Making headlines

Gerhard Hope

It was an enlightening task compiling our News of the Year feature, which starts on p44 of this issue. There are two stories, based on CW online polls, that best give a sense of the main concerns of 2011. In the first, contractors cited their top priority as getting paid, highlighting cash-flow problems as the main issue post-downturn.

A total of 45.1% of readers who participated in the online survey said securing fees for projects was a dominant priority. This was almost double the number who placed winning contracts first (23.5%), planning ahead for the year (13.7%), company longevity (11.8%) and completing projects (5.9%).

That final figure was particularly significant in view of another top story that revealed that only about a third of projects designed in the last six years by a particular consultant ended up being built.

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The second essential story in obtaining an overview of 2011, also based on a CW online poll, revealed that civil unrest in the region ultimately superseded payment as a key issue. Asked what their single biggest concern was by the end of the first quarter of 2011, 36.8% of respondents replied that political unrest was their chief worry.

This was ahead of the perennial concern of finding out where projects were happening and bidding for them (26.3%), securing payments (21.1%) and rising material prices (15.8%).

Of course, it does not take a crystal ball to have predicted that these issues, cash flow and regional turmoil, were top of mind in 2011. But who could have foreseen the major developments of the past year? It is perhaps this uncertainty that is making a lot of contractors nervous about 2012, especially with the storm clouds of the Eurozone crisis not dissipating.

A lot of the news was dominated by the financial woes of major developers such as Nakheel, Limitless, Dubai World and Aldar, which entailed complicated restructuring and asset reorganisation.

Nakheel, in particular, had a pretty torrid year, from reports of an employee embezzling $21,000 to its CEO’s legal battle for $4m in unpaid compensation. Then there were the reports that The World was eroding due to a lack of dredging, while Palm Jumeirah residents were up in arms when denied access to the beachfront and common-area facilities.

The World was also the focus of attention for one Dubai JV which came up with the brilliant idea of a ‘floating’ villa with all the necessary infrastructure and attendant luxury of a freestanding home, but with the added benefit of being able to cast away when you became fed up with the neighbours.

Some of the biggest debates of the year revolved around the mysterious fuel shortage in Sharjah, and the machinations of competitor suppliers. Our readers were also very vocal about the architectural merit, or lack thereof, of the striking Rocco Forte Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

And then there was the exciting news that the UAE “will implement the international system of units replacing feet, inches and yards in favour of metres, in November,” specifically for the real-estate sector, after first being mooted in August 2010. Yes, it was a busy year.