Stefano Iannacone said that the UAE construction market has recognised the value of quality in construction materials.
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The UAE construction market can expect a greater focus on quality and sustainability in 2013, the managing director of Mapei said on Sunday.
In an interview with Big Project Middle East, Stefano Iannacone said that projects in the UAE were more quality oriented than a few years previously, a consequence of the lessons learnt during the construction boom in the emirate of Dubai.
“We expect a slight contraction in the number and value of projects. It’s also true that the projects that are to come, they have different specifications (to those previously). They are more quality oriented than they were a few years ago. The volume isn’t as high as it used to be, in terms of the value of the project, but there’s more quality awareness in the way they’re built,” he explained.
“There’s more awareness of sustainability and there’s more use of green materials,” he added.
He added that the majority of projects coming up in the country were related to infrastructure, with public spending likely to fund hospitals, schools, roads and bridges.
“A lot of the spending on construction will be in this direction,” he said. “There’s also a lot of refurbishing, repairing and facilities management business, and I think the UAE will be the driver for this in 2013.”
Iannacone highlighted Qatar as another area of growth for the construction industry, calling the country a ‘dormant giant’.
“You’re doomed if you’re not there and you’re damned if you are, because there are a lot of projects being announced, but it’s still slow to pick up. Obviously, it’s also infrastructure driven over there, with the World Cup, the Metro, the big hospitals (being built), and all the housing that goes along with them.”
Another GCC country he predicted would prove to be fruitful was Kuwait, due to the fact that the country had a lot of catching up to do, if it wanted to match its GCC neighbours.
A manufacturer of adhesives, sealants and chemical products, Mapei is an Italian owned company that has 65 subsidiaries and 62 production facilities in operation across 30 countries.
Exhibiting at Big 5 Dubai 2012, the company recently launched its newest range of chemical fasteners for all construction-related anchoring needs.
Certified to European Standards, the new adhesives can anchor heavy loads, structural loads and light loads.