Cement imports by Dubai soar 74% in 2007

Dubai's cement imports increased 73.6 per cent, or 1.26 million tonnes, to 2.96 million tonnes in 2007, as a result of the construction boom.

The imports are valued at Dh672 million, according to the Dubai World Statistics Department (DWSD).

Dubai imported 1.70 million tonnes of cement in 2006.

Nassim Al Muhairi, acting head of DWSD put the value of Dubai's cement imports in 2007 at around Dh672 million. Cement imports were worth Dh374 million in 2006.

Al Muhairi attributed the increase to Dubai's construction boom and the increase in oil prices. "Major projects such as the Dubai Metro mean that Dubai's cement imports will continue growing at even higher rates in the coming years," she said.

In the UAE also imported nine million tons of steel in 2007, a 36 per cent increase each year, compared with 2006. In the UAE, took ninth in the world, the top ten importers of the steel industry in 2007, according to the UK on the basis of Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau.

On the recent abolition of cement and steel import duties, Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Damac Holding, a leading property developer, said the move bodes well for UAE's construction industry.

"Steel demand, projected to increase from five million tonnes in 2007 to 10 million tonnes in 2010, coupled with soaring cement prices will help master developers like us to be in a better position to keep control over soaring project costs. This move will also eliminate the emerging black market for cement in the UAE," said Sajwani.