SCAD announces prelimenary results of national project for updating of buildings, housing, households and establishments frames

ABU DHABI, Nov 10th, 2010: Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) has announced the preliminary results of the second phase of the national project for updating of buildings, housing, households and establishments frames for the year 2010. The implementation of the frames updating project lasted for four months from April to July of this year.

Results for this phase revealed that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has a total of 165,071 buildings, 5436 two-story buildings 34457 villas and 10149 buildings under construction. Real property units in the emirate amounted to 382016 units, of which 40593 units are vacant. Operating establishments in the emirate totalled 90024.

However, SCAD noted that the figures released represent only the preliminary results of the second phase of the frames updating project, which is concerned with surveying the buildings and establishments for which data on numbers and characteristics were made available through Phase I of the project (the quick count phase).

SCAD indicated that the frames updating is the largest statistical operation ever to be undertaken in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi: in terms of coverage the project includes all three regions of the emirate, with this stage engaging 1000 field enumerators. The project is also characterized by the use of hi-tech methods and is expected to produce invaluable results to serve the emirate's development objectives.

According to SCAD the project also aims to build an up-to-date database on the characteristics of buildings and establishments in the emirate. Such frame is considered essential for withdrawing samples for the implementation of the various economic, social and demographic surveys conducted by SCAD.

The Centre pointed out that there is a third and final stage (Phase III) that will involve enumeration and determination of the demographic characteristics of the emirate's population, based on the data made available through the second stage. Phase III will also involve auditing of the results obtained through Phase II, which means that the figures being released for now must be treated as preliminary estimates.

SCAD praised the unstinting support of the Executive Council in accomplishing this work as planned, acknowledging also the contribution of the Center's strategic partners, household heads, enterprise owners, landlords, etc, which was critical to the successful completion of this stage.

Buildings:As SCAD points out, the results obtained confirm that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has experienced a major construction boom over the past five years, coinciding with the accelerated economic growth that characterized the period in question, during which the number of buildings in the emirate grew by 43% from 115390 in 2005 to 165071 at present.

However, there are marked differences in the dominant types of buildings from one region to another, with Abu Dhabi region being home to 4084 or 84.4% of the emirate's total number of multi-storey buildings (apartment buildings), compared with 565 buildings (or 11.7%) in Al Ain region and 188 multi-storey buildings (i.e. 3.9% of emirate's total) in the Western Region. The survey also found that Abu Dhabi region was home to 43.4% of the total buildings in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, followed by Al Ain region (40.5%) and the Western Region (15.8%).

The Construction Sector:As relevant statistics prove, the construction activity in general is of paramount importance to development. Growth in this activity goes hand in hand with growth of other sectors in any economy. Construction helps to meet the needs of society by catering to its needs for housing, buildings, infrastructure, etc. This sector therefore is major contributor to the emirate's GDP.

SCAD noted that that the construction and building operations witnessed by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi over the past few years represented one of the most prominent features that characterized the emirate's economic and social developments, driven by the strong support directed towards the implementation of infrastructure projects of the national economy, which have had a significant impact on subsequent growth across all production and service sectors, especially the real estate sector, which has seen significant developments in the sizes and types of housing, service and commercial units necessary to meet the growing demand in this area. The rapidly growth in the construction activity in the recent years, has attracted huge investments to this sector making it one of the most dynamic sectors and an important branch of activity in the diversification the economy.

Two-storey and single-level buildingsThe project results put the number of buildings consisting of two storeys in all parts of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi at 5436 buildings, of which 3024 building or 55.6% of the total are located in Al Ain region, 1906 (35.1%) in Abu Dhabi region and 506 two-storey buildings, i.e. 9.3% of the total are found in the Western Region.

Single-level buildings totalled 19995 in number, of which 37.7% are located in Abu Dhabi region, compared with 41.2% and 21.1% in Al Ain and the Western Region, respectively.

In excess of 34,000 VillasThe number of villas amounted to a total of 34457, concentrated in Abu Dhabi region, which is home to 65.8% of the emirate's total number of villas. Low-cost houses totalled 34073, which is close to the number of villas in the emirate. Their distribution by region shows that 42.7% of low-cost houses are located in Abu Dhabi region, while the shares of Al Ain and the Western Region were 46.9% and 10.4%, respectively.

