São Paulo – The civil construction industry should make up 11.1% of the United Arab Emirates’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015, according to a study released this week by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2008, when the international financial crisis erupted, civil construction answered to 10.6% of the country’s wealth. In 2011, the sector comprised 10.3% of the GDP.
The growth of the country’s population, which is expected to reach 6 million within the next two years, and a higher number of expatriates, who comprise 80% of the population, will drive the demand for new housing and retail units in the country.
According to the study, the Emirates should see its actual GDP grow by 4.4% in 2015, attesting to an effective recovery of the economy and giving a positive signal to the building industry. By 2021, the Dubai Chamber forecasts that civil construction will account for 11.5% of the GDP.
“In its quest to become an international investment hub, the UAE has pushed forward major construction projects in infrastructure and residential/non-residential segments. Namely, extraordinary growth in transport infrastructure has been observed, especially in significant leading projects such as the US$ 7.8 billion expansion of Dubai International Airport, and the US$ 6.8 billion Abu Dhabi International Airport re-development project,” according to the Dubai Chamber study.
The study claims that favourable government policies such as allowing freehold and leasehold property ownership by citizens foreign to the Gulf Cooperation Council (Kuwait, Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain) should attract investment into construction, as well as encourage foreigners to buy properties in the country.
In the near future, according to the study, policies in the GCC countries, especially the Emirates, will lure further foreign companies into the construction industry. The trend should be noticeable as early as 2013, as a new batch of construction and infrastructure contracts and projects drives up the industry’s growth, according to the study.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
