Palm Jumeirah Crosses 70% Construction

According to Nakheel, the developer behind Palm Jumeirah, 70% of its construction has been finished. A senior official said that the master plan is also being visited.

Marwan Al Qamzi, Group Managing Director of Nakheel Development Projects told, "We have finished construction on nearly 70 per cent of Palm Jumeirah. On our part, we sold a couple of fronds on the project but they still have not been built. It is part of the plan to keep them until we come up with some unique designs compared to what you have seen so far. You cannot freeze the master planning. You have to update it as you go. You have to update to meet market demands and customers requirements.”

The Kingdom of Sheba and Ottoman Palace are the inclusions of this waterfront project. Ottoman Palace is almost complete according to Qamzi. He added, “Both will finish by early April to June next year. The Kempinski Hotel is 85 per cent complete.” Work of Marina Residence started in March 2007 after Shimizu Corporation was awarded the contract in 2006 to construct superstructures, basement, architectural works, landscaping of the project and interior finishing.

Regarding rampant payment issues in the market, Qamzi said the developer was addressing the situation. "We are in discussions with all contractors about delays in payment since there are areas where we need to sit and discuss," he said. The Marina Residences did not benefit from the fall in prices of building materials. "With the change in prices, we have negotiated prices on projects that were led at the peak and at the beginning of the phases. However, this was not possible with the contractor at the finishing stages on the Marina project," said Qamzi.

"This is the last one under construction for the time being from our end," he said.
The final touches on the West side of the project are still going on. "Meanwhile, the East side near the Anchor Marina, which comprises a green area with a clubhouse, will be finished in two months," said Qamzi.The Anchor Marina is expected to berth more than 700 vessels, according to an earlier statement from the company. "The residents of Palm Jumeirah will be accorded priority in berthing," said Qamzi.

The developer confidently remarked that Palm Jumeirah project will witness the island emerging as one of the pioneers in resorts in the coming five to six years.

Burooj plans to develop middle-class projects

The real estate right hand of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and the developer supporting multifaceted realty ventures in the UAE and Middle East, Burooj Properties held its annual planning workshop. The event focused on the earlier achievements of the company the future plans taking into account the present condition of the market.

The members of Buroojs Board of Directors, including Chairman Mr Khamis Buharoon, Deputy Chairman Mr Khaled Khouri and Managing Director Mr Adel Ahmed Al arouni,as well as Mr Tirad Mahmoud, CEO of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, and board members, Mr Mohammed Ismail Al Fahim and Mr Masarat Husain attended the two-day workshop.

Highlighting the workshop, Mr Adel Ahmed Al Zarouni, Managing Director of Burooj Properties, said, "It is critical for property developers to stay abreast of the latest developments and changes in the real estate market, and even more important is to regularly convene a roundtable for all parties involved in the company’s growth and expansion to evaluate previous achievements and discuss future plans. We at Burooj have committed to holding such meetings on regular basis."

Said Al Zarouni: "Based on our evaluation of the market reality and potential, we have agreed to continue development works in the Abu Dhabi property market and to target middle income groups through a series of residential projects that cater to the needs of the this growing market segment. Demand for freehold residential units in Abu Dhabi is also increasing in response to the recent regional market changes and the proven resilience of Abu Dhabi real estate sector."

"We are also looking at the possibility of working in property asset management," he added.

It was also announced by Burooj Properties that its Burooj Views project at Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi is ready to be delivered to customers in the first quarter.

Saadiyat Island- Infrastructure to be awarded in 2010

According to senior official from Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), the two main infrastructure packages for Cultural District and Marina Disttrict on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi will be announced by the first quarter of 2010. However, he turned down the request of disclosing any values.

Andrew Seymour, the Director of o Infrastructure at Saadiyat Island added to the matter, “As a client, we are anxious to see what prices we get since it is a competitive market. The contractors are hungry now unlike two years ago. We are taking full advantage of the fact that competitive pricing need to be brought into every single element of the work that we are doing.”

