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Construction

The latest construction business news, opinion and analysis from the Middle East

Dubai real estate

A property model in Dubai. Properties in the emirate are becoming smaller but remain more afforable than other global cities

Dubai’s smaller homes more affordable than global rivals

Dubai homes for sale today are about a quarter smaller than their equivalents four years ago, despite average prices growing by more than half, industry data shows. But experts claim this is a result of the rise in demand for smaller units, which are still substantially bigger and more affordable than those in rival global […]

Dubai real estate bubble

Dubai real estate ‘hot’ but no bubble fears, say experts

Dubai’s real estate market is running “a bit hot”, but it is not heading towards a bubble or another catastrophic crash, experts say. Residential sales prices in the emirate increased 20 percent in 2023, while city-wide rents grew 9 percent higher, according to the latest research from Cushman & Wakefield Core. Although Dubai remains more […]

Aldar, which has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, has expansion plans in Dubai and beyond

Abu Dhabi’s Aldar has big plans for projects in Dubai

Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s largest developer, plans to launch more projects in neighbouring Dubai this year. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Aldar’s chief finance and sustainability officer Faisal Falaknaz said the Abu Dhabi-listed developer is on track to launch its second master plan in Dubai in the second quarter of this year. The […]

shared rental Dubai apartment

Hope at last for Dubai expats seeking a shared rental home

Shared rental accommodation for expats in Dubai, something previously difficult to offer because of rules against subletting, is being developed by a company called Co-Living Legends, working with developers and landlords. Co-Living Legends was set up in 2021 to help female expats find house-share rental options in Dubai.  House sharing is well established in markets […]

Latest Construction News

The loan will be used to improve public services, and create jobs throughout Morocco

Morocco signs $109m loan deal with African bank

Morocco has received a loan worth €100 million ($109 million) from the African Development Bank to fund new investment and sustainable infrastructure projects across the country. The loan agreement was signed with Fonds d’Equipement Communal, a bank dedicated to financing investment projects and development programmes in Morocco. Funds will be used to improve public services, […]

Nobu Aldar record

Nobu penthouse shatters Abu Dhabi sales record

A three-bed penthouse at Nobu Residences on Saadiyat Island has sold for AED137 million ($37.3 million), fetching the highest price per sq m ever seen in Abu Dhabi, at AED96,000 ($26,137), Aldar Properties has claimed. It comes after the sale of a four-bed duplex sky villa in Nobu Residences for AED130 million, the state-run WAM […]

Tourists walk on the road next to the beach in Paphos, Cyprus. Gulf funds are 'looking at all of Cyprus', particularly in real estate

Gulf funds investing in Cyprus ‘only a question of time’

Three sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf are in discussions to invest in real estate projects in Cyprus, according to one of the island’s biggest developers. “It’s only a question of time that it is going to happen,” said Pantelis Leptos, co-president of the developer Leptos Estates, without giving further details on the wealth funds […]

The lake planned for the Trojena development, which will be built by Italian company Webuild

Trojena winter resort aims to be Neom’s inaugural site

The Saudi winter resort of Trojena will be completed and ready to open in 2027 ahead of the 2029 Asian Winter Games, a spokesman said this week, making it the first project inside the futuristic city Neom to come online.  Developers are under pressure to finish the giga-projects at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s economic […]

Dubai's ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Economic Agenda to double the size of the emirate's economy. Oreseya Capital will contribute to this aim

Nakheel and Meydan merge with Dubai Holding 

Two of Dubai’s largest state-backed developers – Nakheel and Meydan – will merge into Dubai Holding, the investment vehicle of Dubai’s Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to create a new global economic entity.  Nakheel and Meydan will become part of Dubai Holding under the leadership of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, with […]

Beirut port blast 2020

Lebanon unveils plans to rebuild shattered Beirut port

Lebanese companies will lead the multi-million-dollar funding for the rehabilitation of Beirut’s port, which will be based mainly on the revenues that the port has been collecting. Ali Hamieh, the country’s caretaker minister of public works and transport, announced the news on Wednesday. The port was partially destroyed in August 2020 when the detonation of […]

Buildings taller than 90m are banned in Budapest to preserve the city's architecture

UAE developer wins $6bn Budapest contract

An Emirati developer has finalised a €5.5 billion ($6 billion) deal to transform a rundown area of Budapest in the same week that the UAE and Hungary signed an economic cooperation agreement aimed at improving bilateral trade and investment. Eagle Hills International, which is based in Abu Dhabi, has partnered with the Hungarian government to […]

Construction cranes tower over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, as a pilgrim kneels in prayer

