Commodore wins Schon contract
Schön Properties has awarded a Dhs82.25m ($22.3m) construction contract to Commodore Contracting, to accelerate construction within Zones 2 and 4 of the Dhs3bn Dubai Lagoon project. The agreement involves all concrete and block works, double basement, superstructure, water proofing and related works for both zones. More »
Dubai house prices increase
The Colliers International Q1 2010 House Price Index has recorded a 4% increase in Dubai house prices since Q4 2009. It is the third consecutive quarter in which the index has registered an overall increase, reinforcing a trend of market stabilisation, the report said. More »
Tammeer completes Imperial Residence superstructure
Tameer Holding has said the topping out of the superstructure on the Imperial Residence development, a two-tower project rising from a podium in Jumeirah Village South, has been completed. Imperial Residence will house 510 apartments. More »
Sharjah considers real estate registration law
Dr Obaid Al Hajiri, Chairman of Sharjah's Executive Council, has said a draft law for property registration has been prepared and forwarded to the emirate's Consultative Council, Emirates Business has reported. The Executive Council will discuss the draft and the Legal and Legislative Committee's report during its next session scheduled for May 20 and will submit a recommendation and notices to the Executive Council, Al Hajiri was quoted as saying by the newspaper. More »
Contracts worth $14bn awarded in GCC
Project tracker firm Ventures Middle East has said that contracts worth an approximate $14bn had been awarded in the GCC from April to-date for the construction of buildings, energy and infrastructure projects, Emirates Business has reported. 'Of this figure, around $8.7bn worth of contracts alone were awarded in the UAE,' Mibu John, Syndicated Research Director at the firm, told the daily. 'This was a 32% rise against the $10.6bn awarded in 2009 during the same period in the GCC and $5.6bn in the UAE, across the three sectors.' More »
Al Habtoor wins The Buildings By Daman contract
Al Habtoor Leighton Group has been appointed as the new main contractor for Daman Investments' large-scale project, The Buildings at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The 225-meter high Buildings by Daman is a 60-floor mixed use residential and commercial complex. It includes freehold apartments, offices, the Rosewood Dubai as well as large community areas and prime retail space; encompassing 1.6 million square feet of GFA, and 3.3 million square feet of built up area surrounded by sculptured gardens. More »
Orascom to raise $296m via bond issue
Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries has said its board of directors have approved the sale of $296.1m in 5-year bonds to finance acquisitions, Reuters has reported. The bonds, which will be tradable but not non-convertible into shares, will be offered in public and private tranches, and will also be used to refinance its balance sheet, OCI said. More »
Aldar to release new apartments
Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties is planning to release as many as 150 apartments into the market to take advantage of a wave of completed buildings around the city, The National has reported. 'We strongly believe that when ... people will be able to touch and feel the units, there will be a whole different factor in sales,' Shafqat Malik, the chief financial officer of Aldar, told the daily. 'A finished building is very different from the off-plan sales and construction sites.' More »
Ezdan in talks over Malaysian property sale
Qatar's biggest property developer by market value, Ezdan Real Estate has said it is in talks to sell properties it owns in Doha to a Malaysian real estate fund for QR1bn ($274m), the Peninsula has reported. More »
Arabtec wins Dubai apartment project contract
Arabtec Holding's construction unit has won a Dhs500m ($136m) contract from Damac Properties to build an apartment project, Bloomberg has reported. Arabtec Construction will build the project in Dubai Marina, the company said in a statement. More »
Gulf Holding eases concerns on Villamar sukuk
Kuwait-based Gulf Holding Co has said it can both pay its next coupon and complete construction projects, in a bid to ease concerns of a possible liquidity crunch for the Villamar sukuk, Reuters has reported. The statement by the Sharia'h-compliant real estate investment products and services provider came after its Residential South Real Estate unit, which issued the Villamar sukuk, said on Thursday that cash reserves fell to BD5.45m ($14.5m) at the end of 2009 from BD42.3m a year earlier. The Villamar project is part of the Bahrain Financial Harbour development, promoted by Bahrain- and Kuwait-listed Gulf Finance House. More »
Rera asks developers to explain project delays
Marwan bin Ghalita, CEO of Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) has said the regulator has asked master developers to provide reasons as to why projects have not started on their master developments, Emirates Business has reported. "We are working with master developers to complete audited technical reports on all the projects that are under the master developer's freehold area. Moreover, we are asking them to give clear reasons as to why a developer has not commenced a project since they are aware of what is happening on-site," the Rera chief has told the newspaper. More »
Credit Suisse: Saudi property growth slower than expected
