Major Dubai property developers are increasingly bringing construction work in-house as a way to keep pace with soaring demand, tighten control over project timelines and capture a larger share of margins. Emaar Properties, builder of the Burj Khalifa, has created a dedicated contracting arm called Rukn Mirage, while Samana Developers, Ellington and Azizi each launched internal building units over the past two years. Samana now executes about 80-90% of its new projects internally, up from a planned 20%. The shift follows a sharp rebound in the emirate’s property market: average prices have climbed 70% in the four years to December 2024 and new project launches jumped 83% last year, even as completions fell 23%, according to industry data. The government’s plan to double Dubai’s population to 7.8 million by 2040 is adding to expectations of sustained demand. Developers say controlling the full pipeline helps unlock escrowed buyer payments more quickly and avoid penalties for late delivery—penalties that recently saw a court order one firm to refund 12.4 million dirhams ($3.4 million) over an undelivered floating villa. However, consultants warn the strategy could leave companies with idle capacity if the cycle turns, while traditional contractors, facing fewer tenders—down from up to 30 bids per project to as few as three—may be forced to seek work in other sectors. Some firms are hedging. Emaar will continue to outsource selected projects, and Arada, co-founded by Saudi Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, is integrating an Australian contractor it bought this year but will keep a hybrid model until at least 2027. Even so, the in-sourcing trend underlines developers’ confidence in the market and the broader push for self-reliance across the United Arab Emirates.