According to chief executive of state owned Emirates Steel Industries, demand for steel in the United Arab Emirates will fall around 40% in 2009 as construction work slows.

Hundreds of billions of dollars of construction projects have been put on hold in the Gulf Arab state since the financial crisis curbed property investment. The near USD 100 fall in oil prices from last July’s peak has brought an end to an economic boom in the world’s top oil exporting region.

UAE steel demand will fall to around 3.5 million tonnes in 2009 from around 5.5 to 6 million tonnes in 2008, Jim White told Reuters on the sidelines of a steel conference in Abu Dhabi.

Mr White said that despite the slump in demand, Emirates Steel will double output in 2009 from 2008 to around 2 million tonnes after bringing new capacity online. He said that “We are well up this year despite the slump, we are selling twice as much as last year. We have got new capacity and we are finding buyers.”