Construction

Huge demand for workers’ accommodation in RAK

November 4, 2024, 2:29 PM

RAK’s masterplan for tourism is expected to transform the landscape of the emirate, increasing the residential capacity from about 400,000 to 650,000 within five years RAK construction — RAK’s masterplan for tourism is expected to transform the landscape of the emirate, increasing the residential capacity from about 400,000 to 650,000 within five years

RAK construction booming
40,000 rooms for workers
Wynn Resorts driving demand

Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is adding 40,000 rooms for blue-collar worker accommodation in the next five years, fuelled by the multi-billion dollar Wynn Resorts casino development and thriving construction sector.

More than 10,000 rooms have been “fast-tracked” in the last nine months alone, according to Ramy Jallad, group CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (Rakez).

“That’s just one quarter of the demand,” he said.

US-based Wynn Resorts has invested more than $4 billion to build the country’s first casino on Marjan Island.

The development, which is scheduled to open its doors in 2027, will also include more than 1,000 rooms as well as a shopping mall, conference facilities, spa and more than 10 restaurants and lounges.

Jallad said a lot of the accommodation is for the workers who are building the new casino hotel.

RAK currently offers 8,000 hotel rooms across the emirate, with plans to increase that to as much as 20,000 by 2030.

RAK’s masterplan for tourism is set to transform the landscape of the emirate. It involves increasing the residential capacity from about 400,000 to 650,000 within five years.

It forms part of a wider plan to double the population of the UAE’s fourth largest emirate to 1 million by 2030 – the northern emirate’s population currently stands at more than 400,000, according to government figures.

RAK’s GDP is expected to grow by 80 percent by 2030, a report from consultants Stirling Hospitality Advisors predicts.

As of September this year RAK’s department of economic development had seen a 15 percent increase in the total capital of valid licenses registered, to AED9.26 billion, up AED250 million year on year.

Somewhat overshadowed by the glitz and glam of neighbouring emirate Dubai and the increasing number of sporting and cultural attractions in Abu Dhabi, RAK has focused heavily on its natural surroundings.

Adult, Male, Man 2BFA977 Arab man enjoying the view at the Jebel Jais desert sandstone mountain in Ras al Khaimah UAE — Home to the UAE’s highest peak Jebel Jais, Ras Al Khaimah has branded itself as the nature emirate

With a mixed topography of the Arabian Gulf on one side and the towering mountains on the other, including the UAE’s highest peak Jebel Jais, which stands at 1,934 metres, RAK has branded itself as the nature emirate.

Manufacturing remains a fundamental sector, however, and plays a huge role in the success of the emirate, making up a quarter of its annual GDP.

Rakez, which includes six industrial zones, welcomed 6,000 new companies in the first six months of the year, taking the amount of entities it serves up to 25,000, with 85,700 employees working in the free zone.

Jallad explained that as well as the new blue-collar worker accommodation, Rakez is also adding 100,000 square metres of warehouses to be delivered before the end of this year.

There will also be a further 2 million square metres added to the Al Ghail Industrial Zone and creation of a 1.5 million square metre high-tech manufacturing, innovation and specialised logistics zone, as well as another 20,000 square metres of office space.

“I have more than 32 million square metres of industrial land, of which I’ve probably just used about 10 million,” he said.

“It’s a good situation to be in and I can’t build stuff fast enough.”