Super-rich Muslims seek homes in Saudi holy cities

Wealthy Muslims are keen to take advantage of golden residency visas in Saudi Arabia to buy nearly $2 billion of property in Mecca, Medina and Riyadh, according to new research.  Just over 500 high-net-worth individuals from nine countries with a sizeable Muslim population – Algeria, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore and Turkey – […]

How the Grand Boulevard Approach of The Arena will look

London architect HKS to design Diriyah’s 20,000-seat Arena

Saudi Arabia has hired a London-based architecture practice to design a sports and entertainment venue in Riyadh’s historic district of Diriyah, close to the site where a landmark opera house will be built.  “The architecture rises from the landscape as a series of monoliths, evoking local geological formations and alluding to ancient Nadji forts and […]

A solar installation in Morocco. The $20bn Xlinks Morocco-UK renewables project should be operational by 2030

XLinks reaffirms UK is priority for Morocco power project

British renewable power company Xlinks is “100 percent committed to the UK” despite reports suggesting it was refocusing its attention on Germany. Xlinks is overseeing the $22 billion Morocco-UK renewables project, which involves building solar panel and wind farms in the desert of the North African country. Via the installation of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) […]

A planned Dar Global development in Oman. The company aims to shake up real estate marketing with AI

Dar Global spin-off to use AI in real estate marketing

Dar Global, the London-listed arm of the Saudi Arabian real estate developer Dar Al Arkan, is establishing a venture dedicated to finding technological solutions to real estate companies’ biggest challenges. Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Dar Global, told AGBI that the company’s new Propgenuis spin-off would introduce tools aimed at automating social media management for […]

Riyadh's Majdoul Tower under construction. Saudi Arabia is trying to improve regulations around contracts and payments in the sector

Saudi Arabia pushes to end construction payment issues

The construction industry in Saudi Arabia is still plagued by payment delays but the kingdom has made significant efforts to improve workflow among developers, contractors and subcontractors to resolve what is a global problem. Cash flow and payment problems trigger claims or disputes in more than a third of all projects in the kingdom. This […]

infractstructure construction Dubai mall Shop, Shopping Mall, People

Infrastructure projects to lift UAE construction sector

While the residential segment continues to dominate the $94 billion UAE construction sector, investments in transport and renewable energy infrastructure will help propel future growth, a new report says. Government transport projects such as rail and road infrastructure, energy ventures and sewerage and water infrastructure projects, will fuel the construction sector’s expansion, according to the […]

Saudi construction delay

Big events take priority for stretched Saudi builders

There will be delays in delivering Saudi Arabia’s massive construction pipeline in time for 2030, but projects directly linked to specific international events such as the Asian Winter Games in 2029 will take priority, industry players told AGBI at the Big5 conference in Riyadh last week. About $1 trillion in giga-projects are under way across […]

Head, Person, Face Deyaar's CEO, Saeed Al Qatami, says there has been 'phenomenal growth' in the commercial space Video length: 04:50

Dubai luxury real estate has stabilised, says Deyaar CEO

Demand for mid-segment and affordable properties will increase in the coming months as luxury real estate prices start to stabilise, according to Saeed Al Qatami, CEO of the Dubai master developer Deyaar Development.  “This is a segment that will see more demand and an increase in prices. Luxury has stabilised,” Al Qatami said. Last month […]

The centrepiece of Neom's Gidori development will be a cantilevered beachfront complex

Neom plans golf community on Gulf of Aqaba

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-city Neom has revealed plans for Gidori, a residential golf community on the coastal hills of the Gulf of Aqaba. Gidori will house luxury hospitality, premium residences and a range of sports and leisure amenities designed using the area’s natural landscape. The centrepiece will be a cantilevered beachfront complex. The tower […]

Drake & Scull's projects include the Louvre Abu Dhabi

Drake & Scull gains approval to resume trading on Dubai bourse

Drake & Scull International has been given the green light to resume trading on the Dubai Financial Market, after an absence of more than five years. The decision from the Securities and Commodities Authority follows the Dubai contractor agreeing to increase its share capital by up to AED600 million ($163 million), as part of a […]

The racetrack at Qiddiya is designed by Austrian former Formula One driver Alex Wurz and German circuit designer Hermann Tilke

Qiddiya’s new racetrack bids for world motorsports crown

Saudi giga-project Qiddiya will host a new racetrack in an attempt to become one of the world’s top motorsport venues. Located in Qiddiya city, the speed park track is slated to host the world’s most prestigious racing events, Qiddiya Investment Company, the project developer, said in a statement. Designed by Austrian former Formula One driver […]