Interior solutions industry buoyant

Dubai: The potential budget for the internal fitments of buildings currently under construction in the UAE could amount to $51 billion (Dh187.37 billion) in 2009, industry experts said as Index 2008 got underway at the World Trade Centre on Wednesday.

As the global financial crisis threatens to bring the regional construction boom to a grinding halt, affecting all related sectors, the interior solutions industry is likely to withstand the storm for a while longer, Index organisers said.

"Interiors are the last part of the process in a construction. All projects that have started will need to continue until completion. Certainly, for a couple of years, there is going to be a huge amount of work for interiors. Thereafter, it depends on how the economic crisis unfolds," said DMG-World Media managing director Bernard Walsh.

Regional construction peaked in 2008 at around $330 billion.

The extent of the slowdown in property developments caused some uncertainty in the market regarding how far the slowdown will impact the industry, however, players in the market remain optimistic.

Optimism

Shahriar Khodjasteh, group marketing director of Al Aqili Furnishings, a flooring and interior solutions company participating at Index, expressed optimism, saying, he did not foresee a huge fallout for the interiors industry.

"It would be foolish to say that there is or will be no impact, there definitely is. The market has been affected with projects being delayed or cancelled, but we will experience growth in 2009 and are not stepping back," he said.

"2009 might be slightly slower than the growth we experienced this year, but we will definitely still see growth."

Al Aqili launched Deco-world at Index 2008, a retail showroom designed to provide consumers and interior design communities with a full spectrum of medium to high-end furnishings and fittings from lighting to carpeting.

"In Dubai, the first showroom will be at Dubai Marina. There will be one in Kuwait and one in Qatar, with three or four more coming up in Dubai. As you can see we are not slowing down," Khodjasteh said.

It would be foolish to say there is or will be no impact, there definitely is. The market has been affected."