Palestinian Riad Kamal joined Arabtec in 1974, one year before work began on the 17-storey Pearl Building at Dubai Creek. At the time it was Dubai’s tallest building and a far cry from the firm’s most recent completed project, the Burj Khalifa.

Under Kamal’s stewardship, Arabtec has constructed some of the region’s most renowned buildings including Emirates Palace and Burj Al Arab.

Last year, Kamal stepped aside as CEO of Arabtec Construction to allow the promotion of Thomas Barry to the position. Kamal remains chairman of the company he founded in 1975, and chief executive of parent company Arabtec Holding.

Like other contractors amid the downturn Arabtec has struggled to cope with the slowdown, recently admitting that it is owned around AED1bn from the troubled real estate firm. In January, it stopped work on Al Furjan, one of Nakheel’s largest housing projects because it said it had not been paid by the Dubai World-owned developer. Meanwhile, Arabtec and its joint venture partner WCT Engineering are seeking AED1.6bn compensation from the Meydan Group after a deal to build Dubai’s new Meydan Racecourse was cancelled.

In January, Abu Dhabi investment firm Aabar Investments offered to buy a 70 percent stake in the firm for around $1.7bn. A prominent analyst recently said that the Dubai contractor was reliant on the merger to offset million of dollars in unpaid bills.