More than 10000 Buildings under ConstructionSCAD's survey found that there are 10149 buildings under construction in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, i.e. the outlook for the real estate sector in the short term will see these units gradually entering the market and raising the supply graph. The geographical distribution of the buildings under construction shows that 5455 of them or 53.7% of the total are being erected in Abu Dhabi region, 3828 buildings (37.7% of the total) are under construction in Al Ain, while the remaining 866 buildings, which account for 8.6% of the total buildings under construction represent the share of the Western Region.

Real property unitsStatistics Centre - Abu Dhabi announced that the total number of real property units in the emirate was 382,016 units. Some 221701 units, i.e. 58% of the emirate's total units are found in Abu Dhabi region, compared with 129165 real property units or 33.8% of total units in Al Ain, while the share of the Western Region was 31150 property units, i.e. 8.2% of the total units. A may include one or two types of real property units, which are divided by type of usage into residential and non residential units (establishments).

As SCAD remarks, the results obtained underline the huge significance the real estate sector, and the growing interest in this activity in view of the its important implications for people's lives. Provision of suitable housing units for the emirate's population is one of the main objectives sought by the government agencies concerned. In this regard, the Government of Abu Dhabi's is keen to provide excellent services and facilities for the real estate activity.

Type of real property unitsThe project results revealed that apartments accounted for 35% of the total property units, with 107455 apartments (81% of the total) in Abu Dhabi region. The number of villas totalled 28616, of which 17879 villas (62.5% of the total) are again located in Abu Dhabi region, compared with 8893 villas (i.e. 31% of the total) in Al Ain region and 1844 villas (i.e. 6.5% of the emirate's total) in the Western Region. A break down by type of usage shows that housing units totalled 219879 units, i.e. only 57.6% of total real property units, it must be pointed out, however that some units are dedicated to mixed use, including housing. The survey also found that there are 40593 vacant property units in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, i.e. 10.6% of total units. The bulk of these vacant units (61%) are in Abu Dhabi region.

Updating of FramesSCAD further explains that the term "frame updating" refers to the "overall process of collecting, processing, tabulation and dissemination of comprehensive digital data related to the characteristics of establishments across the whole spectrum of economic activities, without omission or duplication".

The project secures detailed data on the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the population, housing conditions, the composition and conditions of households and the statistics and characteristics of buildings. The project therefore seeks to build an updated database and provide an accurate frame with full coverage of buildings, establishments and households to cater to the needs of sample withdrawals for the purposes of specialized statistical surveys in the emirate.

Objectives of the frames updating projectThis project aims to build a comprehensive database with a high degree of accuracy, covering data on economic establishments distributed by geographical location, economic activity, number of employees, state of operation, total revenues, type of economic organization, shareholding, classification as a legal entity, paid-up capital, percentage of national and foreign stakes, etc, in order to designed suitable samples that can be updated annually from the administrative registers available to serve the requirements of a wide range of specialized surveys, such as the industrial survey, trade survey, transport survey, and the services survey. The project will also provide detailed data on population, housing and establishments according to the master plan of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

SCAD's frames updating project will also provide an updated frame for households that is appropriate for a number of household surveys, such as the household expenditure and income survey, labor force survey, the multi-purpose survey, etc, to meet the needs of decision makers, competent authorities and the public.

One of the advantages of this project was the training of national staff in the planning and implementation stages of the project, through their active participation in the updating of frames to acquire the necessary experience to conduct statistical field surveys.

The project results will constitute the groundwork in composing a broad data base to be used for research and study, and to serve as a reliable source of numerical information on the emirate for international institutions.

In addition, the data and indicators obtained through this project will help to measure changes in housing and demographic characteristics over time, hold local, regional and international comparisons and set future projections.

Furthermore, the project served as tools for promoting statistical culture by briefing respondents about the significance of the updating project for the population for the emirate in formulating plans and making appropriate decisions.

