After a particularly challenging 2009, the regional construction industry is poised for renewed and sustained growth that will essentially be based on servicing the real needs of a progressive Middle East rather than speculation, according to industry leaders at the opening session of the 3rd Arabian World Construction Summit in Abu Dhabi today.

The opening session of the three-day summit featured two panel discussions that saw high-ranking government and public sector officials, regional CEOs, as well as top executives from the private sector discussing the trajectory the regional construction industry was taking in the aftermath of the global economic crisis.

Panelists included Her Excellency Fatima Obaid Al Jaber, COO of Al Jaber Group; Mustafa Sani Sener, President & Chief Executive Office, TAV; Tahir Sharif, President of buildingSMART ME; Johan Beerlandt, CEO, Besix Group, Dr Faysal Alaquil, Director of Business Development and Administration Affairs, Construction Products Holding Company; Riad Kamal, Chairman of Arabtec; Samer Khoury, EVP - Operations of CCC, and Dr. Ali Al Zahrani, Director, Corporate Planning, General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia.

Her Excellency Fatima Obaid Al Jaber said: “The impact of the real-estate downturn was felt most by Dubai, but far less by Abu Dhabi and other countries in the region. 2010 is seeing the markets return to cautious optimism.”

While Saudi Arabia was identified as the country where a bulk of the contractual opportunities were being made available, other countries such as Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Iraq, Algeria and Libya too were noted as having immense market potential due to significant governmental expenditure on various infrastructure projects.

Dr Faysal Alaquil said: “Saudi Arabia is representative of the forward momentum and the opportunities that exist in the region. Not only is it the largest GCC country by population, but close to 50 per cent of the Saudis are below the age of 30. The national government is committed to meeting the needs of the people and considerable investment is being made in projects in the energy, utilities, transport, healthcare and education sectors. For instance, up to 92 hospitals and 1,200 schools are planned in the Kingdom over the next five years alone.”

Samer Khoury said: “In the oil and gas sphere, Iraq is expected to become a hotbed for contracting activity within the next decade. Algeria and Libya too show huge potential.”

Johan Beerlandt, COO of Besix Group which joined hands with Arabtec in the building of the the Burj Khalifa, said: “It is vital today for construction companies to form strategic alliances with corporate peers, as this is the realistic way forward to ensure long-term growth.”

Examining the challenges that remain in the region, the panelists concurred that the biggest concern was the ability of the financial sector to fund construction projects.

H. E. Fatima Obaid Al Jaber pointed out that one of the foremost challenges for the sector is to achieve diversity in the contracted projects undertaken.

She said: “We need to think not just real estate, but also infrastructure, utilities, energy, healthcare and education. We need to expand our geographies of operation as well. A lot of local companies can go regional and benefit mutually from common synergies.”

In addition to the Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS), the Arabian Construction Week will also host the Green Building Middle East Summit and Expo.

Al Jaber Group, CPC, Unibeton/Al Fara’a Group, TEKLA, Aconex, Dynamic Staffing Services, TAV Construction, Volvo Construction Equipment and Zurich Global Energy are the key sponsors of AWCS 2010.
 

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