GCC Facility Management Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

GCC Facility Management Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The GCC Facility Management Market region is expected to reach a CAGR of 8.6% over the forecast period (2021-2026) owing to the developments in countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. With the onset of COVID-19, the instructions on frequent cleaning of spaces led the hospitality, commercial, and governmental sectors to increased demand for Soft FM services in the United Arab Emirates. As per Transguard Group (a manpower supplier in UAE), its deployments during the COVID-19 pandemic averaged 44,000 each month, along with two of the UAE’s field hospitals, hypermarket warehouses, shopping malls, among others.

Key Highlights

• The boom in construction activities, led by the government, and the rising emphasis on green building practices are increasing the demand for facilities management in Qatar. In addition to the transport projects, the government aims at the rapid expansion of tourism, education, and real estate, in order to maintain its competencies under the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030). Furthermore, as the deadline for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is nearing, the region is witnessing a rise in the construction activities and upgrading its infrastructure.
• According to the country’s Ministry of Finance, QAR 33.0 billion has been allocated for infrastructure projects, which is approximately 16.0% of the total expenditure planned in 2019. The infrastructure sector, with this budget allocation, covers the road, water, electricity, and sewerage networks, along with other public facilities.
• Furthermore, in an effort to enhance the capabilities of airports and offer the best aviation and cargo services, the government allocated 7.9% of the total expenditure in 2019, which covers the Rail Project, Doha Metro, and Hamad International Airport (expansion).
• The GCC countries include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. It is said that the GCC countries are among the world’s most ambitious when it comes to developing mega infrastructures, driven by the vision to become a regional powerhouse that will attract investments and further diversify from oil, the Gulf’s major source of income.
• The government-led construction boom and increasing emphasis on greener building practices are increasing the adoption of facility management in Qatar region. In addition to transport projects, the government aims at the rapid expansion of tourism, education, and real estate to maintain its competencies under Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030). Further, as the deadline for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is coming, the region witnesses a rise in construction activities and is upgrading its infrastructure.

Key Market TrendsOutsourced services to Witness Significant Growth

• As facility management accounts for 30% of a company's expenses, outsourcing this to a third-party certified vendor is a way to optimize the costs by end-users. Use cases that suggest an optimized 20-30% costs on FM, due to outsourcing, generating a positive impact on the company's income between 6% and 9%, have been evident in the region.
• Moreover, the influx of technology has been evident in the global FM scenario, where the emphasis on building automation (monitoring equipment and surroundings to plan scheduled maintenance, etc.) is increasing. In Qatar, vendors, such as Sodexo, are equipped to help a business reduce its energy costs by six-figure amounts (in some instances), thereby enabling the end-users to contribute to the reduction of carbon emission.
• Additionally, Qatar Green Building Council was launched aiming to increase awareness and knowledge of green building practices in Qatar. Owing to this, several IT companies and corporate offices of manufacturing companies in the region have invested in sustainable development which has driven the facility management solution demand in the country.​
• From a vendor perspective, Qatar’s FM landscape is more concentrated with vendors offering single or bundled services compared to those offering integrated services. As high concentration levels are indicative of highly competitive forces, the integrated service space is expected to provide scope for new entrants or those looking to expand their service offerings.
• The outsourcing of continually more FM functions over the years has coincided with a shift from service bundling to service integration or integrated facility management (IFM, also referred to as total FM), sustainability management, and finally to workplace management. However, the lack of a consistent regulatory framework for the Facility Management industry in the UAE has been cited as one of the key challenges faced by the FM providers with the steady rise in the presence of large-scale conglomerates.

Qatar is Expected to Witness Significant Growth

• Qatar is among the leading FM markets in the GCC region, according to IWFM. Strong infrastructural development and the focus on “green building” have been driving the market for FM services in the region. The market in Qatar can be categorized as a “high customer awareness” market, considering the changing lifestyles and the increasing demand for outsourced FM services.
• Qatar is reported to be one of the regions with the highest construction spending worldwide, keeping the industry in steady growth year-over-year. The construction sector in the region, in the last two years, has maintained its growth trajectory with continued infrastructural spending.
• The process of sustainable business practices, as promoted by QGBC, aims at “enhancing the capacity of organizations to become more sustainable, while simultaneously strategically improving their ability to achieve their main objectives by optimizing environmental, financial and social factors”.
• The USD 5.5 billion Msheireb Downtown Doha project is a venture by Msheireb Properties, a subsidiary of the Qatar Foundation, as part of a wider mission, the National Vision 2030 plan. The project aims to reduce energy consumption and the nation's carbon footprint, among other goals. Therefore, these green initiatives provide scope for FM services, especially outsources, as the organization can entirely concentrate on its business operations by handing over the building maintenance to third-party vendors.
• Furthermore, to ramp up the country’s national highways network, Ashghal (Public Work Authority), is planning to invest USD 380 million. With this highway plan, authority planned to build a 195 Km long direct road to connect AL Khor in the north and Masaieed in the south. ​Moreover, recently, railways have experienced a demand for facility management. The Qatar Integrated Railways Project covers four metro lines in Doha, tram routes in West Bay, Lusail high-speed line and dedicated freight airways. The Doha Metro is a rapid transit system that became operational on 8 May 2019.​

Competitive Landscape

The GCC facility management market is fragmented due to the presence of regional as well as international players. These major players have adopted various growth strategies, such as mergers and acquisitions, new product launches, expansions, joint ventures, partnerships, and others to strengthen their position in this market.

• November 2020 - EFS has partnered with Dawamee, an employment scheme initiated by Emirates Foundation to provide work opportunities for Emiratis. Under this program, the EFS has hired its first batch of 15 UAE nationals with diverse credentials, having undertaken an agreement to employ and nurture UAE talent in the local facilities management industry, pledging to build a close partnership with Dawamee.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

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