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Regional design firms are starting to feel the impact of the global economic slowdown – but the news isn’t all bad, they say.
Recent weeks have seen the first whisperings of the odd project put on hold - a sign that the global financial crisis is having a knock-on effect on the regional design industry.
"I don't know whether that is because the financial crisis is actually creeping in or whether it is because everyone is just being very, very cautious. We met with a developer recently who said ‘we believe our customers are still there, we're just having to work harder to get them to spend money'. I think it's the same with us," said Ben Corrigan, senior design manager and partner, Bluehaus.
"We don't necessarily think everything is going to get cancelled, or come to a grinding halt, it will just be little bit more of a battle with the other people to get the projects," said Dougall Harvison, general manager, Bluehaus.
The general consensus amongst regional developers is that any slowdown will be short-lived, with a complete recovery anticipated as early as February or March next year. "Yes, there's a global crisis, but Azizi Investments won't be affected much.
"Fiscally-speaking, we only have projects in Dubai and, while sales are slower, real estate is still selling here. We're not stopping or scaling back on any projects or construction work. Furthermore, we'll make delivery on time," explained Merwiss Azizi, chairman of Azizi Investments.
According to Mohannad Sweid, chief executive of interior contractor, Depa, the number of developments announced in the Gulf will fall sharply, but the number of projects that are actually completed will decline only slightly. This is because of a discrepancy in the number of projects that are announced and the number that are carried through.
At one point, the company's research department estimated the number of high-end hotel openings in the GCC, based on announcements, would reach 280 over the next four years.
