Abu Dhabi rental prices drop
Rents of residential units in Abu Dhabi city have fallen between 15% and 20% following the entry of a large number of properties in the market, Emirates Business has reported. Commercial units in the city have also dropped 35%, while the rate of decline outside the capital has reached 45%. The decline has been triggered by the handing of more than new 3,500 residential, office and hotel apartment units in Abu Dhabi over the past few months. More »
Plans revealed for World islands development
Kleindienst Group has become one of the first developers to announce construction plans on The World islands project in Dubai. The real estate company yesterday launched its Heart of Europe development - a six-island, 12-site luxury holiday destination, which begins construction on the island of Germany in Q1 2010. The first phase comprises 20 villas, designed by leading Spanish architectural practice A-cero, and is reserved exclusively for private holiday homes. The plots, inclusive of sea frontage, range from 6,000 to 40,000 square feet on which investors select their pre-designed shell and core scheme for a 3, 4 or 5-bedroom villa, the developer said. More »
Barwa repays $700m loan
Qatar-based developer Barwa Real Estate Co. has said it has repaid a $700m syndicated loan. 'Despite the difficulties created by the global financial crisis on the real estate sector, Barwa has been unhindered from honouring its financial commitments and completion of key real estate mega projects that are directly shaping the future of Qatar,' the developer said in a statement. More »
Ajman developer flees UAE
The chief executive of Project Integrated Realty Developers, Sam Rasool, has fled the UAE and is in Pakistan, after being unable to build the five towers in Park View, one of 15 major developments originally planned along Emirates Road in Ajman, The National has reported. 'I still have property plots that used to be worth about Dhs75m in Ajman, but I am defaulted by about Dhs8m because people are not paying,' Rasool told the newspaper by telephone from Islamabad. 'It is a general crash in the market and you have to go to jail for that? So I packed up and I left.' More »
Memon awards Dubai Sports City contract
Dubai-based property developer Memon Investments has awarded a Dhs65m construction contract to OST Constructional Projects for its Dhs339m 'Frankfurt Sports Tower I' project in Dubai Sports City. The project is a B+G+14 floors building designed by Al Hatmy Design & Engineering Consultancy, and will comprise 224 units, including 140 studios, 56 one-bedrooms and 28 two-bedroom apartments within a total built-up area of 264,460 sq. ft. More »
Foundation work for V-shaped Lamar Towers reaches milestone
Arabtec Saudi Arabia and Al Saad General Contracting have completed two raft foundations for Lamar Towers, the tallest twin towers in the kingdom's Western Region. Developed by Cayan International, the SR2bn project has twin glass towers set as a V shape. Tower 1 is G+73 floors and Tower 2 is G+65 floors. There is also a helipad and two basement levels. The mixed used towers include residential apartments and commercial units, including a shopping mall. More »
Prices for building materials fall
According to a monthly report by the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD), prices of building materials such as cement, steel and wood fell significantly during November, Emirates Business has reported. However, sanitary ware and glass saw steep rises during the same month. The monthly release monitors the prices of 164 building and construction materials. More »
DPG begins handover of The Villa at Dubailand
Dubai Properties Group (DPG) has recently announced it has begun the handover of residential units at Phase I of The Villa, the Dhs6bn freehold development in Dubailand. Phase-I of The Villa - The Ponderosa showcases Spanish architecture, featuring 1,814 Spanish-style villas built over a 35 million sq. feet area, plots ranging from 5,500,000 sq ft - 16,000 sq ft. Salwan Property Management will deliver the services at The Villa community. More »
Kuwait Finance abandons office tower purchase plan
Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia), a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House, has cancelled an agreement with YNH Property to buy an office tower for $269m, Bloomberg has reported. The Malaysian property developer will consider all options, including "seeking damages from Kuwait Finance House," YNH said in a statement. More »
Saudi's Knowledge City plans $267m IPO
Tahir Bawazir, chief executive of Saudi Arabia's Knowledge Economic City has said the firm plans to raise over SR1bn ($267m) in a public offering early next year, Reuters has reported. '30% of the company will go public. It is now in the process. It is with the capital market authority,' Bawazir told the news service. KEC, which is building a huge industrial complex for the Saudi Arabian government, anticipates its capital will reach SR3.4bn after the IPO and it intends to develop some 5 million square metres of land, attracting SR32bn in investment. More »
Masterplan for $375m Libya development revealed
Al Maabar International Investments, a joint venture of Abu Dhabi's leading real estate and investment companies, has announced the masterplan for its $375m Al Waha development in Libya. Once completed, the development will have a built up area of 265,000 sq meters, and include a 31 storey hotel, 100 serviced apartments, a 28-storey office tower, 11 mid-rise residential buildings, a health club and a shopping mall that will include a supermarket, food court and a five screen cinema. More »
Jailed developer in UAE halts project
A jailed developer behind the $800m La Hoya Bay project in Ras al Khaimah has withdrawn his consent to let the government of the emirate develop part of the project, The National has reported. Frank Khoie told the newspaper he wants dismissal of charges as a condition of changing his mind. Khoie was sentenced to three years for bouncing a Dhs57m cheque written to RAKIA. More »
Ajman authority to help defrauded investors
