Pearl Dubai FZ LLC, one of the UAE’s leading real estate developers, has awarded an AED8.85 billion (US $2.4 billion) main contract for the construction of its iconic Dubai Pearl project, to the Al Habtoor Leighton Group, the UAE’s largest construction group. The deal is the largest single contract of its kind in the region and arguably one of the largest in the world for a real estate project. Construction is due to begin in January 2009. “While...