Boosted by the boom in commercial, retail and residential sectors, the regional market for bundled and total facilities management (TFM) in the Middle East is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.3 per cent to cross Dh2.11 billion ($571 million) by 2012 according to the UK’s CMPi, organisers of Working Buildings Middle East, which is scheduled to take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre on November 17 and 18 of this year. The research on bundled and TFM for the ME region was conducted by Frost & Sullivan on behalf of CMPi.
“While the boom in construction is fuelling the growth, the main demand is from luxury hotels and multinational corporations that are pushing the momentum in the Gulf region,” said Chris Fountain, group director of CMPi.
Fountain added that TFM in the region was historically taken into account only upon the post-construction stage of projects. “In recent times however, developers are starting to acknowledge the importance of integrating TFM at the earliest stage possible in order to prevent problems before they actually occur and hence TFM companies are now involved in the design stage of construction projects,” he observed.
“In the past, key decision-makers were generally disinclined to consider total lifecycle costs and chose quick returns on investments and this reflected in the short-term duration of TFM contracts. This is however changing now and makes our event a timely platform for global TFM providers to seek lucrative contracts in the region.”
The GCC region’s investment in tourism, retail and business services has led to massive growth in the construction of new high-end commercial, residential and retail establishments. Multi-billion-dollar projects that involve mixed use of these sectors also exist in the region, the ownership structure of which normally involves consortia of MNCs and governments.
Together with the extreme weather conditions that shorten the lifespan of buildings, these new developments open up opportunities for high-quality facilities management.
“The introduction of freehold property laws in the region, and the subsequent establishment of building committees have made property owners more conscious in maintaining their properties and multinational corporations (MNCs). Branded hotel chains that have entered the region have internationally renowned service quality levels, and are helping to raise the standards of FM,” Fountain said.
At present, most of the opportunities lie in the emirates, where although Dubai is still the largest and one of the fastest growing markets in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi is rapidly picking up.  Abu Dhabi is also investing in top-end hotels, cultural and recreational facilities to support its ambitious tourism targets and is presenting attractive opportunities for TFM.
Another emerging market is Qatar. Growth is expected from the relaxation of property laws, which now allows foreign nationals to own freehold title to any real estate, and the attempt to diversify the country’s economy away from oil. The 2006 Asian Games in Doha helped to stir commercial and residential developments in the country. Mega-development projects are also underway. However, the region is still largely dominated by single-service maintenance contractors
Bahrain is the region’s financial centre and offers a long-term potential for the TFM sector because of the country’s diversification into tourism, retail and business service sectors.
Opportunities for the total FM sector in Oman and Kuwait are lower at the moment, since these countries’ real estate and construction sectors are not as developed as the rest of the GCC countries. In the past most of the projects were in the public sector and funded by the government.
“Working Buildings Middle East will provide a valuable opportunity for local and international companies to showcase their products and services to the increasingly important Middle East market,” a CMPi spokesman said.  “The new event has been designed to target all those involved in the management and maintenance of buildings and property. Working Buildings Middle East will explore the latest products, services and best-practice examples relating to the complete life cycle of a building.”