The year that was
Certain factors in Dubai and the broader GCC bode well for 2012
Although the real estate and construction sectors saw minimal improvement during 2011, certain factors in Dubai and the broader GCC region give guarded cause for optimism in 2012.
Although the risks in Dubai are exacerbated by the liability imposed on designers and contractors by Article 880 of the Civil Code, it was encouraging to see a number of these incomplete structures being resuscitated in 2011. Unlike the primary factor which kickstarted the property market in Bangkok in 2003 (the change in demand from commercial to residential development), in Dubai the resuscitation does not appear to be linked to any single factor but it is expected that more projects will resume in 2012. That said, market sentiment for new projects in Dubai remains weak.
Lawyers Mark Fraser
This article first appeared in Construction Week and is reproduced with the kind permission of the editors.
