Digitalisation can bolster Egypt construction

BY: MEHAK SRIVASTAVA, SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR, MEED

Covid-19 has enabled greater affinity towards digital technologies in Egypt’s construction industry, but regulations and clients must drive permanent change

With Egypt’s weak, but improving government finances sorely overstretched by the country’s large and fast-growing population—Egypt’s 101 million population is increasing by 2 million people every year—delivering projects on schedule and within budget is essential.

Equally important, is the need to reduce the carbon footprint of projects. Egypt has been selected to host the next UN climate change Conference of the Parties (Cop 27) meeting in 2022. 

Leading experts from Egypt’s construction industry have said that the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way the sector regards digitalisation.

As a result of the health crisis, the sector turned to more flexible and collaborative ways of working. This has been enabled by tools such as building information modelling (BIM) and common data environments. 

Experts, however, say that in order to make the adoption of digital tools a permanent change, there is a need for supportive regulations. Moreover, project sponsors need to act as agents of change.

With an estimated $519bn of projects planned or underway, Egypt is Africa’s biggest projects market, and the third biggest in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), after Saudi Arabia ($1.3tn) and the UAE ($655bn). 

It is also one of the region’s most active markets, awarding, on average, $17.1bn of project contracts every year since 2011, behind only the UAE ($35.9bn) and Saudi Arabia ($34.8bn). 

The latest industry briefing from MEED and Oracle Construction and Engineering brings you exclusive insights from senior industry executives on the outlook for Egypt construction and the role of digitalisation in streamlining project planning and deliver.