UAE and Chinese construction companies looking at ways to further cooperation

The UAE Contractors' association was represented by Mr. Humaid Salem, General Manager, and Mr. Imad K. Al Jamal, Member of the Higher Technical Consultative Committee. Chinamex was represented by Mr. Wang Wei, General Manager.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of several construction companies in the UAE. Whereas many of the participating companies already had tie-ups with Chinese enterprises, there were others who didn't but were open to the idea of joint ventures.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Salem of the UAE Contractors' Association said: "The construction sector in the UAE is experiencing an incredible growth at the moment. Considering the prospective projects in the coming five years, it is expected that that this sector will supersede other sectors in the country."

Mr. Salem said that there were strong possibilities that the contribution of the building and construction sector in the UAE will shoot up to Dhs. 60 billion in five year's time from the Dhs. 18 billion at present.

"The construction sector in the UAE, given the present growth, provided unlimited opportunities for cooperation between UAE and Chinese construction companies," Mr. Salem said.

He further said that the rise in construction and building projects in the UAE was responsible for making the contracting sector in the country a primary pillar in the production force of the national economy.

As per figures made available by the UAE Contractors' Association, the contracting sector employed the second largest number of workers in the country. This constituted 16.5 % of the total labour force in the UAE.

The number of workers in the contracting sector reached 362,251 in 2003, up 5.3 % from the previous year. A 10% increase is expected in 2004.

"This meeting is just a beginning to get UAE and Chinese construction companies together. More detailed discussions on this issue will be held in the near future," said Mr. Wei of Chinamex.

Back at the CCFS, the Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, H.E. Wei Jianguo, visited the exhibition on December 8, 2004. Exhibitors, meanwhile, continued to do brisk business. As of December 7, 2004, a total of 41,567 people had visited the event. This included 12,088 trade visitors from 58 countries.

The Five-day CCFS closes on December 8, 2004.