Seymour also told Emirates Business, "Our initial focus was on the Saadiyat Beach area, where we have luxury resorts and golf courses and all infrastructures around the area. It also included Saadiyat Bridge, Khalifa Bridge and expressway. It will all be completed in the next three to six months. The next focus is primarily on Cultural District to support the museums and their construction. At the same time, we will be looking at Marina district. It is a considerable amount of work considering the sizes of the project components.” He further said, ” "In very broad terms, we are looking at continuing the infrastructure work on Saadiyat Island over the next 10 years and are tying in with that. As areas get completed, the verticals of the building and the development above ground will start to occur. We are looking at 2020 for the completion."

However, the main power and water facilities to the island are under construction and nearing completion.

"The transmission supplier built at 400kv grid station and all the cables are nearing completion. Of the four substations, two are nearing completion and the other two will be completed by mid-2010. We are in the first phase of finishing off the huge ground storage tank, which will distribute water across the island. That will finish in 2010. One sewage treatment plant will be completed this month, and the design build contract on the second one has been awarded to Kharafi National," said Seymour.

The Australian-based Thiess Management Services is managing the construction waste management issues and have been imploring third-party contractors to take on various related jobs.

Seymour said:"We have a concrete crushing and waste management disposal system on the island. We are also looking at ways to control waste on the island so that sub-contractors on the island would deliver to one central location, which will minimize the logistical issues and traffic. We also have environmental services through TDIC and our lead consultant Parson to make sure our and third party developers are complying with our environmental mitigation plans. Sustainability will remain our priority along with reuse of construction waste, if possible."

The main issues on the project are logistical issues. However the bigger challenge is being predicted as Saadiyat Island will see more developers and contractors coming in the coming days.

UAE’s Largest Indoor Events Auditorium by ADNEC

Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) an international venue development and management company has recently announced that the largest indoor exhibition and events auditorium has been completed. This multi-purpose hall 12 covers an area of 7920 Sqm thus; it is the largest indoor events auditorium. The hall has the capacity of seating up to 5,700 spectators. This hall is termed as the most flexible places for all kinds of indoor events as a fully automated retractable tiered seating system is recently installed. Other than various weddings and exhibitions, hall 12 can now host a range of live events including live concerts, sports and other entertainment events.

The hall is fully air conditioned. The MD, ADNEC, HE Ali Saeed Bin Harmal, said: “The transformation of Hall 12 is a special date for ADNEC and for Abu Dhabi. The capital now boasts the country's largest indoor events auditorium and we look forward to the exciting range of events, which we will host in the future.  This is a big milestone in the short history of ADNEC as we have hugely expanded the scope of the live events we are capable of staging." The hi-tech seating system unfolds 23 rows of high specification at the touch of a button.

The seating is finished with black fabric and ice-birch veneer. Other than these, various moveable partitions, acoustic panels, matching mobile units, multi-use seats and flat floor WIP completes the entire 5700 seater venue. Last week a ceremony was held in which Mr Al Dhaheri officially handled the control of the new seating arrangement from the Chairman and CEO of Kotobuki Mr. Shigeyuki Fukasawa. This is the company which supplied the custom designed system. ADNEC is the largest exhibition centre throughout the Gulf region and stages over 100 live events every year and welcomes over 1.8 million people annually.

The Big 5 Exhibition Shows Positive Signs for UAE Real Estate Sector

The Dubai World Trade Centre will soon be enlightened by the Big 5, the leading construction and international building show which is all set to take place starting from November 23-26, 2009. This is one of the largest events of its kind where various contractors, engineers, developers and architects will be given a platform in order to specify their real estate products and constructions. The developers both from the private and public sectors can network their real estate construction works. Moreover, the exhibitor space has already increased and pre-registrations are at record levels, the organizers of the event are expecting positive signs for recovery of the construction industry in the UAE.

The Director of the show, Paula Al Chami said: “The Big 5 exhibition is somewhat of a barometer for the construction industry and we are extremely positive that business is starting to stabilize. We seem to be bucking the trend of some other trade shows, which has been reflected in the increased floor space, and the right level of industry people signing up. Clearly, this has been a year of a slow down in growth in construction, but it seems that The Big 5 is coming at just the right time, as the industry is starting to look forwards again and will be able to put a considerable amount of speculation to rest.”

As of now, visitors from over 70 countries have signed in to attend the show. This time it is expected that the show will be 15 times bigger than it was last year in 2008. It has grown to the level of new hall constructions at the venue. Dmg research has shown that despite of the global downturn, the real estate industry in the Middle East will keep on budding at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the next 5 years.

