Abu Dhabi-based Al-Jaber Group says it will open an office in Saudi Arabia as it seeks to win a major contract award in the kingdom.

The company also recently opened an office in Australia, as the mining sector and also the oil and gas sector is booming, says Fatima Obeid al-Jaber, chief operating officer of Al-Jaber Group.

Al-Jaber also says that “tricky” is a good description of the construction market in the last year.

“It has been tough the past two years, especially in the UAE because of the downturn of Dubai’s construction market,” Al-Jaber says.

The group is currently working on concourse three at Dubai International airport and hopes to finish the work by 2012. In the future, Al-Jaber hopes to win construction work on the new concourse being planned for the airport.

Al-Jaber Group is also hoping to win contracts for Etihad Railway in the UAE and also the midfield terminal at Abu Dhabi International airport.