It may not be all doom and gloom in the UAE's construction industry as more than 200 projects are expected to be completed in the first half of this year, more than the total for the whole of 2008.

About 135 projects were almost completed in the first quarter of 2009, with a further 70 to be finished in the second quarter, said industry analysts Proleads. A total of 184 projects were completed last year. Only 2.4 per cent of 1,289 UAE construction projects worth $1.28 trillion (Dh4.6 trillion) which were under way at the start of the year have been cancelled, according to Proleads.

This means around 30 projects have been cancelled. Before the global financial downturn, investors and speculators simply wanted a piece of the Dubai property cake. Now, investors are looking to those projects which are completed and have facilities.