Between end-March to May this year, the construction sector might see the positive impact of the $10 billion (Dh36.7bn) that Dubai received from selling bonds to the UAE Central Bank.

On February 25, Nasser Al Shaikh, Head of Dubai's Department of Finance, said the property sector could be among the main beneficiaries of the aid and the aid would be "enough for now to help local companies pay off debts and restructure to deal with the slump".

On the same day, Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) said Dubai developers will have access to up to Dh8bn from escrow accounts to cover construction commitments and that was the "total available amount in the escrow accounts after Rera supervised and agreed to issue payments from these accounts to cover construction projects".

Rera also said that availability of the funds was linked to "the ratio of project completion", adding that it was also conditional to commitments for finishing current projects, but did not provide specific details.

In a recent interview, Riad Kamal, CEO of Arabtec Holding, said, "The situation has changed with the liquidity being pumped into the system and we have received almost all our dues that were due until December 2008. We have been promised that the flow will continue in the coming months and if that happens our liquidity will be positive."

What is the situation in the market regarding the stimulus money trickling down to the construction industry?

John Spitz, Senior Vice-President and Regional Manager, UAE, Hill International:

Though there is a timeline on it, what we are seeing is that the banks have restrictions in terms of requirements to make the money available. They are still trying to make sure that the money is secure and viable when they lend.

David Savage, Managing Director, Al Habtoor Leighton Group:

We have not yet benefited but we know that it is coming into the system. It will definitely help everybody in Dubai.

George Berbari, CEO, DC Pro Engineering:

We have heard that two large entities Nakheel and Tatweer will receive part of that amount and it will help them to continue to roll the infrastructure and planning of their projects. From there, it will have a snowball effect. Once the delayed payments go to consultants and contractors, they can pay the suppliers and construction will keep moving.

Shyam Bhatia, Managing Director, Alam Steel:

"We are yet to see the money flow in from the government to the developers and the contractors. The companies in Dubai have been waiting for this announcement for months. The severe liquidity crisis that the city has been experiencing was mainly due to the fear of the worst. This will help ease the business community's concerns as long as there is transparency on how the capital is being deployed.

Imad Al Jamal, Vice-Chairman of the Higher Technical Consultative Committee of the UAE Contractors' Association:

The UAE Government took a timely decision by announcing the bond and it is an excellent decision that will provide a thrust to the industry, boost confidence of the investors and give a general boost to the economy as a whole. We have also read about Arabtec's recent statement that the bond is helping to ease cash flows and some liquidity is being pumped in. It is also a way of solving the problem given the present financial situation. Once you encourage the economy the industry will automatically react. I heard several contractors expressing a sigh of relief following the government decision to issue the bonds.

When do you see the money translating into actual payments in the market

George Berbari:

We are expecting the money to come next month.

David Savage:

We are expecting to see some results by this month end and it will have a positive impact on the market in general

John Spitz:

I think that we might see it sometime mid-April or May but not immediately.

Shyam Bhatia:

The government has to release the funds quickly in order for the construction industry to benefit from the move. We are expecting it to happen soon.

Imad Al Jamal:

The problem will not be solved immediately. The situation in Dubai is taken care of at least for this year. The $10bn is sufficient to pay the dues pending during 2009 and the administration might think of drawing more by the end of this year or starting 2010.

How are you coping with delayed payments?

George Berbari:

We have issues and we hope that this will ease the crunch. It will also help some of the current projects to roll instead of putting a complete freeze on them. It will help ongoing business to continue.

David Savage:

We support each other with our problems. There are challenges with our partners but we work with them. Most of the suppliers and contractors are rolling with us on different projects.

John Spitz:

I think everyone in the market is experiencing late payments but you have to adjust accordingly. Everyone is wondering what to do and hope that once they get out of the crisis they can catch up with the bills.

There has been some slowdown from the real estate side and the contracting side. The latter is due to slow payments to them and it is difficult to have such large workforces, while the real estate side is waiting for the money to be raised from the banks.

Shyam Bhatia:

There are a lot of medium level contractors who are yet to receive payments. As building material suppliers', we get affected as lack of funds and liquidity in the industry will eventually hurt us. I can name three major contractors from whom payments are pending. However we are expecting the situation to ease at the earliest.

Imad Al Jamal:

There are issues related to payment as all are facing a severe liquidity crisis. It is not necessary that small players should benefit from the decision. The market depends on major players. As long as they are taken care of the industry should be able to somehow sail through. The others should basically have to deal with the situation and manage to squeeze in the expenses. Everyone is waiting to find out how long the present situation can last.

What is your strategy right now for the rest of 2009?

John Spitz:

This is a difficult year. We are trying to weather the storm and get through this terrible time. The problems have reflected on the current market and payments that we get and so it does affect the bottomline. Labour is not going down. But material costs for steel and concrete are. The real estate developers are re-tendering the contracts but materials have been already bought and they won't achieve the margins that they are hoping for

David Savage:

Our projects are all generally progressing and going as planned. There have been some delays but we manage them by working with our clients. We are looking at opportunities at the same time. We have a large order book of incomplete work and will be busy this year.

Imad Al Jamal:

According to our estimates, the condition in Dubai should start improving by the end of the year or early next year.

Meanwhile, the central or the federal government will definitely safeguard the interest of not just Dubai but all other emirates. For all the small- and medium-sized contractors, the best way to move forward is by squeezing their finance and planning better.

George Berbari:

We are working on smaller projects such as supermarkets, small buildings in Dubai and diversifying into other markets such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria.

We are looking at projects that we have ignored before.

The fundamentals of Dubai as a successful city are there as a regional hub. There was oversupply in the construction industry and the market will correct itself in relation to supply-demand issues. The construction industry will take much more than a year to recover.

Shyam Bhatia:

The best way to move forward in 2009 is to carefully assess all deals and strategise one's business given the current financial condition.

What Eibor rates do in the near term will give a good indication of the effectiveness of the capital-raising.

Also the bond announcement and subscription by the central bank is a clear indication of federal aid. This will give strong evidence of the country's unity.