The Work on the Private Projects at The World will Begin Soon

Soon the construction will start on the various off-shore island developments in The World and it has been confirmed by the well known property developer Nakheel. Last month it was announced by the Kliendienst Group that they will begin the construction on the Germany Island which is the Heart of Europe development and is a part of the Dh.3.1bn. The confirmation regarding the beginning of the work after a European developer, Major Trade, announced the starting of work on its island project.

Marwan Al Qamzi, The managing Director of Nakheel said, “The World is an attractive project, given its differentiated offering and close proximity and accessibility to developing markets.” The Canadian Gulf Construction and the Arabian Profile Company Limited which is the Arabian architectural and cladding specialist have carried out their construction work on the development.

Viktor Herceg, the Managing Director of Major Trade shared a feeling of confidence by saying that after the project gets completed a huge demand for luxury residences will come up. He further added that Nakheel has been very supportive for its first island development. The island is located on the tip of the Greenland area of The World. It includes a luxury boutique hotel and modern residential villa developments. For a mid-sized European residential property developer, Major Trade is a property development investment arm and is particularly responsible for the construction of various high end Dubai real estate developments.

Nakheel confirmed that this year work will begin on as many 20 islands. Taking the economy into consideration the buyers have revised few of their initial designs and these are now moving ahead with their construction works.

Palm Jumeirah Sits Away From Speculative Slides

With the value of UAE properties, real estate in Dubai and elsewhere sliding massively, a lot of tentative attention is being drawn from the buyers who are availing the best of opportunities in every deal they can from heel to toe.

But Palm Jumeirah is religiously not following the same in this context. The community has remarked its own real estate market prices and values on the island appear to have a rather concrete rock underneath them.

The reason and situation behind this cause is that Palm Jumeirah does not have to face any competitors like Palms or Deira which are also waterfront developments. This is due to the fact that Palm Jumeirah was complete quite before the crisis unlike these two developments. The two later developments have also been brought to a stand still.

Palm Jumeirah is still enjoying the positivity of exclusive demand with limited supply unlike the other Palms which are waiting for their fate. This simply implies that only the real investors who can be patients and can wait for returns can afford the Palm. However, the spectators seeking a property on the wink of an eye can’t pay for it.

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.

Revision of Rent Laws by Emir

The Rent Law in Middle East has been revised leading to the rise in complexity of eviction of the tenant from a rented property.

According to the new Rent Law No.(20) of 2009,issued by The Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa ,the revision does not give right of raising the rentals to the landlord. In addition to this, a landlord cannot ask his tenant to vacate the property unless the property is needed for his/her personal use or the use of any of his legal dependants. Moreover, the landlord in this case, should also give the notice to his tenant at least six months prior to the requirement.

The revisions were implemented after reviewing the draft law proposed by the Cabinet, considering the views of the Advisory Council and assessing the Constitution and related laws.

Tenant’s Perspective
•    The new law averts any increase or alteration made in tenancy contract for first two years.
•     Landlord must provide the property in sound quality.
•    Article 16 of this law puts the responsibility of property maintenance on landlord. But very next article states that landlord shall not make any change which will affect the tenant benefit in any way.
•    Tenants should be sure that only the contracts which are in written form and registered with RERA will be valid.

Landlord's Perspective:

•    Landlords will be constrained to decide rent at the time of contract for two years. Keeping this in mind they can decide a reasonable rent, as per the future economic changes
•    The landlords are free to receive rent value on agreed dates.
•    Any changes to property cannot be made by the tenants without landlord's consent
•    Tenants need to pay the entire taxes due to the Government.

Any complaint from a tenant will not be received by the Rent Dispute Settlement Committee (RDSC) set up by Law No. 4 of 2008, unless the tenant confirms a rent contract registered at RDSC office. However, tenants who seek a proof of landlord-tenant relationship for leases which were signed before February 15, 2008 can approach RDSC without contract.

UAE on a path to recovery

Due to the lowering of the prices of the Abu Dhabi property, the UAE economy is on a path to a U-shaped recovery, as told by Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE Minister of Economy.

“While economists continue to debate on whether the global financial crisis is over and how long it will continue to play out, we feel that the worst of the crisis is behind us,” Al Mansouri said, in his speech which was read out by Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shhehi, the director general of the ministry, in his absence. Event was held at the Mega Trends Conference organized by Abu Dhabi University to throw some light on the impact of the universal economic crisis on the economies of countries in the GCC.

Al Mansouri’s speech said: “We do not harbour any false illusions that the days ahead will be easy or less difficult. We have all learnt our lessons and it will be hard to forget those easily. The most important lessons from the crisis have been the need for corporate and governmental accountability and transparency.” He said that the government is dedicated to shield the concern of the business community, while it is also paying attention on the economic and social welfare of the people.

Proceeding further in his speech, the minister mentioned that the motto will prolong to be diversification. “We will concentrate on diversifying our revenue streams through focused investments in several high-growth sectors. The country has already recognized and acted upon the importance of diversifying the sources of energy, while oil revenues have been the driver of growth, we set on a course of diversifying our economy, which is reaping rich rewards today.”

Considering the rise in competition for FDI in the region, Al Shhehi said that the UAE has everything that is required to make the nation more enticing to foreign direct investment.