In Pictures: Dubai’s construction sector has a Big 5 moment

‘Projects’ are back on the UAE’s look-to-the-future agenda. The first two sets of announcements related to the ‘soft infrastructure’, with far-reaching changes brought to the visa regime and the creation of more UAE National jobs in the country’s private sector.

But soon, the UAE will be listing what it intends to do next on the ‘hard’ infrastructure side. That’s what the construction sector and every business allied to it will be on the keen lookout for.

The buzz of anticipation is on at The Big 5, the Middle East’s biggest construction and projects trade show, which opened in Dubai after a one-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic. (The in-person event also signifies the launch of Dubai’s full-on 2021-22 MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) season.)

Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum opened the 42nd edition of the construction trade show.

By the looks of it, the local real estate sector is getting ready to pick up on new projects, after mostly giving it a miss in 2019 and 2021, with a slowing market and COVID-19 being the reasons. There is market talk of big-ticket project awards awarded or about to for the next set of real estate that will keep the cities and its contractors busy.

So, contractors are ready to move on from their current project portfolio, much of which has reached fairly advanced stages.

But before they sign the next set of contracts, there will be some hard bargaining. Building staples and material prices have been hitting new highs in these 12 months, and no one right now is able to give a firm reading on when these could start sliding back to normal.

Developers hard hit by five years of indifferent sales will not be swayed by contractors talking up supply side and scarcity issues to justify adding to project costs. And eating into developer margins.

Middle ground – That’s what developers and contractors have to search for. Cash-strapped contractors and sub-contractors will find there is always someone else prepared to take on a job – at any cost.

Between government-sponsored projects and new real estate contracts, the UAE’s construction sector will have enough on their schedules by middle next year.

It could also be a good time to think about ‘public-private partnerships’, which could spark the next stage of growth for the UAE construction industry. But for the moment, watch out for those prices of steel, cement and all other bare essentials.