The increased focus on green building practices is an opportunity for FM companies to expand their business. 

This was suggested by Mohammad Abdul Karim Khamis, general manager of Emirates National Facilities Management (EnFM), during an exclusive video interview with CM today. 

"It's an opportunity for the FM companies to go and have a chance to expand and flourish their businesses," he said. 

The same can be said of digitization. He said there is an increased demand for smart cities from the UAE government.

“The government is intending to have around over 1,000 government services digitized and is looking to establish around 2,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the UAE. This is an indication for us as FM companies to go along with this development and growth and start digitising ourselves.”

Despite the increased awareness on the need for FM, there is a tendency to go for lean packages that only cover basic services. 

“Customers tend to always optimise the costs of facilities management services. This is leading to short-term contracts, and it affects the pay scale of people who are working in the FM industry,” he said.

Listen to the full interview here: