According to RICS’s Q3 2024 Global Construction Monitor, the Saudi and United Arab Emirates (UAE) construction markets continue to rank among the strongest in the world due to strong workloads and optimistic sentiment.
The quarterly guide from a UK-based professional organisation that monitors trends in the construction and infrastructure market stated that the UAE’s Construction Sentiment Index (CSI) achieved a net balance of +55 in the third quarter of 2024. This marks the highest index since RICS began monitoring the UAE in 2018.
Saudi Arabia achieved +61, a slight dip from the second quarter.
“Whilst slightly lower than +64 in the second quarter, the figure remains firmly in expansionary territory,” the Global Construction Monitor said, as reported by Zawya.
Both countries outperformed the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region’s CSI of +28 (up from +24 previously).
However, the MEA region performed better than the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with their infrastructure, residential, and non-residential sectors showing robust growth expectations for the next 12 months and positive trends in current workloads.
The largest sector in terms of both present and future workloads was infrastructure. With a CSI of -2 (down from +7 in the second quarter), APAC saw its worst reading since 2020. Despite much stronger readings of +27 and +32 in the second and first quarters, respectively, the Americas’ CSI of +18 remained positive, while Europe’s reading was +7 compared to the previous quarter’s figure of +12.
Notwithstanding their advantages, the Saudi and UAE markets encounter certain challenges. According to RICS, geopolitical tensions have caused oil prices to fluctuate in the UAE, which has weakened investor confidence and resulted in some project cancellations and delays, especially those that depend on government or oil-related funding.
According to UAE respondents, quantity surveyors are the most sought-after professionals, followed by skilled tradespeople and site managers, indicating that the market is still being impacted by high levels of professional demand. Because of growing project demands, there are still shortages of even unskilled labour.