DUBAI, 2 October 2006 — With over 24 million square feet of commercial office space currently under development, Dubai has been ranked a close second in the world in terms of office real estate construction activity by Colliers International, one of the top three global property service consultants.
According to the company’s mid-year Global Office Real Estate review, which assesses the worldwide commercial property markets in 50 countries, only Moscow ranks higher with the Russian capital boasting an estimated 26.90 million square feet of ongoing commercial property construction.
John Davis, CEO, Colliers International — Middle East, said: “It’s no surprise to see Dubai so close to the top in terms of construction activity. This go-ahead emirate has been making massive progress in recent years with development steaming ahead at an incredible compound annual growth rate of 42.5 percent. Positioned to become the business capital of the region, Dubai has implemented a succession of world-class incentives to attract corporations, NGOs and SMEs from across the globe.”
According to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), the emirate’s nominal GDP grew 27 percent in 2005, more than five times the global average. Buoyed by massive increases in non-oil dependant industries, Dubai is generating strong demand for commercial office space.
“Dubai currently boasts 14 million square feet of available primary and secondary grade office space within its established central business districts (CBDs), a relatively small amount considering the rapid influx of foreign business and the development of indigenous entities currently being undertaken here. Supply is quite simply not meeting demand and developers are feverishly trying to correct the market,” Davis added.
According to the report, Asia’s commercial construction industry is also thriving. China’s ongoing economic boom was evident with Beijing and Shanghai placed third and fourth in the global rankings with 23.58 million square feet and 21.61 million square feet respectively of office space under construction. In addition, Tokyo Central Wards, Guangzhou, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, were ranked nine through 12 respectively.
Ranked fifth was South Africa’s most populous city, Johannesburg, which is currently undertaking 17.87 million square feet of office space construction.
Only one European city finished in the top ten rankings, Paris, which is currently undertaking 14.61 million square feet of commercial development.
