Leading CEO calls for developers to lead innovation in the real estate industry

Mr. Mounir Haidar, CEO of Sorouh Real Estate, was delivering a speech on Innovative Development Approaches in the Middle East at Cityscape 2007 and outlined three fundamental areas of focus for his industry counterparts.

"Innovation is the cornerstone of our sector but it is architects who tend to gain attention. There are many wonderful examples of stylish new buildings in this region but I believe that we, as developers, should be leading the fundamental changes that will enable the industry to prosper."

"Innovation is a necessity for well known reasons", continued Haidar" "We have a social responsibility towards future generations of this country. Our customers know what they want and they are becoming more sophisticated. We are facing rising construction costs, yet competition is increasing. And perhaps most importantly we ourselves believe that if we work hard at it we can produce better products.

"In my view we need to innovate in three key areas" he continued - commitment to delivery, giving a sense of place and retaining investors through property appreciation," Haidar outlined.

According to Haidar, common areas of innovation involve improved construction solutions, energy saving initiatives and environmentally-friendly materials. "However developers really need to innovate to guarantee delivery on time and to the highest quality. For this to occur new technologies and processes need to be introduced and adapted," Haidar said, referring specifically to prefabrication, panelisation and other modulised construction systems.

Building on the second theme - giving a sense of place - Haidar explained that Sorouh believed that investing in amenities and facilities created long term bonds with a location amongst end users that would drive opportunities for developers.

Obviously facilities and amenities need management and developers can stake their claim to take on property management roles. In these roles they can increase their long term profitability by planning projects from the beginning in a way that enables management costs to be controlled.

Property appreciation driven by a sense of place has another benefit - investor retention. This was Mr Haidar's third theme. Investors who profit from place creation will surely look for future opportunities to work with the developer. Although this means that master planners must take into consideration the property management requirements, the projects' sustainability, running cost efficiency and the full utilization of community living the opportunities created by positive long term investor retention are immense.

"We pride ourselves of being among the first real estate developers in the region to design master plans for fully integrated communities. For example, we have invested heavily in Central Park at Shams Abu Dhabi. This 8.1 hectare green space will provide a natural world in the city where innovative passive cooling techniques will help to lower temperatures up to 10 degrees creating a viable outdoor community for most of the year."

"Properties around the park sold at a significant premium" confirmed "Haidar but in the long term not only do we expect to derive significant revenues from managing those properties we expect that investors who see the appreciation of their properties will be with us in many future projects."

Haidar highlighted key requisites for success: "We need skilled and expert professionals to commit to providing the highest quality standards. There needs to be closer cooperation between Government Regulators, real estate developers and consultants." Mr Haidar cited Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure framework as an example of this. "The industry must retain a passion for introducing new technologies and methodologies that will benefit our future generations."

"The tastes and demands of communities are changing so our approach must change. We need to see beyond the sales of property and focus on revenue generation in the long term and we must open our minds to change. Developers must not only invest in its people but commit to creating long term relationships with property investors," Haidar concluded.

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