Methodology of the frames updating project The methodology of the frames updating project consists of three phases:i-Preparation: This step denotes the preparation of the project budget, setting up a functional structure, design of forms, definition of terminology, production of training manuals and guides, selection of staff and compilation of a manual illustrating the administrative divisions of the regions.

ii- Field work: Training of staff, designation of work areas, delivery of PDA's and publications, enumeration of establishments, buildings and housing units and counting of the population.

Compilation of results: This is the stage where the data collected is analyzed and disseminated.

This huge amount of statistics and information will be collected according to the latest recommendations of the United Nations, while meeting the requirements of ministries, planners, researchers and decision makers.

Modern technology will be used to present summary data to users shortly after the completion of field operations.

Gearing up for each stage:Each stage with goes through several steps and preparatory activities, such as determining the objectives and content of each stage in line with the overall objectives of the project, drafting the data tabulation scheme, working out a communication plan, and testing of candidates for selection and appointment of the project staff, and to identification of technical documentation, design of maps and questionnaire forms, determination of data validation rules and field work mechanisms, selection and testing of IT systems, pilot testing, setting up field stations, catering to the requirements of field work, training of the project staff, distribution of work areas on handheld devices (PDA's) for each enumerator and field deployment of enumerators to collect data for the three stages.

1000 Enumerators engaged in the ProjectThe frames updating project is being conducted by a large team of trained and experienced staff, hired with the aid of recruitment consultancies.

The projects' manpower strength will vary from one stage to another, with each stage being linked to the next. The total number of the staff engaged has so far reached 1000 and is likely to increase upon the commencement of stage 3.

Staff TrainingThe duration of staff training varies from one stage to another. Depending on the designation and duties of each job, the project staff are trained for a minimum of 10 days in the project's theoretical and technical aspects, the former dealing with the concepts, terminology, the statistical classification in use, and the latter with how use the PDA's in data collection.

Partners' SupportSCAD's Director General praised the sustained support of the Executive Council in completion of the work on schedule, acknowledging the contribution of the Center's strategic partners to the success of the project. In this regard, it is pertinent to note that, prior to the commencement of the project, the Center had sent official letters to all governmental departments and agencies to in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to learn about the data requirements and call on them to cooperate and contribute to the project. And in response to this, some parties participated actively in this project, including Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC), Abu Dhabi municipalities and the Military Survey Dept. by providing SCAD with aerial maps.

81,000 economic establishments, including 11,700 local companies and 477 branches of foreign companies A 235% growth in the number of establishments in the Western Region over the past five years.

The results of the second phase of the frames updating project showed that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is making remarkable progress in improving the business environment, making it a destination for many investment projects, and multinational companies.

This transformation comes about amid an economic boom sweeping through all development areas in the emirate and reflected in such aspects as the significant rise in the number (as well as diversity) of establishments in the emirate, from a total of 50,160 in 2005 to 90,024 economic establishments in 2010, an increase of 79.5%.

The number of establishments grew at different rates in the three regions of the emirate, increasing at 235% in the western region, 112% in Al Ain area, and 43% in Abu Dhabi area. These indicators attest to the policy pursued by Abu Dhabi Emirate for bringing about a balanced development all over the emirate.

As SCAD's data reveals, 59% of the establishments in Abu Dhabi Emirate were based in Abu Dhabi region in 2005. This ratio dropped to 47% in 2010, while the share of the Western region grew from 6.9% to 12.8%, and that of Al Ain region from 34% to 40% during the same period.

Results also include a distribution of establishments by the number of employees, economic activity and occupational structure, in which SCAD reported that, out of a total of 81229 establishments operating in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, 61615 establishments or 76% of the total employ a limited number of workers ranging from 1 to 5, while the number of businesses hiring more than 50 workers totalled 3431, i.e. 4.2% of the total establishments operating in the emirate.

As regards the distribution of operating establishments in terms of their classification as legal entities, the preliminary results of the frame updating project indicate that there are 64,625 sole proprietorships, 11755 local companies, 39 cooperatives and 477 branches of foreign companies.

In general, these figures underscore the significance of small-sized enterprises. They also suggest that the emirate's policy in this regard tends towards reducing the number of workers, while favouring technology and capital intensive businesses.