A new plan has been set by Ajman Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Arra) to help investors who have lost money to dodgy developers in the emirate, Emirates Business has reported. The plan offered investors the option to select properties or units in projects of approved and listed developers. The agency will play a co-ordinating role to strike a balance between the new developer and investor's expectations, Arra Director-General Omar Al Barguthi said. More »
Nakheel bondholders seek full repayment
A group representing a minority of bondholders in Dubai World unit Nakheel's $3.5bn sukuk has written to Dubai World seeking repayment of the debt, Reuters has reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The bondholders' group represents 'more than 25%' of the deal, the source said, which according to analysts is sufficient to block any restructuring deal. New York-based hedge fund QVT Financial is spearheading the group and represents foreign bondholders only. More »
Nakheel had $3.65bn loss in H1, says report
Dubai-based Nakheel had a first-half loss of Dhs13.4bn ($3.65bn) as revenue fell and it wrote down the value of land and property, Bloomberg has reported, citing an unspecified document that it obtained. The loss for the company, which is owned by Dubai World and is seeking to renegotiate debt, compared with a year-earlier profit of Dhs2.65bn, according to its financial statement for the six months to June. More »
Soldere eyes projects in Saudi
Mounib Hammoud, executive director of Solidere International, a real estate firm part owned by Lebanon's Solidere, has said the firm is eyeing land in Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Montenegro, and aims to sell projects to investors in 2010, Reuters has reported. 'There's a need for a million apartments in Saudi Arabia today,' he told the news service. 'There are lots of plots, very interesting plots of land in Riyadh and Jeddah.' More »
PMG hands over $300m tower project in Dubai
Project Management Group has said the first phase of the Dhs1.1bn ($300m) Jumeirah Business Centre Towers has been handed over to its developers, Al Fajer Properties. PMG's retendering of the project's nominated subcontracts had successfully trimmed down the final cost for each tower and resulted in a total savings of close to Dhs60m for AFP, according to a statement issued by PMG. The project includes five buildings located in Jumeirah Lake Towers, four of which are 39 storeys while the fifth is 44. More »
Qatar's Barwa eyes US market
Qatari real estate developer, Barwa has said it is exploring investment opportunities in Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles, Gulf Times has reported. 'The exploration focused on commercial properties most likely hotels and such,' the group's strategy & investment executive director, Mohamed Abdul Aziz al-Saad, told the newspaper. More »
Egypt's SODIC to raise EGP1bn in debt: CEO
Maher Maksoud, chief executive of Egypt-based Sixth of October for Development and Investment Co. (SODIC) has said the firm plans to raise some EGP1bn in debt, to fund its key Cairo projects over the next two and a half years, Reuters has reported. 'We are working on getting syndicated debt, et cetera, but we don't need to actually draw it down immediately,' he told the news service. More »
Baniyas launches new units in Bani Yas City
Abu Dhabi-based Baniyas Investment and Development Co. (BID) has announced the launch of new apartments within its Bawabat Al Sharq project in Bani Yas City. The new Bawabat Al Sharq apartments include 500 apartments, spread across 14 buildings, within six different blocks. The new buildings are part of Phase II of the project, the construction for which is due to commence in early 2010. The entire Phase II of Bawabat Al Sharq, including the new apartments and villas, is scheduled for hand over in the third quarter of 2011, BID said in a statement. More »
DIP tower ready for handover
Dubai Investment Properties (DIP) has said that it has started commissioning of services for the firm's commercial development, Single Business Tower, Gulf News has reported. "All our systems will be up and running by mid-December and we will be able to begin our leasing process," DIP said. The Single Business Tower features 248 offices and retail spaces over 45 floors, common areas and service outlets. More »
Maspero to seek Cairo project partner
Sherif Hafez, CEO of Egypt-based Maspero for Urban Development has said the firm will seek a strategic partner next year for a $3bn-4bn project it is spearheading, to turn 300,000 square metres of Cairo's downtown riverfront into an upscale commercial and leisure district, Reuters has reported. The project will include a landmark high-rise building, commercial and residential areas, hotels and public green space. 'We plan to call for competitive bidding for strategic partners ... around early April to August 2010,' he said. More »
AECOM wins Capital District contract
The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) has appointed US-based architectural, engineering and construction management firm, AECOM, to manage the infrastructure for the Capital District in Abu Dhabi, Khaleej Times has reported. AECOM will mange the infrastructure component of the 4,900 hectare development that is part of the emirate's comprehensive vision of the future entitled Plan Abu Dhabi 2030. More »
Bilfinger considers Qatar pull-out
Herbert Bodner, chief executive of German construction firm, Bilfinger has said the company is considering pulling out of Qatar due to a disagreement with local construction authority Ashgal on its Doha roadway project, Reuters has reported. Ashgal and Bilfinger are embroiled in a legal dispute over a 6-kilometre road construction project in Doha which is running a long way behind schedule. 'The bad experience with the Doha project prompts us to reconsider our commitments in the Gulf region,' he told the Financial Times Deutschland. More »
Amlak posts Dhs45m Q3 loss
Dubai-based mortgage lender Amlak Finance has announced its net loss for Q3 stood at Dhs45m, lower than losses recorded in the first and second quarters of 2009. Total losses for the first nine months of the year amounted to Dhs178m. Amlak attributed the loss to prudent provisioning on mortgage financing portfolio. Operational profit before provisions and impairments stood at Dhs39m for the nine month period and total provisions for the financing business stood at Dhs313m cumulatively as of September 30, 2009. More »