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Partnership targets up to 1,500 modular units annually across residential and hospitality assets.
Swedish volumetric modular specialist SIBS AB has entered a strategic partnership with LINQ Modular, part of ALEC Holdings, to expand the delivery of large-scale modular developments across Dubai and the wider Middle East. (main image: SIBS manufacturing facility in Malaysia.)
The collaboration aims to deliver up to 1,500 modular units annually across residential, commercial and hospitality projects, subject to project awards and client approvals. The agreement combines SIBS’ industrial-scale manufacturing platform with LINQ’s regional delivery capability and ALEC Holdings’ established construction presence in the Gulf.
Founded in Sweden in 2016, SIBS operates as a vertically integrated volumetric modular manufacturer, controlling the process from in-house design and digital modelling through to factory production, logistics and onsite assembly. The company manufactures fully finished modules primarily from its facilities in Penang, Malaysia, supplying export markets across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. To date, SIBS has delivered approximately 7,000 apartments globally, including large apartment complexes, workforce housing and hospitality developments.
LINQ Modular, established in 2020, has been an early proponent of modular construction in the region, delivering projects across hospitality, bespoke residential and complex urban typologies. Through its position within ALEC Holdings, LINQ brings local regulatory knowledge, procurement capability and delivery experience to the partnership.
Watch a drone tour of their factory in Malaysia
Manufacturing scale, regional delivery and Australian momentum
A key differentiator in the collaboration is LINQ’s modular construction licence from Dubai Municipality, which permits the delivery of G+6 residential and commercial buildings within the emirate. This regulatory pathway, combined with SIBS’ experience delivering high-density apartment schemes internationally, positions the partnership to respond to ongoing supply constraints across major Middle Eastern cities.
SIBS reports that its modular systems can reduce construction timelines by around 40 per cent, production costs by up to 30 per cent and energy consumption by up to 50 per cent compared with conventional construction methods, driven by factory-controlled production and parallel onsite works.
Erik Thomaeus, CEO of SIBS, said the partnership brings together industrialised manufacturing and regional delivery expertise to support more predictable and scalable modular outcomes in the UAE. Graham Petty, Operations Manager at LINQ Modular, said the collaboration reflects the next phase of LINQ’s strategy, enabling clients to access a more integrated industrialised construction solution focused on speed and certainty.
The Middle East agreement follows SIBS’ expansion into Australia last year, when the company secured its first Australian order for 50 ancillary dwelling units, manufactured from its Malaysian facilities. That was followed by a second Australian contract for a 212-key modular hotel in Western Australia, signalling growing interest in offshore-manufactured volumetric systems for Australian housing and accommodation projects.
Several Middle Eastern projects are already under assessment under the new partnership, indicating continued momentum for modular-led delivery across residential, commercial and hospitality asset classes.
