Dubai: Dubai's cement imports shot up 73.6 per cent, or 1.26 million tonnes, to 2.96 million tonnes in 2007, in the wake of the construction boom.

The imports are valued at Dh672 million, according to the Dubai World Statistics Department (DWSD).

Dubai imported 1.70 million tonnes of cement in 2006.

Nassim Al Muhairi, acting head of DWSD put the value of Dubai's cement imports in 2007 at around Dh672 million. Cement imports were worth Dh374 million in 2006.

Al Muhairi attributed the increase to Dubai's construction boom and the increase in oil prices. "Major projects such as the Dubai Metro mean that Dubai's cement imports will continue growing at even higher rates in the coming years," she said.

The UAE also imported nine million tonnes of steel in 2007, a 36 per cent increase year-on-year over 2006. The UAE was ranked ninth in the world's top ten importers of steel in 2007, according to the UK-based Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau.

On the recent abolition of cement and steel import duties, Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Damac Holding, a leading property developer, said the move bodes well for UAE's construction industry.

"Steel demand, projected to increase from five million tonnes in 2007 to 10 million tonnes in 2010, coupled with soaring cement prices will help master developers like us to be in a better position to keep control over soaring project costs. This move will also eliminate the emerging black market for cement in the UAE," said Sajwani.

Damac Holding manages projects worth $30 billion across six countries.

Riad Kamal, CEO of the UAE's largest construction company Arabtec believes local contractors will be forced to start looking to international markets for their cement requirements.

"The cut on duties for cement is not of major importance because the bulk is not imported. So, in the short term, the waiver affects us very little.

"The positive thing is that we will certainly have to look at international markets for cement as it is 30 per cent cheaper. But this will take time because you need facilities in place to import cement-port facilities for handling and storage."

Ali Fakhruddin, director of Fakhruddin Properties, said the waiver would stabilise the real estate market. "We hope it affects other sectors feeding the property market, particularly the combustibles sector, which contributes heavily to increasing the operational costs of property projects," he said.