The steel market in Dubai, UAE, has enough capacity to support the new wave of infrastructure developments that are being planned in runup to Expo 2020, said an expert.

The technologies and capacity to cater to this requirement immediately are in place and operating,” remarked Bharat Bhatia, the CEO of Conares, which operates the Gulf region’s second largest steel plant in the private sector.

A major player in steel manufacturing and trading steel pipes and steel rebars for both the global and regional suppliers, Conares represents 15 per cent of the UAE market share in their specific product segments.

The company had showcased a wide range of its products including rebar, ERW and galvanised pipes at the Big 5 construction expo held in Dubai recently.

According to Bhatia, local steel manufacturers are capable to offer internationally competitive costs in the UAE, leveraging the steady growth of construction and infra-development sector with the announcement of major landmark projects across the country signaling the steel industry boom.

However, the local steel manufacturers should increase their production to cater to the current demand, gradually preventing the market share for the overseas import of steel products in the UAE, he noted.

Currently, about 60 to 70 per cent of demand for steel rebar in the UAE market is addressed by the local manufacturers and the rest are covered by imports. The UAE rebar market is estimated to have kept a stable demand of about 3 to 3.3 million ton for the current year, he stated.

However, the huge growth in the steel industry was a result of other factors as well, he said.

The construction companies, developers and traders turn to local steel producers due to the reliability of local delivery compare to the imports of debars which normally takes a minimum of 60 days to arrive in Dubai, explained Bhatia.

"Supply by local players is far better and easier, compared to imports from outside the UAE. The UAE banks also strongly support the steel industry," he added.

Bhatia pointed out that the steel market in Dubai was currently at a balanced state. The market, he stated, had evolved strongly since it embarked on a series of iconic developmental projects that has propelled Dubai to be a city of the 21st century.

On the future outlook, the expert said: "For the steel market in general, 2014 started with a bang. There has been a strong demand for steel products in the UAE which increased by 15 per cent compared to last year. The positive upbeat of the economy in the earlier months of the year, coupled with evidenced liquidity in the market, have reinforced the steel market."

"We expect the year 2015 would witness more demand compared to the current year. The forward indications remain promising as projects continue to be moving on, albeit there have been concerns on further liquidity and Asian economic activities to catch up towards the later part of the year,” he added.

Conares currently supplies about 350,000 metric tons of rebar, about 10 per cent of the total domestic requirement in the UAE.

The company also supplies approximately 100,000 metric tons of pipes, which is around 25 per cent of the total market demand in the region. Conares, currently, is among the three major steel rebar mills continuously operating in UAE.-TradeArabia News Service