12 May 2007

BEIRUT: Lebanon is facing a shortage of skilled construction-sector employees after the decade-long exodus of local architects, engineers, and contractors to more lucrative Gulf markets accelerated in the wake of the July 2006 war. The development slow-down in Lebanon that followed the frenzied post-Civil-War reconstruction period coincided with a construction boom in GCC countries, where the cumulative value of infrastructure projects exceeded $1 trillion dollars in 2006. An estimated 14,000 Lebanese engineers and architects are currently employed in the Gulf, said the Order of Engineers and Architects' treasurer, Mohammad Fatha, half of whom left after last summer's hostilities.

"Ten days ago the president of the Saudi Arabian Order of Engineers visited us to recruit 15 civil engineers, and we didn't have any to offer because all those who wanted to leave or were willing to leave have already left, and the ones who remain have good jobs so they are not going anywhere," he told The Daily Star.

The hemorrhaging is not limited to individuals.

"Lots and lots" of Beirut's largest private contracting firms have also shifted the majority of operations elsewhere in the region, Fatha said, winning the sort of large-scale infrastructure development contracts that abound elsewhere in the Middle East, no more so than in oil-producing countries.

Fatha doubts the latest round of post-conflict reconstruction will boost slumping demand for the 37,000 registered engineers in Beirut and Tripoli.

"There is no market in Lebanon right now, halas. No one in the private sector or the government is initiating big projects, and $2 billion worth of developments, especially in Solidere are on-hold," he said, adding that the assistance pledged by the international community is not enough to finance the type of state-sponsored development projects that proliferated until the last Lebanese construction boom petered out in 1997.

The human-resources manager for Dar al-Handassah, Dimitri Batika, agreed that the stagnant construction market, rather than the war, has precipitated the sector's brain drain. The firm has been shifting its focus from its corporate headquarters in Beirut - staffed by 800 Lebanese engineers who submit designs for the company's regional contracts - to its larger branch in Cairo, he said, because Dar al-Handassah mainly serves Gulf markets.

What Batika called "communication difficulties" - a euphemism for the repeated closures of Beirut's Airport, not Lebanon's antiquated ICT infrastructure - have prompted the transfer of about 5 or 10 percent of the Beirut office staff to Egypt to "support" the 1000-man team at the Cairo branch. 

"We became heavily involved in Lebanon in 1992, winning development contracts from the state, but Lebanon stopped being a market for us in 1996 or 1997," Batika explained.

Since the only tenders the government has put out since the August 14 cease-fire are for repairs to demolished buildings and infrastructure, Dar al-Handassah will most likely steer clear of the latest round of post-war reconstruction.

"There is no reconstruction work in Lebanon, can you tell me where our reconstruction is? We don't need to worry about small projects like this when we have our hands full in the Gulf," he said. 

Indeed there has been a 45-percent decrease year-on-year in work initiation documents during the first five months of 2007. Meanwhile, the shortage of qualified personnel in the Gulf has driven salaries for Lebanese employees through the roof.

"The first reason is financial," said senior civil engineer Fadi Boustani, of why skilled construction sector employees are flocking to the Gulf in ever-increasing numbers.

"The packages offered there include accommodation and transportation. They have mobile-phone bills paid, round-trip tickets home at least twice a year, and an annual performance bonus. The second reason is the experience they acquire in a high-exposure project, which puts them in touch with international consultants."

Though most of them would prefer to return to Lebanon, reckoned Boustani, generally they have no choice but to remain in the Gulf or emigrate to the West, since there are "very few ongoing private construction projects" locally.

Even Lebanese engineers from the few disciplines for which local demand is high -  namely planning, quantity surveying, and safety - are ultimately lured by more competitive salaries abroad.

"Four or five years ago civil engineers and architects were leaving for $2,000 or $3,000 a month, and now there has been a 20 to 30 percent increase in salaries in the Gulf," said Yasser Akkaoui, owner of executive recruitment agency, Prime Job.

"You could say we export three to four senior engineers and architects a month to executive positions in the Gulf, which is a lot," he said.

Akkaoui believes the lack of qualified engineers to handle big reconstruction projects in Lebanon could ultimately drive local salaries up, but first there need be contracts to bid on.