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INTERNATIONAL Regulatory Development Building and construction to the United Arab Emirates Trends and opportunities The market Australia is a strong exporter of products and services to the UAE construction sector. Statistics indicate that in 2009 Australia exported A$78.3 million of construction-related products to the UAE. Total services exports to the UAE, which are harder to quantify, totalled A$1.7 billion in 2008. A significant amount of this income comes from the construction sector. Many large Australian services firms have an office in the UAE including: • Leighton • Worley Parsons • GHD • Cardno • Bovis Lend Lease • Woods Bagot • PTW In fact, the total number of Australian offices of building-related companies numbers over 100. The effect of the global financial crisis (GFC) on Dubai’s property sector has been significant and widely reported. However the outlook for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remains optimistic as Abu Dhabi, the capital and home to 10 per cent of the world’s oil reserves, is spending widely to meet the ambitions of its 2030 master-plan under which the emirate’s population is set to increase from 1.2 million in 2010 to 3.1 million by 2030. The building and construction sector remains the third largest sector of the economy after oil and trade, constituting US$23 billion or about six per cent of GDP, even the in the current post-financial crisis climate. In addition, the UAE is still the largest construction market in the Gulf and double the size of Saudi Arabia, with US$714.8 billion of projects planned or underway (Source: Zawya, ‘Construction sector outlook: challenging 2010, promising 2011’, 20 July 2010). Five of the 10 biggest projects in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region are in Abu Dhabi, amongst them the Capital District (US$40 billion), Yas Island (US$37 billion) and Saadiyat Island (US$27.5 billion). (Source: Zawya, ‘Construction sector outlook: challenging 2010, promising 2011’, 20 July 2010). Significant changes in the market In addition to the rise of Abu Dhabi, a number of other significant changes have taken place in the market. There has been a shift away from residential and commercial construction towards large infrastructure projects. Several reports estimate that the government is planning infrastructure spending of US$272 billion in the next five to seven years, which will equate to one-third of the total spending for the entire GCC. (Source: Business Monitor International, United Arab Emirates Infrastructure Report Q3 2009). Significant infrastructure spending is occurring on power and water, roads, ports and rail. Financing and delivery of some of these large projects have opened up to the private sector. Bids for the first PPP in road development are under consideration, and power and water projects have been attracting private sector financing for some time. Transport projects Transport projects are taking centre stage. Even in Dubai which has experienced a major property decline, more than 45 per cent of 2010 budget expenditure (US$4.71 billion) was allocated to infrastructure and transport. (Source: Middle East Economic Review, ‘The UAE’s economy: a tale of two cities in 2010’, by Richard Nield). The UAE is moving forward with plans to be part of the US$100 billion GCC Railway Project which will link the Gulf countries together by rail. The UAE’s portion of the GCC rail project comprises a 1,500km domestic rail network which is due to be delivered by 2015 with a forecast value of US$11 billion. Light rail and metro systems are also under consideration. Rejuvenation of ports Abu Dhabi is building and rejuvenating a series of large ports. In all emirates, road and bridge construction and upgrades are receiving significant funding. Government investment in Abu Dhabi is flowing into regional areas such as Al Ain in the south, and Al Gharbia (known in English as the Western Region), which despite their small populations contribute roughly half of the UAE’s GDP from agriculture and oil and gas. Green building Green building and sustainable infrastructure is being championed and mandated in Abu Dhabi by the Urban Planning Council and Department of Municipal Affairs under new building codes effective from 1 September 2010. 18 • Australian Building Regulation Bulletin
Building and construction The majority of the growth in building and construction will take place in Abu Dhabi as the Urban Planning Council continues to implement its three 2030 urban plans encompassing Abu Dhabi city, the second largest city – Al Ain, and the Western Region, known as Al Gharbia. In April 2010 the municipal governments unveiled 30 projects ranging across the spectrum from infrastructure to buildings. In general, private developers have been much less active since early 2009, even in Abu Dhabi, resulting in a more measured level of residential and commercial construction than in recent years. Key trends include: • A focus on new government villas for UAE nationals, of which there are more than 17,000 planned for over the next five years. This is also an emphasis on affordable housing, as the government endeavours to ensure housing caters to all income needs. • New buildings require improved construction standards and more attention to environmental impact under new codes will be effective from 1 September 2010. The Urban Planning Council stipulates that all new buildings must achieve at least a ‘one-pearl’ rating under the locally developed ‘five-pearl’ green building rating scheme. All government buildings will be required to achieve a ‘two-pearl’ rating. In terms of major projects, Abu Dhabi’s Plan 2030 calls for the creation of a number of new city precincts, the largest of which will be the mixed-use, sustainable Capital District, a 49sqkm area near the airport. Upon completion in 2020, the environmentally sustainable Capital District will be home to 370,000 people. The core of this new area will be the Federal Precinct, the new national seat of government for the UAE and preferred location for embassies. Other features of the planned district are an Emirati neighbourhood, sports hub and Palace precinct. The infrastructure works for this project are being tendered in 2010. The Urban Planning Council has also developed Al Ain 2030 and Al Gharbia 2030 and plans to develop to the infrastructure and enhance the living standard of those areas. Another significant project is the construction of Masdar City, a carbonneutral, low waste community located close to Abu Dhabi international airport. When complete, the city will be powered by renewable energy, built using leading design and technology and home to 50,000 residents and workers. Construction of the city started in early 2008, and will be completed in around seven phases by 2020. For more information, please see Austrade’s brief on ‘Renewable energy to the UAE’. Opportunities Services opportunities General construction and specialist sub-contracting services, specialist consulting and services for roads, bridges, light, metro and heavyhaul rail, ports development, sports infrastructure, affordable housing, green building and sustainable infrastructure, parks and landscaping, schools, universities, hospitals, power production and desalination. Engineering and architecture firms should note that the downturn in the greater Gulf region has diminished the pipeline of construction projects coming on-stream and made conditions for the numerous firms very competitive. New entrants in design and engineering are likely to struggle in the current environment. Product opportunities A wide variety of building materials and products including green building and sustainable infrastructure solutions, water saving devices, systems for building automation, air-conditioning and security and swimming pool equipment. In addition, products for roads and bridges, light, metro and heavy haul INTERNATIONAL REGULARTORY DEVELOPMENT Australian Building Regulation Bulletin • 19
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