Face-to-face: Imad Al Jamal says

Imad Al Jamal, Contractor's Association vice-chairman

Imad Al Jamal, Contractor's Association vice-chairman

Read what answers Ani Ray, Simplex infrastructure country director, has for the same questions

Should property payments be tied to construction milestones as a matter of policy?
Payments should be tied to construction milestones, and the system should be supervised by an independent body such as the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera). Many of these so-called investors, they just run away.

Will the financial crisis get any worse or is it over?
There is still worse to come, but we are much more prepared, and much more qualified to come out of it than other countries, due to the availability of funds.

Should the government’s longer-term growth predictions be revised in light of the crisis?
To be honest, I don’t believe in long-term forecasts and planning, bearing in mind that the world economy is moving so swiftly in all directions at the moment. I can’t say yes or no, but what I can say, is that we should take things as they come. We should plan for the short- and mid-term, but the long-term is very hard to predict.

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Should contractors be focusing on public sector projects to pull through the downturn?
Contractors are divided into three main categories. Big, medium and small. The big firms need big contracts to meet their over-heads and expenses. But I don’t think that contractors should be limited to a certain sector. They should diversify in different directions. There is a trend towards privatisation, but contractors should be involved in both.