The wood industry in the UAE is expected to boom over the next two years as the country ramps up construction activities ahead of the Expo 2020 Dubai, said leading industry experts.

A large-scale event for the Mena and South Asia region, Expo 2020 will run from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021 at the 4.38-sq-m site in Dubai where massive construction projects are taking shape.

With only 22 months to go before the opening, the UAE is pushing to meet the anticipated demand for the six-month global event which anticipates the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of world expos, they stated.

The wood and woodworking machinery industry will be impacted from the massive construction projects being executed as part of the build-up for the Expo 2020 Dubai, they added.

The demand for wood, wood products and woodworking industry is expected to grow further due to the ongoing construction projects the value of which in September 2017 had ballooned to $252.7 billion, said the experts, citing a BNC report.

The massive construction activities in the GCC - especially in Dubai that is driven by Expo 2020-related infrastructure and projects – will continue to drive demand for wood products in the coming years, they added.

No doubt that the construction boom represents unrivalled opportunities for all industries, particularly the wood industry, which is likely to get a shot in the arm from the region’s $2.4 trillion worth of construction projects. The upsurge in construction activities will continue to drive demand for wood products, wood-based accessories, interior decor, woodworking machineries and wood flooring materials, all needed for the new structures and hotels, which are being built in the lead up to the mega expo event.

According to experts, the demand for wood products is expected to be driven also by the new hotel projects, as hotel developers are racing against time to deliver branded hotel keys as the deadline for the event draws near.

Dubai will add thousands of hotel rooms and service apartments to meet the growing demand of tourists as part of the build-up for Expo 2020 Dubai.

According to a study conducted by Dubai Tourism, the emirate’s hotel room supply is set to reach 132,000 by the end of this year. Last year, the total number of hotel rooms, including hotel apartments, in Dubai were put at 112,381.

The UAE's hospitality market is likely to reach $7.6 billion by 2022, growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5 per cent between 2017 and 2022. Currently, Dubai’s hotel sector has now more than 100,000 hotel rooms and serviced apartments.

By October 2020, Dubai will need to have a strong hotel inventory of 140,000 hotel rooms and hotel apartments, said experts.

Manufacturers and suppliers of wood products can leverage from the region’s fast-growing market and reap the rewards of unparalleled opportunities generated from the expansion in the UAE’s construction market, in the run-up to the mega global event, they stated.

The wood and furniture market seem very promising, especially with 70 per cent of the timber and wood products are used in construction industry while the rest are used in real estate, interiors, furniture and other industrial applications, the experts added.-TradeArabia News Service