Germany's Bilfinger may quit Qatar -CEO to paper

FRANKFURT, Dec 1 (Reuters) - German builder Bilfinger Berger (GBFG.DE) is considering pulling out of Qatar due to a disagreement with local construction authority Ashgal on its Doha roadway project, its chief executive told a newspaper.

"The bad experience with the Doha project prompts us to reconsider our commitments in the Gulf region," Bilfinger Berger Chief Executive Herbert Bodner told the Financial Times Deutschland in an article that appeared on Tuesday.

A spokesman said Bilfinger, which is not active in Dubai, had already been considering moving its business out of the region prior to credit problems at Dubai World [DBWLD.UL] and Nakheel [NAKHD.UL] [nSP5757].

The spokesman said Bodner also had already publicly stated it was considering an exit.

Ashgal and Bilfinger are embroiled in a legal dispute over a 6-kilometre road construction project in Qatar's capital which is running a long way behind schedule.

In September, Bilfinger said it would make provisions of 80 million euros ($116 million) due to the project and cut its 2009 outlook for earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to 210-230 million euros from a previous target of 250 million euros.

A second large project in Barwa City which Bilfinger is working on already has payment securities in place, Bodner said.

(Reporting by Tyler Sitte and Marilyn Gerlach; editing by John Stonestreet)