A Dh990 million contract was recently won by one of the UAE's leading contractors, Al Shafar General Contracting, to construct the Golden Mile on the Palm Jumeirah. The deal reportedly brings the company' orderbook to an estimated Dh4 billion, according to a senior company official.
It recently was awarded the contracting deal for a 42-storey Citadel commercial tower at Business Bay. Al Shafar also boasts approximately 10 projects in the Dh300-Dh400 million range currently, according to Gulf News.
Commenting on the steep rise of raw building materials in recent years, managing director of Al Shafar, Emad Azmy Gendi, said that Dubai's contracting market has been relatively unscathed. In fact, Gendi pointed out, the market is poised for even higher growth.
In addition to the rise of aluminum and copper prices, "Steel prices have risen from Dh800 ($218) a ton in 2002 to the current price of Dh2200 ($600) because of strong demand from China and Europe," Gendi said.
He explained that due to the fact that the rise in metal prices has been gradual and not sudden, the practice of contractors bidding for fixed-price contracts has not resulted in losses for the company.
Gendi pegged the company's profit margins at five to six percent per project, while it continues to hire more people to the ranks of its 6,500-strong workforce.
