Despite the decree issued by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, exempting cement and reinforced steel from custom duties until further notice to keep the momentum of property development investment, the price of structural steel has recently risen by between 15 and 25 percent. In response, developers are raising their voices louder than ever to call for other measures to protect them from brokers, hoarding and black market speculation, and to allow them to import cement and reinforced steel without restriction so that they can overcome the soaring prices. According to various real estate reports, the hike in the price of reinforced steel is not limited to Dubai or the UAE, but is rather a trend that can be seen throughout the GCC countries, and which is driven by the real estate boom and the recycling of surplus petrodollars, much of which is taking place in the real estate sector, the safest and fastest growing investment channel in the regional markets. Fakhruddin Properties said “the GCC countries have started addressing this issue, with more than $18 billion being invested in 46 steel manufacturing plants throughout the Gulf in an attempt to close the widening gap between supply and demand for steel, a major component for the construction industry. These projects indicate aggressive growth in the industrial sector, in line with the five-year real estate boom.” “The current flow of real estate projects, coupled with the expectations that this trend will continue in the region over the coming two decades, led us to seriously consider possible investment in steel projects, bearing in mind that we would need to bridge the current gap between supply and demand, while avoiding a situation of oversupply of these materials in the future once a balance has been established in the real estate market,” Fakhruddin added. According to recent industry research, in the face of rapid growth in domestic demand, the UAE and other Gulf Arab oil producers are planning to develop 46 steel manufacturing plants throughout the GCC countries in order to expand output. Leading the way in these steel plant projects are Saudi Arabia with 17 plants and the UAE with 16. Six of the remaining 13 plants are to be located in Oman, four in Bahrain and three in Qatar. The estimated cost required to establish a steel factory with full production capacity varies between $15 million and $2 billion, while the estimated cost to establish ten manufacturing plants, studies for one of which are currently underway, is $10 billion. The UAE is investing $2.2 billion to build the region's three largest steel manufacturing plants: the first of the three plants is the $1 billion plant in Fujairah, which has a production capacity of 1.5 million tons per year. The second is the $600 million Boulder Project in Hamriya, a facility with a capacity of 175,000 tons per year. The third, which will be built in Hamriya and for which studies are currently underway, is also valued at $600 million. The Fakhruddin Group of Companies established in 1963 and quickly went from strength to strength based on its core values of providing quality products by understanding and then satisfying its customers' needs. Fakhruddin's track record in real estate development and property management has been marked by its exponential growth in the UAE. In the arena of an increasingly competitive market, Fakhruddin is committed to providing quality to its customers and increasing its market share. It is now developing a series of signature projects in Dubai, notably the Maimoon Twin Towers, the Coral International Hotel Apartments and the Lake Central Towers. Using smart technology in its array of plush state-of-the-art facilities, the company's projects are proving quite popular in the country's real estate market. __
