Rail Sector Boom in the Middle East – Background & Overview
Posted by Stuart Hackett on Friday, August 30, 2013
As an international construction recruiter I am always interested in projects being planned and awarded in the Middle East so the current hot topic of Rail sector work in the Gulf region has certainly grabbed my attention.
Rail has typically been a form of transport overlooked in the Gulf region with very few (if any) of the Gulf States being able to describe their rail networks as ‘adequate’. Some barely have any kind of rail network at all.
It’s now becoming a real issue across the region. As more and more construction workers flock to the likes of Qatar and the UAE, traffic on the roads has become progressively worse. Qatar in particular can come to gridlock during rush hour as workers have no alternative to the car to for their daily commute.
Some will argue this is slightly late in certain cases, but at least something is now being done. A huge amount of government spending is being ploughed into the rail sector for nearly all the Middle Eastern countries.
Based on my findings there is very close to £100Bn worth of planned or current rail sector work in the Gulf Region at present.
A quick breakdown of where this money is due to be spent can be seen below:
• Qatar (£32 billion)
• Saudi Arabia (£30 billion)
• United Arab Emirates (£15 billion)
• Oman (£10 billion)
• Bahrain (£5 billion)
• Kuwait (£4.5 billion)
These numbers are staggering.
Maxim Recruitment is very well placed in the Rail sector, having recruited on numerous signature rail projects around the world including the Channel Tunnel and the Dubai Metro. As well as these, we are currently one of the busiest recruiters for the ongoing MTRC projects in Hong Kong.
It must be mentioned that many of the projects planned and underway in the Middle East are in the very early stages, although the figures speak for themselves. There will be vacancies in the Gulf region for competent qualified Engineers, Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers for years to come.
You can rely on Maxim Recruitment to be at the forefront of the recruitment process for these projects in the Middle East.
In my next blog I will take a look at the planned rail work in the UAE and Qatar in particular, including signature projects such as the Doha and Abu Dhabi Metros.
Stuart Hackett
Senior Recruitment Consultant – Middle East & UK