Dubai faces 500,000 construction workers' shortage

With the real estate sector in the Gulf Arab emirate Dubai showing no let-up in expanding, the construction sector here is all set to witness a shortage of 500,000 workers by 2015, a media report said here Saturday.

According to a survey initiated by the Dubai international academic city (DIAC) and conducted by consultancy Deloitte, construction firms and developers face a shortfall of 500,000 workers across all career levels and divisions as massive public and private projects fuel an unprecedented real estate boom in the sheikhdom, reported Xinhua citing the Gulf News daily.

The study showed that building and construction project management skills are most lacking among senior levels, according to 43 percent of the companies surveyed.

Likewise, 54 percent of the companies believe that design engineering skills are lacking among mid-level professionals, followed by civil engineering skills, said the report.

Dubai's winning bid to host the World Expo in 2020 also boosted the construction sector, with average rents having risen by 23 percent during the first quarter of 2014, according to real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

The report quoted estimates by HSBC bank saying that about 45,000 new hotel rooms will be needed for the event.

The total infrastructure works for Expo 2020 is estimated at 12.54 billion Dirham or about $3.40 billion, producing a large demand for talent and skilled workers to decent on the UAE for job opportunities.

The Dubai government launched last year several new projects, including a new city within the city named by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid and a free zone for the design industry which shall play a key central role during the expo event.