Dubai construction costs tick higher in 1Q: Dubai’s Construction Cost Index (CCI) rose 0.8% y-o-y, according to data (pdf) from Dubai Data & Statistics. This was driven by increases in equipment hires (+2.5%) and labor wages (+1.6%). The cost of materials like computers and optical products (+1.8%), non-metallic minerals (+1.3%), and basic metals (+1.2%) also all increased.

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On the flip side, petroleum products saw prices dip 9.6%, while rubber and plastics prices fell 2.5%, and mining and quarrying declined 2.5%.

On a quarterly basis: Construction costs rose 0.8% y-o-y q-o-q in 1Q 2025, with non-residential buildings seeing a slightly higher increase than residential ones, according to separate data (pdf). The rise was driven by a 0.6% uptick in materials costs, led by gains in refined petroleum products (+4%) and non-metallic mineral products (+1.4%).

On the other hand, other machinery and equipment segments saw a 0.7% decline, while prices of basic metals fell 0.6%, chemical products edged down 0.1%, and wood products dropped 0.2%.

ICYMI- Construction costs in Abu Dhabi also rose 0.8% q-o-q in 1Q 2025, driven largely by labor costs, which jumped 2.4% in the quarter and 6.7% y-o-y. On an annual basis, the CCI rose by 1.9%, with upward pressure from electrical works materials (+5.9% y-o-y). Some relief on prices came from mechanical works A/C (-0.6% q-o-q) and equipment (-0.8% q-o-q), whilst a 2.8% dip y-o-y in services costs eased pressures somewhat.

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