Dubai Land Deals Reach Dh2.15b

Last week in Dubai the total worth of the land transactions reached an amount of Dh2.15 billion. In return the sales also got exceeded by Dh1.41 billion. According to the Land Department during this period the total value of mortgages was Dh736.89 million. Al Ruwayyah was the most valuable plot and it was sold for Dh207.2 million. As the week ended, The Department registered a total of 81 transactions. During this week Dubai real estate has shown vast improvement by delivering such prominent sales and registrations. Apart from the Al Ruwayyah, the next two prominent sales were shown for plots in Emirates Hills-3 and on the Sheikh Zayed Road.

These two sales were again tremendously huge as the plot on Sheikh Zayed road is acquired for Dh124 million and the one on the Emirates Hills is for Dh20 million. As far as week sales are concerned, the area of the Emirates Hills was the most active among all. Not only this, but Palm Jumeirah followed 14 sales. The period was under review during which it got disclosed that mortgages worth Dh524.86 million were registered, out of which mortgage for Marsa Dubai was the most significant with Dh214 million. Moreover, area in Al Jadaf was another for Dh94 million. Apart from all these sales and Dubai land transactions, by value Al Ruwayyah recorded the highest turnover followed by Sheikh Zayed Road for Dh124.01 million and last but not the least Emirates Hills-3 at Dh59.68 million.

In Al Ruwayyah the largest area which was sold was a 430,338 square foot plot. On Sheikh Zayed road a plot of 64,586 was acquired whereas, a 40,000 square feet area got disposed of in Jumeirah-3 for Dh15 million. This was the report and data acquired related to property transactions and registrations by Dubai Land Department.

ETA Star handovers Liberty House Real Estate Development

ETA Star is one of the leading real estate property developers in the UAE. This real estate company has now started handing over residential and office units to Liberty House owners. It is located in Dubai International Financial Centre district (DIFC). This property development company has already begun the handling of Dh700 million. Liberty House offers a complete range of freehold residential accommodation. The project is a 42 storey freehold tower; L shaped comprising of luxury studios, 1-2 bedroom duplexes and 1-2 bedroom apartments.

The Executive Director of the ETA Star, Abid Junaid said: “With great pride, we are pleased to say that we are amongst the first private property developers to deliver a project in the DIFC district. Keeping in mind to the current scenario, the delivery of the magnificent Liberty House holds strong significance in our hearts as this validates our trust and commitment towards our loyal patrons and customers. We will continue to strive towards completing our projects as per schedule.”

Liberty House is a full fledge unit comprising of office space, residential accommodation, car parking etc. This property in Dubai consists of office spaces on 10 floors. Above this there are 20 floors providing luxurious residential accommodation. Moreover, car parking is not at all an issue as 6 levels of car parking are available. This office property in Dubai in Liberty House is centrally located around an atrium space thereby, providing a lively and a comfortable environment for the employees. Moreover, the apartments are being developed with contemporary designs and a great level of sophistication is also involved. Apartments are designed keeping in mind the modern lifestyle with terrace areas. Thus, it has become a perfect residential and a commercial property.

For Foreign Direct Investment - Dubai on Top in 2008

A special report has been published on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by the Financial Times. In this report it’s for the first time that Dubai has been classified as the top destination in the world. The likes of Shanghai and London are kept aside and Dubai has come up as a great destination city. Dubai’s position is now known, as the top destination city, it has attracted 342 projects and around 58,000 new jobs were created in the year 2008. A capital investment of $21bn has been made and for FDI, UAE once again has become the leading destination with 480 projects in hand.

The Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre and Vice Chairman of the Central Bank of the UAE, His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman commented on the report by saying that “The number of projects initiated, the capital investment and jobs created in the UAE are proof of the economic strength of the country." If we look at the complete Middle East, the sources shows that the total projects of 969 were assigned with the capital expenditure of $154bn. His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman said: “This report is a testament to the strategy of both the UAE and Dubai under the directives of HH Sheikh khlaifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; a strategy of openness and diversification”.

All this is said to be a remarkable achievement by one of the well known emirates in the UAE, Dubai. He added that this achievement by Dubai of becoming the foremost city for foreign direct investment will be continued to demonstrate the benefit of investing in UAE and Dubai.