Top 10 tips for construction firms in 2010

Expert advice for ensuring a successful 2010.

5. Infrastructure projects are still going strong

Throughout a generally gloomy year, manufacturers of general construction equipment have actually seen sales rise in their road building range. Chinese conglomerate LiuGong is best known in this region for a long-established line up of wheel loaders, but according to the general manager Huang Zhaohua, it has been the firm’s line-up of vibratory drum rollers that have seen the largest increase in sales over the last year.
“This type of equipment has seen a 30% rise in sales over the last year, against a downturn of 30% in the market generally.”
Major road building contracts are currently being offered in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with a number also being tendered in Oman.

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6. Think health and education

While giant city and island projects are less fashionable than knitwear and residential demand has bottomed out, there is still a huge need across the whole region for education and health facilities.
UK firm Stride Treglown, recognised for its portfolio of public sector buildings, for example, has just opened an office in Abu Dhabi. “We reviewed a number of global locations for our first step into the international market, and after a couple of adventures in the Caribbean and Europe, we determined that the UAE provided the greatest opportunity for us,” explains the firm’s Richard Philipson.
Kuwait has announced plans to build eight new hospitals worth an estimated US $3,1bn; Abu Dhabi will construct 18 schools in 2010, and, over the past year, more than 200 schools have been renovated in Jordan, with 300 more to come.