Although the number of projects may fall, the UAE construction sector will be valued at Dh60 billion ($16.3 billion) for 2001, equal to last year, according to forecasts by the UAE Contractors Association (UCA).

"We estimate that about 85-90 per cent of infrastructure-related works that fuelled the boom are complete, leading to a drop in the number of projects coming through in the next five years," association general manager Rashed Ahmed Rashed said.

"There could still be some activity on the residential front in Sharjah and Ajman for the next two to three years. By that time, these emirates will reach the stage of Dubai and Abu Dhabi," the Gulf News quoted him as saying. "But there is a move towards special projects which, in value terms, would make up for the drop in the actual numbers."

Giving examples, he cited the Al Nakheel Islands project in Dubai estimated at about Dh1 billion and the second stage of the Gasnet project in Sharjah worth Dh250 million. Work on Fujairah's ambitious Dh200 million tourism infrastructure project could start by the year-end, Rashed said.

In Dubai, there are an estimated 22 projects in the hotel and resort segment, as well as the airport expansion. As for Abu Dhabi, Rashed said: "Our study submitted to the highest authorities there, has revealed that over 60 per cent of residential buildings are empty. It is our proposal that authorities should wait to see developments in the other emirates before issuing licences for new buildings. But there are unique projects such as the Grand Mosque which can impact positively on activity there."