SCAD explains that the data released upon completion of Phase II of the frames updating project - 2010 does not include buildings and units of the General Command of the Armed Forces and Police, buildings in remote islands and buildings of diplomatic corps, such as embassies and international and regional organizations. In total, there are about 111536 structures that are not regarded as buildings of statistical significance and were accordingly excluded from survey. These include water tanks, telephone booths and public bus stations, military buildings that are not used for civilian purposes, gardens with no buildings space, fenced parcels of unused land and abandoned shacks and caravans.

Butti Ahmed Mohammed Bin Butti Al Qubaisi, Director General of Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi, said the project sought to provide recent, comprehensive and highly accurate data on all buildings, dwellings, households and establishments in the various areas of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and by the grace of Allah, the centre has successfully concluded this stage. On the whole the project provides data that is intended to serve the emirate's development plans in all domains.

SCAD's Director General pointed to the increasing importance of information and statistical figures concerning the various characteristics of establishments, which represent the statistical unit in the economic surveys, the results of such surveys being necessary tools in the formulation of development plans and other economic policies and programs.

Al Qubaisi remarked that the implementation of this project required a required a large number of maps and aerial photographs of all buildings and real estate units in the emirate to ensure the full coverage and accuracy during the updating operation. The operation involved visits to each building to account for all of its parts (units) regardless of the status of occupancy of these parts, and enumerate each establishment in the building.

Aerial maps and GIS coordinates to guide the researchers in fieldRenowned statistical agencies planning to take advantage of the techniques used in the projectPhase III of the frames updating project 2010 was implemented using a full range of state-of-the-art systems, which contributed to the production of improved statistical output within a shorter period of time. SCAD provided its field staff with the latest electronic devices (PDA's) for data collection, equipped with maps and GIS coordinates, thus enabling the storage of statistical data on a daily basis in field by supervision stations prior to the their forwarding to SCAD's operations centre for auditing, review, and quality control.

The project helped in the training of national cadres in the planning and implementation stages such projects, through their practical participation in the updating of frames to acquire the necessary experience to conduct future statistical field surveys.

SCAD accorded particular attention to the formation of a quality control team, to work in conjunction with field staff and provided it with databases and advanced technology for the correction of field enumerators and updating them with instructions and feedback in a timely manner, before the end of the field work, while it is still possible to improve the quality of the collected data and therefore the statistical product as a whole.

In implementing the project, databases and GIS systems were used to identify areas of work, distribute workloads to the project teams, extend field support for identification of work areas, ensure full coverage of targeted buildings and units to minimize omissions, as well as in the conducting audits and quality control measures.

Through cooperation with the project's IT consultants, SCAD developed an automatically updated dashboard for daily status reporting. The dashboard displays the daily results to the project management team in a suitable layout and enables it follow up on progress at all levels.

The advanced systems used in the project enabled the management team to track enumerators in field through GIS coordinates, maps and databases, thus helping field staff to locate remote and scattered places. This marks the first time that this technology is integrated and applied in this way to statistical work, i.e. SCAD is leading the way for several statistical agencies worldwide that intend to take advantage of SCAD's experience in regard, which the centre plans to summaries and make accessible to all interested parties.

SCAD's projects for the year 2010 were characterized by effective use of advanced technology, as manifested by the broader use of mobile computing devices, GIS mapping and databases in planning, implementation and quality control, and in building a geo-statistical database for dissemination and for withdrawal of samples for survey purposes.

Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi is currently preparing for the General Census of Population, Housing and Establishments- 2010, which has been approved by the Executive Committee, chaired by Mohammed Ahmed Al Bawardi, Secretary-General of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Executive Council at the Committee's meeting on 27/10/2010 in Abu Dhabi.

SCAD calls upon all citizens and residents to cooperate with field enumerators and supervisors in the implementation of the general census by giving full and accurate answers to the questions asked, as the success of census hinges on the cooperation of the entire population of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, stressing the centre's commitment to the confidentiality of collected information and the restriction of its use to statistical purposes only, in compliance with the law establishing the centre.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.