Orders of tower cranes in Dubai have plunged by 40 percent in the last year and are unlikely to recover until the end of 2011 at the earliest, one of the largest suppliers in the Gulf has said.

“Orders have been affected. There is less by 40 percent compared to year-on-year. There is a drop in real estate and construction business in general and tower crane business is affected by this,” said Nabil Al Zahlawi, managing director of Abu Dhabi-based NFT Cranes.

At its peak, Dubai was famed for the number of tower cranes dotting its skyline. However, construction in the emirate slowed to a crawl in the wake of its real estate crash.

Last September, the Dubai government confirmed that more than half – 495 of 980 - of the real estate projects planned in the emirate had been cancelled.