Construction & Trades
Construction & Trades: September 2026
New construction projects by community, permits, the construction cost index and new trade licences.
- New construction projects, September 2026
- 657
- 361 new buildings; +14.9% vs the previous month
- Building permits issued, July 2026
- 3,706
- incl. 259 final new-building permits
- Project applications, August 2026
- 7,240
- -12.9% vs the previous month
- Demolition permits, August 2026
- 44
- Construction cost index, August 2026
- 122.27
- +0.3% vs the previous month, +8.1% since January
- New construction trade licence activities, August 2026
- 4,928
- September 2026 up to 21 September 2026: 2,677
New construction projects by area, September 2026
| Area | Projects | New buildings |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai Investment Park Second | 174 | 170 |
| Al Aweer First | 37 | 34 |
| Al Yelayiss 5 | 31 | 31 |
| Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid | 14 | 14 |
| Al Layan1 | 13 | 9 |
| Al Thanayah Fourth | 12 | – |
| Al Barsha First | 11 | – |
| Port Saeed | 10 | – |
| Al Thanyah Third | 10 | – |
| Jabal Ali Industrial First | 9 | – |
Activity by building type
| Building type | Projects, September 2026 | Permits, July 2026 | Demolitions, January 2026 to August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private villa | 191 | 1,453 | 307 |
| Investment villa | 207 | 516 | 13 |
| Multi-storey building | 111 | 502 | 51 |
| Industrial building | 44 | 441 | 59 |
| Public building | 62 | 307 | 61 |
| Floor area ratio building | 37 | 324 | – |
Construction cost index by stage, August 2026
| Stage or trade | Index | vs previous month | since January |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Index | 122.27 | +0.3% | +8.1% |
| First: Site preparation | 107.70 | 0.0% | -1.4% |
| Second: Construction works | 146.78 | +0.8% | +21.8% |
| Third: Finishing work | 123.55 | +0.2% | +8.4% |
| Fourth: Other wages and works | 108.81 | 0.0% | +0.3% |
| Concrete works Sub Structure and above | 144.72 | +1.2% | +21.7% |
| Block Works | 155.61 | -0.3% | +23.1% |
| Floor and Wall Tiles | 111.16 | 0.0% | +0.5% |
| Electrical Works | 132.76 | +0.2% | +2.2% |
| Air Conditioning Works | 133.26 | 0.0% | +13.1% |
| Internal Plumbing | 111.23 | +1.6% | +3.7% |
| Interior and Exterior Paint | 135.89 | -0.2% | +12.9% |
Average construction material prices, August 2026 (AED)
| Material | Unit | Price | vs previous month | since January |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel bars 6–8 mm | tonne | 3,368.75 | -0.3% | +27.3% |
| Steel bars 10–25 mm | tonne | 3,237.50 | -0.3% | +28.9% |
| Portland cement | 50 kg bag | 16.14 | 0.0% | +10.5% |
| Sulphate-resistant cement | 50 kg bag | 17.38 | 0.0% | +5.9% |
| Ready-mix concrete, normal (40 N) | m³ | 403.21 | +2.8% | +27.8% |
| White sand | 20 m³ | 803.92 | 0.0% | +6.0% |
| Aggregates 3/4 inch | 20 m³ | 1,334.17 | 0.0% | +12.0% |
| Hollow block 8 cm | piece | 4.88 | 0.0% | +30.8% |
| Solid block 8 cm | piece | 5.95 | 0.0% | +24.2% |
| BRC mesh 8 mm | sheet 8 × 16 ft | 143.50 | -0.7% | +26.0% |
New licence activities by construction trade
| Trade | August 2026 | Monthly average, 12 months | Up to 21 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor & Wall Tiling Works | 442 | 583 | 251 |
| Carpentry & wood Flooring Works | 432 | 561 | 234 |
| Plaster Works | 422 | 530 | 250 |
| Air-Conditioning, Ventilations & Air Filtration Systems Installation & Maintenance | 435 | 516 | 210 |
| False Ceiling & Light Partitions Installation | 393 | 511 | 224 |
| Plumbing & Sanitary Installation | 407 | 506 | 222 |
| Painting Contracting | 337 | 446 | 204 |
| Electromechanical Equipment Installation and Maintenance | 358 | 406 | 179 |
| Wallpaper Fixing Works | 305 | 377 | 163 |
| Electrical Fittings & Fixtures Repairing & Maintenance | 291 | 362 | 146 |
| All projects | New buildings | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-10 | 1,111 projects | 429 projects |
| 2025-11 | 1,099 projects | 466 projects |
| 2025-12 | 1,215 projects | 662 projects |
| 2026-01 | 1,277 projects | 683 projects |
| 2026-02 | 1,213 projects | 675 projects |
| 2026-03 | 741 projects | 306 projects |
| 2026-04 | 882 projects | 445 projects |
| 2026-05 | 675 projects | 330 projects |
| 2026-06 | 661 projects | 253 projects |
| 2026-07 | 660 projects | 234 projects |
| 2026-08 | 572 projects | 249 projects |
| 2026-09 | 657 projects | 361 projects |
| Construction and trades | |
|---|---|
| 2025-09 | 7,775 activities |
| 2025-10 | 7,742 activities |
| 2025-11 | 8,084 activities |
| 2025-12 | 7,404 activities |
| 2026-01 | 8,535 activities |
| 2026-02 | 6,549 activities |
| 2026-03 | 3,486 activities |
| 2026-04 | 5,479 activities |
| 2026-05 | 4,502 activities |
| 2026-06 | 6,062 activities |
| 2026-07 | 5,396 activities |
| 2026-08 | 4,928 activities |
In September 2026, 657 construction projects received their first building permit, 361 of them new buildings; Dubai Investment Park Second led with 174 projects.
The construction cost index stood at 122.27 in August 2026, +8.1% since January; the published series covers the current year only, so no year-on-year comparison is shown.
4,928 construction trade activities were added to trade licences in August 2026, against a 12-month average of 6,329 per month.
Method
Projects: contractor projects by date of the first building permit. Permits: building permits by permit date; applications by submission date; demolitions by permit date; each shown for the latest complete month. Licences: activities added to mainland trade licences by date added (construction section of the activity classification). Cost index and material prices: monthly statistics; the published series start in January of the current year. Every figure is an aggregate of at least 3 records; smaller groups are shown as – or left out. No company, person or project names are published.
Source
Source: Dubai Land Department and other Dubai Government open data, published on Data.Dubai, used under the Dubai Open Data Licence 1.1. Analysis and figures by Zolia. Zolia is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government entity.