To continue or to cancel...projects in Gulf

There are a lot of uncertainties at this point for the overall Middle East development. One way or another this gloomy situation will definitely affect all of us who are expatriating here. As mentioned below, this coming March 2009 will be the critical time....to continue or cancel most of those mega projects. Cancel means retrenchment. Retrenchment means..."balik kampung". We pray for the best insyaAllah.

March is make-or-break month for Gulf market
7 January, 2009

By David Rogers from Building.co.uk.

Developers set to decide this spring whether to restart or ditch suspended schemes.
Experts are predicting that March will be the critical time for developers in the Gulf to go ahead with delayed schemes or cancel them for good.

Dubai has been hit the hardest of the emirates in recent months, and UK contractors and consultants working out there have all admitted that workload in the once booming emirate has slowed down significantly.

Spring could settle the future of projects such as the Trump Towers, recently put on hold

Now some in Dubai have claimed that this spring will be the make-or-break month for many schemes as nervous developers must decide either to go ahead with delayed schemes or to pull the plug on them completely.

Sachin Kerur, a partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, said firms will decide in March whether to press on with stalled projects as the availability of financing should become clearer then.

And Minoo Jamaji, managing director of Roshan Construction, added: “March will see banks decide how much financing is available. Plus, by March we know how the market will be.”


The worst example:

Credit crunch drives cement billionaire to suicide
7 January, 2009

By Sophie Griffiths from Building.co.uk

German owner of UK cement firms including Hanson despaired as economic downturn hit his empire
The owner of several UK cement companies has committed suicide due to financial woes triggered by the credit crunch.

German billionaire Adolf Merckle, was 94th on Forbes’ rich list for 2008, but killed himself after his business empire began to crumble in the wake of the economic downturn.

The 74-year-old tycoon made his fortune after developing a small inherited pharmaceutical firm, employing 80 workers, into Germany’s largest pharmaceutical wholesaler. Merckle’s business empire grew to include drug manufacturer Ratiopharm, and large parts of vehicle manufacturer Kassbohrer and Heidelberg Cement Group. He employed 100,000 people by the time of his demise.

HeidelbergCement acquired Hanson in 2007, but was reportedly having problems digesting its former UK competitor.

Other British firms included within the Heidelberg Cement Group include Castle Cement, recycling company SRM , and Minerals Resource Management, a firm which recycles inorganic materials into the cement industry.