Cost of labour in Abu Dhabi takes a 10% drop

Labour costs in Abu Dhabi took a 10% drop in April. Photo: Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images

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The average cost of construction labour in Abu Dhabi fell nearly 10 percent in April compared to the previous month, according to a new report.

The monthly report of Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) showed the cost of labour fell 9.6% while the price index for building materials edged up by 0.4% in the same period.

Concrete prices in the UAE capital dropped 11.4%, while steel prices rose by 11.6% during April, the SCAD figures showed. Cement prices retreated by 0.8%, the statistics report added.

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SCAD creates the index by using a basket of 195 items representing all basic building materials used in the construction activity, categorised into 21 commodity and service groups.

SCAD's report also showed that the building materials market has been "noticeably volatile lately" but over the past few months there had been a slight rise in the prices of most basic construction materials, as the market recovered from the recession of 2009.

Constructionweekonline earlier this week that the GCC has more than $1.3trillion worth of announced and un-awarded projects and a further $1.4trillion in the wider Middle East region despite the economic downturn.

Since late 2008, the UAE construction sector has seen more than $425bn worth of constructuction and infrastructure projects put on hold or cancelled. Of these, just under $300bn worth are located in Dubai, while neighbouring emirate Abu Dhabi has seen close to $49bn worth of projects postponed or cancelled.