The UAE remains the Gulf's largest construction market with some 1,400 active projects worth around $1 trillion.
The majority of these projects are in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, according to Simon Jevons, construction products manager of Sigma PMV, a construction equipment supplier.
The UAE is also home to more than 35 per cent of the heavy construction equipment available worldwide, with 25 per cent of the world's tower cranes all housed in Dubai.
"Consider the size of the UAE, a relatively small 82,880 square kilometres. On this patch of desert land, that could fit inside Iran nearly 20 times, there are 6,000 construction companies," the experts point out.
The country tops the tables globally in terms of per capita expenditure on construction, according to the Business Monitor International.
Jevons said the current conditions will force contractors to focus more on efficient machinery and less on labour.
"Investment in the right type of machinery to undertake labour-intensive processes is an obvious choice for contractors as workforce and material costs increase. Modern construction methods can reduce labour costs by as much as a factor of ten," Jevons explained.
The cost of materials has rocketed over the last year, as cement prices surged 50 per cent and steel prices 70 per cent.
Steel reinforcement bars saw a 35 per cent price hike, now standing somewhere between $1,530 and $1,550 per tonne and cement a 15 per cent rise between May and July this year alone.
These rising material costs are compounded by increasing labour shortages in the UAE. Around 250,000 illegal labourers left the country last year, leaving contractors and developers struggling in the aftermath
The majority of these projects are in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, according to Simon Jevons, construction products manager of Sigma PMV, a construction equipment supplier.
The UAE is also home to more than 35 per cent of the heavy construction equipment available worldwide, with 25 per cent of the world's tower cranes all housed in Dubai.
"Consider the size of the UAE, a relatively small 82,880 square kilometres. On this patch of desert land, that could fit inside Iran nearly 20 times, there are 6,000 construction companies," the experts point out.
The country tops the tables globally in terms of per capita expenditure on construction, according to the Business Monitor International.
Jevons said the current conditions will force contractors to focus more on efficient machinery and less on labour.
"Investment in the right type of machinery to undertake labour-intensive processes is an obvious choice for contractors as workforce and material costs increase. Modern construction methods can reduce labour costs by as much as a factor of ten," Jevons explained.
The cost of materials has rocketed over the last year, as cement prices surged 50 per cent and steel prices 70 per cent.
Steel reinforcement bars saw a 35 per cent price hike, now standing somewhere between $1,530 and $1,550 per tonne and cement a 15 per cent rise between May and July this year alone.
These rising material costs are compounded by increasing labour shortages in the UAE. Around 250,000 illegal labourers left the country last year, leaving contractors and developers struggling in the aftermath
