By Hadeel Al Sayegh and Luke Tyson
DUBAI (Reuters) -In a city famed for transforming desert into skyline, developers are taking the building process into their own hands as they seek to turbo-charge a property boom and maximise cash flow.
A growing number of major UAE developers are setting up in-house contracting firms, after long relying on third-party contractors. The move is aimed at increasing control over construction timelines, costs and quality standards, and ultimately, securing a larger share of profits, though it could also carry risks.
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In a previously unreported sign of the trend, Emaar Properties, which developed the Burj Khalifa, has established Rukn Mirage under its subsidiary Mirage, a spokesperson told Reuters. Emaar joins developers such as Samana Developers, Ellington, and Azizi, all of which have launched in-house contracting units in the past two years.
Arada, the developer co-founded by Saudi Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, also confirmed in a statement to Reuters that they acquired part of an Australian contractor this year and plan to integrate it into UAE operations by 2027.
The shift comes as Dubai’s real estate surges, with prices up 70% over four years to December 2024 and a government plan to double the population to 7.8 million by 2040.
Property launches rose 83% in 2024, though completions fell 23%, industry data shows.
The boom has fuelled a new influx of workers, including migrant labourers mainly from South Asia, with high rates of turnover among expatriate staff. It has also led to fears of a downturn in a sector that remains crucial to the UAE economy.
Developers have been struggling to attract bids from outside contractors, amid stiff competition.
Samana Developers had initially planned to allocate 20% of its projects to its new in-house arm, launched in September. Now 80-90% of its new projects are being handled internally, Chief Executive Imran Farooq told Reuters.
“We used to get 25 or 30 contractors bidding for a project. Today you get hardly two or three,” Farooq said.
Emaar, meanwhile, is taking a hybrid approach. While some projects — such as a recently announced residential development — will be executed by their in-house construction arm Rukn Mirage, they will continue to outsource others, founder and Managing Director Mohamed Alabbar said.
Developers are also tapping debt markets to fund land purchases and operations, as billions of dirhams in buyer payments remain in escrow until handover. Funds are released only after final inspections, with a one-year delivery grace period before buyers can claim refunds.
