Infrastructure and Construction

Showing posts for infrastructure and construction

3 December 2025

Sand, Steel and Sentiment: Real Estate Cycles in the Gulf

Real estate cycles matter The story of Atlantic Yards in New York is both instructive and sobering. Billed as the largest real estate project ever for the city, its launch timing was excruciatingly poor. Announced in December 2003, the planning delays and the design phase dragged out over more than four years. By the time construction began in earnest, the […]
27 November 2025

Abu Dhabi Residential Market Performance Q3 2025

Despite Q1 2025 residential unit sales transactions being lower than Q4 2024 due to seasonal factors and limited new launches, Abu Dhabi City’s real estate market regained momentum in Q3 2025, reaching its highest level of residential unit sales transactions on record. This rebound was supported by favourable economic conditions and rising demand from both investors and end users. The upward revision of the UAE’s 2025 GDP forecast to 4.9%, together with the International Monetary Fund’s projection of 6% growth for Abu Dhabi, highlights the solid economic backdrop that continues to support market activity.
17 October 2025

Dubai Retail and Warehouse Market Performance H1 2025

Executive Summary with Key Trends In the first half of 2025, Dubai’s retail market recorded around 500 sales transactions valued at approximately AED 1.4 billion. Overall transaction volume and value declined year-on-year by 17.3% and 1.8%, largely due to a slowdown in off-plan activity. In contrast, the ready retail segment performed strongly. On the rental side, overall contracts increased compared […]
26 August 2025

Unlocking the Kingdom: Housing Markets and Foreign Ownership Rules

To date, certain countries have attracted the lion’s share of overseas investment into their residential markets: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the UAE and the United States. These countries are all characterised by remarkably lenient regulations for foreign nationals wishing to buy real estate in their domestic markets. In the UK, for example, there are virtually no restrictions at all, neither geographic, nor residency, not sectoral, nor value. Controls exist only to confirm identity and to prevent money laundering.1 The USA, Australia and Canada are somewhat more restrictive – Canada even imposed a freeze on overseas purchases of residential real estate altogether in 2023.2
14 August 2025

Dubai Office Market Performance H1 2025

Dubai’s investment landscape continued to flourish in the first half of 2025, reinforcing its status as the UAE’s leading economic hub. The Emirate attracted 526 greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, representing 86% of the national total and securing USD 3.03 billion in capital inflows. This growth was further supported by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which recorded a 32% year-on-year increase in new business registrations, with 1,081 companies established. The Dubai office market also delivered an outstanding performance in H1’2025, reaching its highest sales activity in recent years. Approximately 1,900 transactions were completed, reflecting a 21.6% increase year-on-year. Meanwhile, the total value of office sales surged to AED 5.4 billion, marking an 83.9% rise compared to H1’2024.
22 July 2025

Economic Impact Assessments: At the Crossroads of Economics and Real Estate Development

Governments worldwide, including now in the Gulf, want to know what economic benefits they will receive from alternative policy settings as well as from developments beyond their control. Policy examples include changing visa or competition regulations, or creating free trade or enterprise zones.[1] Other developments that Governments may want to analyse include the impact of particular domestic industries,[2] wildfires[3] or travel restrictions[4] on the economy as a whole. At a project level, cities and public agencies want similar information when they make specific decisions, for example analysing the economic benefits of Expo 2020 in the UAE,[5] deciding on transportation projects in Hong Kong,[6] analysing Saudi smart cities,[7] and authorising real estate developments.[8]
4 July 2025

Contractor – Dubai

Location: Dubai Project Value: AED 170m+ Reason for study: Financial reporting Scope of Work: Valuation of a variety of construction machinery & equipment. Assets count in excess of 2000 movable machinery and vehicles. Completion Date: 2021  
4 July 2025

Gas Company – Sharjah

Location: Sharjah Project Value: AED 900m+ Reason for study: Financial reporting Scope of Work: Valuation of a 250km+ gas pipeline network. Additional facilities included a gas receiving and compressor station with SCADA control. Metering and Regulating (M&R) stations across the network and client offload points. Completion Date: 2022  
4 July 2025

Water and Power Generation Facility – Fujairah

Location: Ras Al Khaimah Project Value:AED 250m+ Reason for study: Loan Security Scope of Work: Valuation of water processing and power generation faclities for a leading utility provider based in Northern Emirates. Portfolio comprise of multiple desalination water processing plants within the region including some of the most sophisticated RO and membrane technologies. Power generation mainly comprised of diesel-generator based […]
4 July 2025

Cement Manufacturer – Fujairah

Location: Fujairah Project Value: Value ranging from AED 70m – 900m Reason for study: Loan Security Scope of Work: Valuation of cement manufacturing facilities including some of the largest producers in the GCC region. Individual plant capacity in excess of 1 million tonnes per annum. Valuation analysis was performed using industry specific data points on asset lives, depreciation profiles and […]
25 June 2025

Tokenisation of Real Estate: Past Dreams, Present Achievements and a Measured Outlook for the Future

A long history The need for tradeable, liquid real estate assets has long been widely recognised. There have been a range of attempted solutions to the problem. Probably the most well-known attempt was the securitisation market. From tentative origins in medieval Europe, securitised real estate – and especially mortgages – rose to become instrumental in the Global Financial Crisis when […]
4 June 2025

Plant and Machinery Valuation: The Basics

Accurate valuation of plant and machinery is essential for businesses, impacting financial reporting, investment decisions, and asset management. Given Dubai’s dynamic economy and rapid technological advancements, several factors influence valuation outcomes.  

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