With $72 billion worth of building construction projects forecasted to be completed by end of 2014, the GCC building construction market is showing a positive uptrend in 2014 (+7.7 per cent from 2013) according to the Ventures ME research.
The residential and commercial sectors, with $30 billion and $11.8 billion worth of construction projects expected to be completed by 2014, remain the sectors that attract the most investment; following in the rank are the educational, the hospitality – which jumped up by 30 per cent from 2013 – and the medical sectors.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ($33.82 billion) and the UAE ($21.28 billion) continue to command the largest market shares in terms of projects due for completion during 2014 followed by Qatar ($9.06 billion), Kuwait ($3.79 billion), Oman ($3.02 billion) and Bahrain ($1.05 billion).
This trend has translated into increased opportunities for the interiors and fit outs markets with investment estimated to reach $7.84 billion by end of this year.
The GCC interior contracting and fit out sector encompassing internal wood works, soft and hard furnishings, furniture, lighting, partitions, flooring, kitchen and bathroom fittings constitutes approximately 10 to 20 percent of the average construction project value and closely mirrors the trends in the building construction market. Interior and fit out spend in residential sector projects occupies the largest share of 43.4 per cent ($3.2 billion) of the overall GCC market. As of countries, the equations are changing gradually with trends emerging from markets that were earlier dormant and recovering slowly – Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain – while the existing leaders – KSA, UAE and Qatar – continue their dominance.
CPI Financial
20 November
