Table of Contents
Topic Summary
Tap Into a USD 16 Billion Market
The UAE construction material market is valued at USD 16.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 20 billion by 2030. Continuous new builds, renovations, and property handovers create steady, recurring demand for retail building supplies.
Choose Your Building Materials Niche Wisely
This business licence covers bricks and masonry, timber and wood products, and sanitary ware such as toilets, wash basins, and shower trays. Focusing on one category lets you build supplier relationships and a loyal customer base faster.
Sell Online, In-Store, or Both
The activity licence allows you to operate a physical retail outlet, an e-commerce storefront, or a combination of the two. Digital channels are especially effective for reaching homeowners and small contractors sourcing sanitary fixtures and timber products remotely.
Serve the Contractors Who Build Every Day
Joiners, plumbers, tilers, and maintenance crews need a reliable local supplier they can return to repeatedly. Positioning your store as the neighbourhood go-to for building supplies creates consistent repeat revenue from trade customers.
Sanitary Ware Is a High-Growth Segment
The GCC sanitary ware market is projected to reach USD 1.3 billion by 2032, with the UAE posting the region's highest growth rate at 7 percent CAGR. Every new apartment handover in the residential pipeline represents a direct sales opportunity for bathroom fixtures.
Residential Construction Drives Consistent Demand
Residential buildings account for nearly 39 percent of total UAE construction spending, which is forecast to hit USD 52.66 billion by 2030. That volume of new homes means a continuous flow of buyers needing bricks, timber, and finishing materials at the retail level.
Register Under the Right Activity Code
This business falls under activity code 4752.04, covering the retail sale of bricks, wood, and sanitary equipment directly to consumers. Registering with the correct code through Meydan Free Zone ensures your licence accurately reflects every product category you plan to sell.
How to Start a Retail Sale of Other Building Materials Business in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
A pallet of bricks arriving at a villa site in Dubailand. A stack of timber planks cut to size for a wardrobe run in a Sharjah joinery. A crate of ceramic toilets, wash basins and taps unloaded for a bathroom fit-out in a new Abu Dhabi apartment. Building materials retail is the category that turns architectural plans into finished rooms, and in the UAE it runs on a continuous loop of new construction, renovation, and property handover.
According to P&S Intelligence¹, the UAE construction material market is valued at USD 16.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 20.0 billion by 2030 at a 3.5 percent compound annual rate, driven by rapid urbanisation, economic diversification and growing demand for sustainable materials. According to Allied Market Research², the GCC sanitary ware market was valued at USD 712.5 million in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 1.3 billion by 2032, with the UAE expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 7.0 percent in the region.
According to Mordor Intelligence³, the UAE construction market is estimated at USD 42.75 billion in 2025 and forecast to reach USD 52.66 billion by 2030, with residential buildings holding a 38.76 percent share of total spending. Every residential handover in that pipeline needs bricks, timber, sanitary fixtures and finishing materials, and the retail shops that supply them serve the last mile of every build.
Sources: P&S Intelligence, UAE Construction Material Market, 2024 · Allied Market Research, GCC Sanitary Ware Market, 2022 · Mordor Intelligence, UAE Construction Market, 2025
Whether you are selling bricks and masonry to small contractors, timber and wood to joiners, or sanitary equipment to homeowners fitting out bathrooms, this activity covers the retail sale of building materials directly to consumers.
Who is this for?
4752.04 — Retail Sale of Other Building Material Such as Bricks, Wood, Sanitary Equipment
Under this activity, you can run a specialised retail business selling building materials directly to consumers in the UAE. You can operate through a physical store, an online platform or both, serving homeowners, DIY customers, small contractors and fit-out teams.
This activity covers the retail sale of building materials such as bricks, wood and sanitary equipment. It does not cover the wholesale or manufacture of building materials, which fall under separate activity classifications.
In short: if you are selling building materials directly to consumers, this is your activity. If you are wholesaling or manufacturing building materials, those fall under a separate scope.
Third-party approval
No third-party approval is required for this business activity.
Anti-money laundering compliance
This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
