UAE contractors upbeat in US$1.3 trillion worth of ME projects

UAE contractors have expressed a positive outlook that the Middle East region's construction sector will enjoy continuous growth and development; an indicative sign that the region is recovering from the global financial crisis. The resilient turn towards recovery has also prompted local contractors to play a major role in the more than US$1.3 trillion worth of construction development projects across the region.

Shaikhani Contracting, a part of the Shaikhani Group, a multi-billion dollar international business conglomerate with interest in real estate development, trading, manufacturing and IT, has pointed out that the region's bid towards recovery has created an influx of projects across all industries that primarily aim at putting the Middle East on the path towards growth and development. The construction industry alone has either resumed development on once stalled projects or has already started with new ones - Saudi Arabia offering the most potential followed by the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait.

Signs of the construction industry's turn towards recovery can be seen in leading countries like the UAE, where the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook, released in October 2010, raised its 2010 growth forecast for the UAE to 2.4%, from 1.3% in May. UAE expects growth to accelerate to 3.2% in 2011 - not bad for an economy exposed to crashing real estate and financial markets in 2009. Taking its cue from this report, contractors are now aiming to secure more contracts in the UAE, which is still the largest construction market in the GCC with US$714.8 billion worth of projects in progress or in the planning stages.