Huge demand for labour in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi needs up to 25,000 men a month for its numerous projects, says expert. Photo: Getty.

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The number of construction workers being recruited to work in Abu Dhabi has risen sharply in the last two months, a Dubai-based company which specialises in hiring workers from India and Pakistan has said.

In February, a spokesperson from the Dhoria International Job Centre said the number of labourers being recruited to the UAE had dropped from up to 400 workers a month in 2009 to around only one a month at the start of 2010.

“It has not changed in Dubai but it has changed in Abu Dhabi. We’re doing about 200 a month now to Abu Dhabi,” a spokesperson from the recruitment firm told Arabian Business.

“This time last year it was nothing, Abu Dhabi has picked up the last two months and it has gone really crazy now. They have announced a lot of projects and they are doing a lot there now. I think they need 20,000 to 25,000 men a month in Abu Dhabi,” he added.

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This sentiment was echoed in a report published on Tuesday by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry which said the UAE still accounts for more than half of all GCC construction projects and an analysis of the largest construction and infrastructure projects by value showed that five of the region’s ten biggest schemes planned or underway are in Abu Dhabi.

Dubai Chamber said that the market had shifted from Dubai to Abu Dhabi where short term growth would be driven by the UAE government’s spend on infrastructural projects.

"Whilst it is of no surprise that the UAE is still the largest construction market in the GCC, what has changed is that the market is being driven by development projects in Abu Dhabi while until recently it has been Dubai’s real estate projects that have dominated the industry," the report added.

Dhoria International Job Centre has been recruiting construction workers to the Middle East for over 30 years and has worked with companies such as Al Habtoor, Arabtec, Balfour Beatty and Laing O'Rourke.

It focuses mainly on recruiting from India and Pakistan and workers are charged three months salary upfront before they fly to the emirates. The standard length of contracts is three years and workers pay the first ten percent of the recruitment fee upfront and the remainder when they get their visa.

The company said it is also seeing an increase in demand for workers to go to Qatar and Libya. “People like to come to Dubai so it is tougher to get them to go to Libya,” the spokesperson added.

A report by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, published on Tuesday, said the UAE still led the way in the GCC for active construction projects, adding that Abu Dhabi infrastructure projects were now dominant in the country rather than Dubai real estate schemes.