Credit Suisse Group has said that Saudi Arabia's real estate market will probably grow more slowly than expected, due to high prices and a lack of mortgage lending, Reuters has reported. "A strong shift to home ownership will likely not be in effect in the short and medium term," Dubai-based analyst Ahmed Badr said in a report. Housing supply needs to double, and that will be difficult to achieve because a shortage of off-plan sales means developers have to finance projects in full before offering units, he said. More »
Aldar posts Dh314.2m loss in Q1
Aldar Properties has reported a net loss of Dhs314.2m in the first three months of this year compared to a net profit of Dhs888.6m during the first quarter of last year, Khaleej Times has reported. The loss was primarily due to lower gains from fair valuation of investment properties, Aldar said. More »
Sorouh posts 78% rise in Q1 net profit
Abu Dhabi-based developer Sorouh Real Estate has announced that net profit for the first quarter of 2010 was Dhs131.6m ($35.83m), an increase of 78% on the previous quarter and 1% higher than the same quarter last year. The profit increase was driven by the sale of its Shams Abu Dhabi plot and a rise in lease income, the builder said in a statement. More »
Al Futtaim Carillion wins $32m Ikea deal
Abu Dhabi-based developer Aldar Properties has awarded Al-Futtaim Carillion an estimated Dhs120m ($32m) contract to build a new Ikea furniture store on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, Meed has reported. The 29,642 square metre retail outlet will be the retailer's largest store in the Middle East, and will have a total sales area of 18,100 sq m, a 2,100 sq m restaurant with 600 seats, and a parking structure with 1,563 parking spaces. More »
Saudi Arabia approves SR20bn Q1 projects
The government of Saudi Arabia has approved 659 projects valued at SR20.89bn during the first quarter of this year, mostly on construction projects for roads, schools and hospitals, and waste water facilities, the Saudi press agency has reported. The kingdom plans to spend more than $400bn until 2013 to upgrade its infrastructure. More »
Emaar Properties posts $207m Q1 profit
Dubai-based developer, Emaar Properties has announced a revenue increase for the first quarter of this year by 87% to Dhs2.89bn ($786m), compared to Dhs1.54bn ($419m) during the same quarter of the previous year. Net operating profits for the first quarter of the year have recorded 152% increase to Dhs760m ($207m), from Dhs302m ($82m) during Q1 2009. More »
Palm Hills considers budget housing
Egypt's Palm Hills Developments has said it is considering building low-cost housing and expand into sub-Saharan Africa, Bloomberg has reported. Chairman and CEO of the real estate company, Yasseen Mansour, said the firm would need a partner for low-income housing because it's new to that market. More »
Nakheel may offer trade creditors 10% return on bonds
Dubai-based developer Nakheel plans to pay an annual return of 10% on Islamic bonds it seeks to issue to trade creditors, Bloomberg has reported, citing two people familiar with the proposal. The developer plans to issue the five-year bonds in July and list the securities on Nasdaq Dubai. The return will be paid twice a year. The deal is conditional on trade creditors representing at least 95% of the value of all claims agreeing to the proposal, the news service reported. More »
Orascom plans budget home project in Egypt
Amr Sheta, vice chairman and co-chief executive of Swiss-based Orascom Development Holding, has said the firm will set up a EGP2bn ($361.5m) housing project as part of its expansion plans across Egypt, Reuters has reported. The project will include 100,000 units at a building cost of EGP20,000 each, in the southern province of Qena, he said. More »
Aldar wins $199m infrastructure contract
Al Ain Municipality has awarded Abu Dhabi-based developer Aldar Properties a Dhs730m ($198.8m) infrastructure contract for the Shiebat Al Wata project, Reuters has reported. Set for completion in April 2013, the project involves the infrastructure for a residential development for Emirati nationals, which will include 1,045 homes and educational, health and retail facilities, the developer said. More »
Alaqaria's profit holds steady in Q1
Qatar Real Estate Investment Co (Alaqaria) has posted QR64m ($17.59m) in Q1 net profit, compared to QR63.8m ($17.5m), Reuters has reported. Qatar's Barwa Real Estate Co was ordered by the government in January to take over Alaqaria. After the takeover, Alaqaria will become a subsidiary of Barwa with the market capitalisation of the combined firms reaching QR11.1bn ($3.05bn), the company has announced. More »
Barwa posts 8% rise in Q1 profit
Qatar-based real estate firm Barwa Group has reported a 8.25% increase in net profits in the first quarter of 2010 to QR210m, compared to QR194m of the same period of 2009. The rise was attributed to increased revenues from rents and services, plus profit on sale of property, along with a decrease in net finance costs, the developer said. Earnings per share in the first quarter were QR0.82, compared to QR0.75 for the same period last year. The company's total assets reached QR42bn, compared to QR24bn for the same period last year. More »
UAE projects under construction worth $143bn
UAE-based research firm Proleads Global has said the UAE has a total of 1,296 projects that are under construction, valued at more than $418bn, Emirates Business has reported. An additional 303 projects worth $143bn are already in the design, planning, and or, bidding stage, Proleads said. The total state of the UAE civil construction market covers 2,552 projects with a combined budget value of about $930bn, it added. More »