The boatbuilding market in Dubai is set to triple in size over the next five years to provide marine transport for the vast number of marinas being built in Dubai, say industry players.
Island Global Yachting (IGY), a luxury marina developer and management company, is anticipating a surge of growth in the marina industry in Dubai and the region.
The firm predicts Dubai will have more than 20,000 berths within the next five years. Yacht-building companies are gearing up for soaring demand for private boats.
IGY currently has 24 marinas under management and development worldwide, with a further six planned in the longer term. A 200 per cent increase in the number of berths in Dubai compared with current figures will create more than 1,500 jobs within IGY's operations in the emirate alone.
"The Middle East is experiencing an explosion in the number of berths as a response to the boom in the region's property market," said Michael Horrigan, CEO of IGY Middle East and Europe. "Dubai has always been a city with a strong maritime heritage but with the creation of some of unique waterfront developments the city now appeals to a new market – the international yachting community.
"With this kind of expansion, we can offer a wide range of exciting career opportunities within the region and further afield."
IGY opened its Dubai office in 2006 and formed a strategic partnership with Nakheel to design, build and manage the marinas on all of Nakheel's waterfront developments. In 2007, IGY opened Festival Marina at Al Futtaim's Dubai Festival City.
Also within the company's portfolio is Anchor Marina – a 590-berth facility for private yachts between 10 and 30 metres that is due to open in December 2008.
The demand for both private and public marine transport is set to reach a high point in the next two years when several waterfront projects catering for communities of more than 300,000 people are completed.
In anticipation of this demand Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is investing Dh30 million in the purchase of 10 water taxis as an initial step towards establishing this form of transport in the emirate.
The RTA has approved the establishment of 20 water taxi stations by its Marine Agency next year to help beef up marine mass transit services.
Companies involved in the shipbuilding business anticipate demand for boats to triple as the coastline of Dubai is extended from the current 72.5km to 1,500km in the next two years.
Captain Ismail Sairi, Director of Penguin Marine Offshore Services and General Manager of Penguin Marine Boat Service, which runs the RTA's waterbuses, says offshore infrastructure developments offer great opportunities to the marine service
industry as demand for smaller boats to cater for communities living by the water will increase.
"We foresee plenty of opportunities in Dubai," he said. "The demand for new and second-hand boats will increase and buyers will want to look at the local market for supply. It will also boost the boat repair business in this country."
Palm Marine, based at the Jebel Ali Free Zone, is one of a number of boat manufacturing companies in the region that are racing against time to meet the anticipated growth in demand for pleasure craft and customised commercial boats
"The current supply of boats is not enough for the existing demand," Palm Marine CEO Simon Honeybone told Emirates Business. "We expect an overwhelming demand for pleasure and commercial boats in the next two years as more marina projects get completed."
The company, which is part of Drydocks World Dubai, is in the process of greatly increasing its production capacity.