to 30% of Dubai’s GDP. Forbes Middle East’s 2026 ranking of the region’s Top 100 CEOs places Sheikh Ahmed third.
Tian Sanchuan described the developments as a reflection of the strength and resilience of Dubai’s economy. CSCEC ME has operated in the UAE since 2003 and says it has delivered more than 110 large-scale projects across the Gulf. Its portfolio spans residential, commercial, hospitality, and infrastructure work. The parent company, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, is a state-owned construction giant based in Beijing.
The official attendance at the signing pointed beyond the construction site. China’s consul general sat alongside a UAE minister, Dubai Holding’s chairman, and the chief executives of both companies. After more than two decades of CSCEC ME work in the Gulf, this contract gives the Chinese contractor a major place in a Dubai portfolio whose chairman says it supports 30% of the emirate’s GDP. It also puts both organisations on the same schedule, with the new headquarters due in 2029.
