Construction major Arabtec has confirmed that it has received the first payment of outstanding from Nakheel.
"We have been given the first token payment of Dh500,000 as promised to the trade creditors. They have honoured that promise. I am also aware that certain consultants and designers have also got the payments in the market," Tom Barry, CEO of Arabtec Construction, told Emirates Business yesterday.
He did not reveal any names. "No further details have been discussed at this time," he added. Meanwhile, other sources, who did not wish to be revealed, said that KEO International and Van Oord, the marine and dredging firm, were some of the companies, to their knowledge, which received payments. Both the companies were not available for comment. Six Construct said it is still considering the details of the payment terms when contacted.
A Nakheel spokesperson said yesterday that there were no further updates since its e-mailed statement on June 7 to this paper saying that all of its trade creditors "have been or are in the process of being paid Dh500,000, which means that those owed Dh500,000 or less are paid in full", and adding that "our talks with our partners are progressing and we are confident that an agreement will be reached shortly".
In May, Nakheel had said it has secured the agreement of many of its trade creditors, representing claims of about Dh6 billion. It had met with the UAE Contractors Association to discuss the same.
In April, Nakheel had offered its trade creditors 40 per cent cash and 60 per cent in tradable security, carrying a 10 per cent annual return. The developer has been able to achieve 50 per cent consensus so far on the cash payments situation but is not willing to elaborate on whether the consensus figure has gone up since then to this paper.
By Sona Nambiar
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
