CIMIC, Australia’s biggest construction group, has finally got rid of its troubled Middle Eastern business, severing all financial exposure to the region 15 years after it entered.

CIMIC has sold its 45 per cent stake in the BIC Contracting (BICC) joint venture in the Middle East (formerly known as Al Habtoor Leighton Group) to UAE-based SALD Investment, which is understood to be owned by Saeed Rashed Al Dhaheri.