Gulf Construction Online - UKTI helps boost trade with the Gulf

Britain & the Middle East

UKTI helps boost trade with the Gulf

Paul Taylor, head of the Middle East team at UK Trade and Investment, presents his perspective of the GCC construction market and the opportunities available to British firms to strengthen their position in the market.

01 June 2010

LAST November, more than 60 British companies attended The Big 5 Show in Dubai – one of the largest missions the UK has ever sent to such an event.

And as recently as last month, the country participated in Arabian Construction Week (May 24 to 26), in Abu Dhabi, as part of efforts to help UK firms maximise on the tremendous opportunities that exist in this region, in the emergence from the global economic slowdown.
The last 12 months has been an unprecedented period for world economies. Whilst the GCC states have not escaped the financial stresses that have been felt all around the globe, the high-value public spending commitments they have made have helped avoid deep and prolonged recessionary pressures felt elsewhere. These spending commitments – the majority of which will benefit the construction industry – have helped to cushion the sector, and we are already starting to see healthy levels of recovery.
GCP’s (Global Construction Perspectives) recent ‘Global Construction 2020’ report estimates that, despite a temporary slowdown, construction output in the UAE will increase by five to seven per cent per annum between 2011 and 2020; and by 3.7 per cent per annum in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere in the GCC, estimates suggest that Oman currently has over $250 billion of ongoing construction projects; Kuwait has announced a $100-billion plan to develop mega projects over the next four years; and Bahrain and Qatar, like the rest of the Gulf region, are continuing to invest in major landmark projects, which have resulted in a number of commentators predicting a 10 to 15 per cent growth for the GCC construction sector this year.
So whilst there is still some way to go towards full recovery to historic growth rates, the outlook as a whole is positive.

Inevitably, business practices will have changed as a result of the slowdown, and one of the key effects of the global financial crisis is going to be reduced levels of lending for construction projects in all markets, especially to smaller firms.
With increased pressures to keep project costs low, the recent drop in the value of sterling against the dollar has left British companies extremely well placed to couple their world-class reputations for quality – especially in areas such as advanced engineering, design and planning, and project and building management – with even more competitive prices.
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the government organisation that helps UK-based companies succeed in international markets, is committed to helping British businesses to seek out, and make the most of the opportunities that exist, through its network of staff both in the UK and in British embassies and consulates throughout the Middle East region.
For the second year running, UKTI will be underlining the priority that it places on the Gulf region by hosting its ‘Britain in the Region’ trade event in Dubai on November 24. Britain in the Region 2010 will build on the success of last year’s event, which brought together more than 150 UK-based delegates and over 100 British companies and organisations already based in the Gulf, with UKTI managers from across the whole of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
Britain in the Region, and its UK-based sister event Partner Middle East 2011 (to be held in March next year in London, and two other UK centres), offer British companies from all sectors a one-stop shop for discovering what advice and support is available through UKTI, while offering the chance to learn about commercial opportunities that exist in the GCC and the wider Middle East from trade advisors from across the UKTI network.
UK construction firms have a long association and proven track record in the Middle East, and the conditions are right for them to go from strength to strength over the coming months.
Of course, there remain some important issues that need to be resolved in some parts of the GCC, not least the significant sums owed to British construction firms in Dubai. And over the coming months, the British government will continue to hold regular dialogue with the UAE on this issue, and to press for an equitable long-term solution to be found, building on the welcome first steps that were recently announced.
But in the meantime, events such as Arabian Construction Week, Britain in the Region and The Big 5 show will continue to raise awareness of the opportunities that exist in this dynamic part of the world, and provide the catalyst for even greater British commercial success in the future.