Arabtec Holding in crisis - UAE construction giant should build cheap apartments Serbia-wide

The Dubai construction company Arabtec Holding, which helped build the city's record-breaking Burj Khalifa and many other buildings in the United Arab Emirates, says it lost more than USD 600 million last year as building slows amid a slump in oil prices.

Arabtec Holding's preliminary results released Sunday show a loss of USD 626.7 million in 2015. Compared with 2014, sales fell 12 percent, AP reports.

Arabtec says results were hurt by "the continuing difficult environment ... and the challenging economic backdrop," as well as several "poorly performing projects."

The company has cut costs following the abrupt departure of its then-CEO in 2014. It says it plans further cuts this year.

In 2014, Arabtec's management announced the opening of regional office in Belgrade to serve as a hub for their operations across the Balkans.

The Serbian government also used to mention that company as a prospective constructor of a large number of cheap apartments.