2016 has undoubtedly been challenging, with the region in a period of slow down and re-assessment and I forecast continued tight liquidity for 2017 with a revaluation and reprioritisation of mixed use schemes and how they can be delivered more efficiently.
Major programmes of work will reach peak load and start coming to an end, placing pressure on businesses to win new work to replace backlogs and maintain cash flow.
However, I believe that to ensure the successful delivery of Vision 2030 and the Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the demand for project and programme services will rise in Q3 next year.
In KSA, the National Transformation Strategy is driving diversification in the Kingdom and the Project Management Office (PMO) law passed this year, will encourage best practice and drive procurement.
We see the industry sector presenting opportunities in 2017 and so were currently diversifying into this sector with energy our prime focus.
Currently in the Middle East the majority of our activities are within the property sector, with a large focus on what we call lifestyle; retail, leisure and hospitality and going forward I would like to see industry account for approximately 30 percent of Faithful+Goulds Middle East revenue.
We are maintaining and building relationships for the future and investing in the learning and development of our employees to enable us to deliver on our clients requirements when the market begins to build again in 2018/19.
In 2017 we will focus on continued delivery to our clients and ensuring excellence in the management of their programmes and projects.
We will continue to invest in technology 2017 as we continue to move into the digital construction era. Technology and innovation play a key role in what we do and facilitating continuous improvement within our business, enabling our clients and people to benefit from finding better and more efficient ways of working.