Last updated: October 2, 2006  09:01am

Moscow Leads World in Office Construction

By Anita Howarth


Moscow

MOSCOW-You may have been thinking China or points east, but Moscow leads the world in office construction, according to the latest Global Office Real Estate review by Colliers International. Second on the list is Dubai.

According to the report, Moscow had an estimated 26.9 million sf of ongoing commercial property construction compared to 24 million sf in Dubai. “It’s no surprise to see Dubai so close to the top in terms of construction activity,” says John Davis, CEO of Colliers International in the Middle East. “This go-ahead emirate has been making massive progress in recent years with development steaming ahead at an incredible compound annual growth rate of 42.5%.

Dubai currently boasts 14 million sf of available primary and secondary-grade office space within its established CBDs, a relatively small amount considering the rapid influx of foreign business and the development of indigenous entities currently being undertaken here,” he continues. “Supply is quite simply not meeting demand and developers are feverishly trying to correct the market.”

According to the report, Asia's commercial construction industry is also thriving. China's ongoing economic boom was evident with Beijing and Shanghai placing third and fourth in the global rankings with 23.6 million sf and 21.6 million sf, respectively, of office space under construction. Ranked fifth was South Africa's most populous city, Johannesburg, which is currently undertaking 17.9 million feet. Only one European city finished in the top 10, Paris, which is currently undertaking 14.6 million sf of commercial development.