Government agencies and authorities in Dubai have yet to calculate the costs of this week's deluge of rain, but for some companies the costs will be incalculable.
"We were affected for two and half days," said Ani Ray, country director of Simplex Infrastructure, a contracting company working on a development in the Business Bay area of Dubai. "There was very bad access and, in some parts, no access at all," he said, "so we lost work days".
When asked to estimate the cost to the company of these lost work days he said: "It's 750 people so it's about 2,000 man days lost," adding that "most construction companies in Dubai" have been affected.
Other companies have also spoken of their difficulty in transporting workers from labour camps, especially from areas such as Al Quoz, which was badly affected by flooding.
The emirate's authorities will also have to include the cost of repairing roads, and any other infrastructure such as sewerage and drainage, damaged by flooding. There is also the economic cost associated with the 800 or more road accidents that occurred in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah during the four-day rainfall. Most schools, along with offices, shopping malls and other businesses also closed for two days.
Estimates of the economic cost of the deluge will take sometime to calculate but whether one figure will emerge is another matter. Neither Dubai, nor the UAE as a whole, has a method by which to measure the impact of bad weather on the economy. In Dubai, each department, such as the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) carries out its own calculations, an official explained to Khaleej Times.
The impact of the rain appears not to be all bad, however. Some hotels, for example, which are enjoying an occupancy rate averaging 86 per cent, saw occupancy rise higher.
"Our hotel was fully booked, and the rainy spell confined our guests to their rooms," said an official at the Shangri-La Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road. As a consequence, the rain boosted the hotel's food and beverage business. Other hotels chose not to comment on the impact of the weather.
Ahmed Shaikhani, managing director of UAE developer, Memon Investments welcomed the rain and said that the weather forecast was encouraging investors and customers from all over the world to fly to the emirate. "The showers that the UAE experienced over the past few days have been welcome," he said, and "a lot of our customers and investors worldwide (have chosen) to fly down particularly after hearing the weather report."
He also said: "Our offices didn't experience any problems with employees reporting to work, though a bit delayed, there was 100 per cent attendance." But he added: "Construction sites had to be temporarily closed for two days or so, however we haven't had any losses to report as such."
The heavy rain arrived during the visit to the UAE of US President, George W Bush and the economic impact of that visit for the UAE economy has also to be calculated. Since the main topic of discussion was Iran's nuclear ambition, UAE businessmen were reluctant to comment, however, describing the issue as "highly political". Even the DCCI did not have any statement to make on the economic impact of Bush's visit, one of its main aims being to pressure banks to limit their links with Iran.
A Bahraini parliamentarian previously told Reuters that "there's only so much the US can do" because Iran is a major trading partner of the UAE and Bahrain. Jasem Ali, a member of parliament's finance and economic committee, said Bahrain's largest lender Ahli United Bank was being pressured to freeze the Iranian operations of its affiliate, Future Bank. Source
"We were affected for two and half days," said Ani Ray, country director of Simplex Infrastructure, a contracting company working on a development in the Business Bay area of Dubai. "There was very bad access and, in some parts, no access at all," he said, "so we lost work days".
When asked to estimate the cost to the company of these lost work days he said: "It's 750 people so it's about 2,000 man days lost," adding that "most construction companies in Dubai" have been affected.
Other companies have also spoken of their difficulty in transporting workers from labour camps, especially from areas such as Al Quoz, which was badly affected by flooding.
The emirate's authorities will also have to include the cost of repairing roads, and any other infrastructure such as sewerage and drainage, damaged by flooding. There is also the economic cost associated with the 800 or more road accidents that occurred in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah during the four-day rainfall. Most schools, along with offices, shopping malls and other businesses also closed for two days.
Estimates of the economic cost of the deluge will take sometime to calculate but whether one figure will emerge is another matter. Neither Dubai, nor the UAE as a whole, has a method by which to measure the impact of bad weather on the economy. In Dubai, each department, such as the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) carries out its own calculations, an official explained to Khaleej Times.
The impact of the rain appears not to be all bad, however. Some hotels, for example, which are enjoying an occupancy rate averaging 86 per cent, saw occupancy rise higher.
"Our hotel was fully booked, and the rainy spell confined our guests to their rooms," said an official at the Shangri-La Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road. As a consequence, the rain boosted the hotel's food and beverage business. Other hotels chose not to comment on the impact of the weather.
Ahmed Shaikhani, managing director of UAE developer, Memon Investments welcomed the rain and said that the weather forecast was encouraging investors and customers from all over the world to fly to the emirate. "The showers that the UAE experienced over the past few days have been welcome," he said, and "a lot of our customers and investors worldwide (have chosen) to fly down particularly after hearing the weather report."
He also said: "Our offices didn't experience any problems with employees reporting to work, though a bit delayed, there was 100 per cent attendance." But he added: "Construction sites had to be temporarily closed for two days or so, however we haven't had any losses to report as such."
The heavy rain arrived during the visit to the UAE of US President, George W Bush and the economic impact of that visit for the UAE economy has also to be calculated. Since the main topic of discussion was Iran's nuclear ambition, UAE businessmen were reluctant to comment, however, describing the issue as "highly political". Even the DCCI did not have any statement to make on the economic impact of Bush's visit, one of its main aims being to pressure banks to limit their links with Iran.
A Bahraini parliamentarian previously told Reuters that "there's only so much the US can do" because Iran is a major trading partner of the UAE and Bahrain. Jasem Ali, a member of parliament's finance and economic committee, said Bahrain's largest lender Ahli United Bank was being pressured to freeze the Iranian operations of its affiliate, Future Bank. Source
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