Sharjah construction sector hits hurdles

Delays in granting electrical connections for new civil projects have proved a major impediment to the construction sector in Sharjah.

"The industry continues to expand despite - rather than because of - official policies, which are generally meant to help local businesses," industry representatives pointed out to the advisory group for building material manufacturers, traders and contractors, instituted under the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry umbrella.

Apart from senior chamber board members and officials, including Mohammed Sultan bin Huwaiden, Mahmood Kherallah, Saeed Obaid Al Jarwan and Ali Salem Al Mahmood, representatives from other state departments - including Ahmed Nasser Al Fardan, deputy director general, Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa); Rashid Al Ghazal, deputy director general, Sharjah Municipality; Sultan Abdullah Al Marzouki, licence department manager, Sharjah Economic Development Department; and Abdullah Salem from the Sharjah Labour Office - attended the open forum.

The meeting was organised yesterday to identify bottlenecks and find solutions to the problems.

Subsequently, garment manufacturers in the emirate also held a separate meeting, to thrash out such contentious issues and choose their own advisory group to represent their sector at future such events.

The construction industry representatives noted Sewa awards power connection dates several years down the road, forcing real estate developers to scale back project timetables and slow down growth in several downstream sectors.

They also voiced a number of other problems.

"Several factories have been paying sewerage charges for a long time but have yet to be connected to the sewerage network," they charged. "There are also major issues relating to the issue of labour visas, as also inexplicable procedural delays in awarding documentation."

The officials concerned indicated Sewa was working flat out to accommodate constantly accelerating demands on its resources, while pointing out a date, once awarded, was usually honoured.

On sewerage charges, it was pointed out setting up the initial infrastructure is an expensive proposition, but fees paid now would yield tangible benefits within a year or so, when the municipality would be able to complete the entire project.

The officials refuted charges about labour visas - particularly for some nationalities - not being forthcoming. "If it is proved there is a serious problem and that the business is suffering, we will award the visas in deserving cases."

Regarding procedural delays particularly on documentation, the industry representatives were informed new streamlined procedures are being implemented.

A real challenge facing the contractors in particular was to keep the labour gainfully occupied between a company's own projects, possibly by permitting them to work on another construction project in the interim, they said.

"This would save both contracting firms the expenses of first repatriating them to their home countries, and then recruiting and getting them back here, and the officials need to look at viable methods of effecting this," the industry executives suggested.

They also urged further developments and upgradations in standards and specifications governing building materials and systems, as also a standard construction contract, to obviate the possibility of ambiguities and the disagreements these have to date been causing after the project has got underway.

Meanwhile, garment manufacturers in Sharjah urged the authorities to have a closer look at the quotas issue, while suggesting ways to help them develop the sector and sort out its problems.