Shortage of cladding leaves Dubai skyline bare

22 December 2006
A shortage of cladding is leaving much of the developing Dubai skyline naked and derailing construction deadlines.
'If you drive along Sheikh Zayed road you can see it for yourself,' says a Dubai-based contractor. 'There are many buildings where the structure has reached 40 storeys and it's just concrete there is no cladding at all.' The cladding issue is reaching endemic proportions. The most extreme example is the Burj Dubai, where the core structure has reached 95 floors but no attempt has been made to complete the outer covering threatening the planned 2008 completion date. The world's tallest tower is not alone. Between Jebel Ali Free Zone and the World Trade Centre there are scores of buildings standing naked without a single panel between them. 'All our jobs are delayed by about four months because of cladding,' says a European contractor. 'The situation is really bad.' Rampant demand and limited supply are at the root of the problem. Traditionally just a handful of cladding contractors supplied almost all major construction projects. 'The market is dominated by Alabbar, Arabian Profile, and Alumco,' says the local contractor. With more than 120 towers under construction at Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers alone, the demand is immense. 'All cladding companies are operating at over capacity,' says a cladding supplier. 'Everyone is running on the edge.' The industry has invested heavily in new capacity, but as the project mountain continues to grow many suppliers have found that they are unable to keep pace with demand. 'We have expanded our glass, aluminium, and stainless steel production and we have improved our facilities,' says the cladding supplier. 'But the problem is that there are still too many projects.'

Lead times

The challenge for cladding suppliers is delivery. Fabrication plants are operating at fully capacity as companies struggle to meet agreed deadlines. The solution for some has been to close the order book and focus on contracts in hand. 'We have been forced to close our order books and focus on finishing the projects we have,' says the supplier. 'I assume the other players are doing the same.'

Clients and contractors are beginning to take control of the situation. Some have secured cladding supplies by developing their own in-house cladding capabilities, through acquisition, or by investing in existing players. Local real estate developer Emaar Properties, through its subsidiary Emaar Industries & Investments, acquired local aluminium fabricator Multiforms in late 2005. In May this year, Dubai-based ETA Ascon secured land at Dubai Industrial City to set up its own cladding factory. Other contractors are left waiting for deliveries. And as more mega projects move into construction the problem shows no sign of abating. 'The market definitely needs more capacity,' says the cladding supplier. 'If the workload remains then we will need to double our capacity, but the big question is whether the market will continue at this level.'

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