Ivar Krasinski, Founding Partner & Design Director, & Martin Baershmidt, Founding Partner & Managing Director, EDGE Architects • Interview

Ivar Krasinski

FOUNDING PARTNER & DESIGN DIRECTOR, EDGE ARCHITECTS

What is your outlook for Dubai’s construction sector this year, and beyond?

It depends on which area within construction you are analyzing, as the nature of investments in real estate is changing. There is already an excess of freehold apartments and villas, so, in that respect, I do not predict many more contract projects there. Despite this, we are negotiating a number of freehold projects, so whilst the market will shrink, it will not disappear completely. I expect a continuous demand in Dubai because it is an attractive city for global investors, and it will remain so, although its size will undoubtedly change. Construction companies will have fewer jobs available. For certain projects, there is a great amount of competition, whereby some companies are closing down or facing financial issues, leaving only the strongest. You can see it right now in the smaller operations, where certain sub-contractors are closing down. Basically, there is a correction happening in the market. When there is huge growth, it is abnormal, with too much construction going on. After this though, Dubai will correct and change its focus, looking for specific project types. At that point, there is a certain surplus of companies phasing out. On the other hand, rental markets are in high demand today. The construction of hospitals is growing, as are a variety of new tourist attractions, which confirms a strongly diversified market, which I expect to remain the case.