Owners in phase one should have been moving in during December 2007. That was then put back to June 2008. With June around the corner and the homes showing no signs of being fully completed, developer Almoosa Enterprises has said during Cityscape in Abu Dhabi that the properties will be ready in December 2008.

So a year late, but with luck, owners will be celebrating Christmas in their new homes. But the delays don’t bode well for those who bought in phase two…

Among those that are touted as being particularly green are the new Bahrain World Trade Centre (WTC) – one of the subjects in AME Info’s recent iconic buildings of the Middle East report – and the planned Lighthouse (pictured) building in the financial district in Dubai.

The Bahrain WTC, designed by Atkins, includes three wind turbines which will generate 15% of the building’s energy needs. The Dubai Lighthouse is considered even more energy efficient, having attained Platinum status in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system.

Being developed by Capitala, part of its joint venture with Singapore-based Capitaland, the 1.4 million square metre development will include mixed used properties, beaches and a canal.

Set in a non-investment zone, properties can only be bought by UAE nationals. Once developed, it will include 9,000 residential units.

Waleed Al Mokkarab Al Muhairi, COO of Mudadala, said: ‘Arzanah is an integrated residential development at the gateway to Abu Dhabi. [It] will feature high rise apartment towers and townhouses, communal gardens and trails for both walking and cycling.’

The first phase, the Heights apartments and 14 townhouses, are due to be launched in a few months time (towards the bottom left of the picture).

Capitala is one of several joint ventures set up by Mubadala. It owns 51% of the company. Development costs are expected to be north of $5bn.

The Saadiayat Beach properties overlook either the coast or the Gary Player golf course, and are due to be ready by late 2009 to early 2010. The company explained away the high starting prices as being down to the location of the villas.

Although ground work has started on the golf course, work on the villas is yet to get underway.

Once the $27bn development is completed in 2018, the 27 square kilometre natural island will be home to 150,000 people, as well as landmarks such as the Guggenheim Museum, the Louvre and the Sheikh Zayed National Museum.

The island is split into seven districts and linked to Abu Dhabi city via two 10-lane bridges. The company claims it will take five minutes to drive from the island to Abu Dhabi city and 15 minutes to the airport.

The $14.7bn Al Raha Beach development is being constructed along the beach side of the main highway leading into Abu Dhabi from Dubai. The development covers 500 hectares and is made up of 11 residential and commercial precincts.

It will feature hotels, marinas, parks, restaurants and numerous leisure facilities linked together by a network of canals, bridges and water transportation. Upon completion, it will accommodate 120,000 residents with its arrangement of apartments and villas.

The new identity has been arrived at after consultations with prospective investing bodies across the GCC and market research campaigns within the UAE.

The Western Region covers 70% of the UAE and 83% of the land area of Abu Dhabi, but is home to just 10% of the emirate’s population. The move is part of a vast overhaul of the region’s residential infrastructure and business facilities.

This will be the first time that the architectural mock-up has been available for public viewing and shows the layout of the mixed use residential and leisure projects as well as the canals, marinas and beach.

Sorouh has a number of other projects currently under development in the UAE capital, totalling over $12.5bn.

Russian company Metropol has chosen Cityscape Abu Dhabi to unveil a $3.5bn project in the heart of Moscow, marking the first time that a Russian company has showcased a project at the exhibition.

The Metropoliya project, a 1.5 million square metre mixed use development three kilometres from the Kremlin is going to make use of ‘green’ technologies developed by Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei.

The focus of the Metropoliya project - a 364 metre tall tower with 10 smaller towers arranged around it in a lotus flower pattern - will be sustainability and energy efficiency with a low carbon footprint. Nikken Sekkei is aiming for a development that uses up to 60% less energy than equivalent projects. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2009 and will continue for up to 10 years.

Metropol has chosen to showcase the project in Abu Dhabi because of the other “iconic and truly unique projects being realised here” according to CEO Dr Mikhail Slipenchuk, who claims that this makes the venue the perfect place to raise investment capital.

The GT2 is the fastest Porsche road car yet produced. Sixty-five 911 GT2s were allocated to this region and all have already been sold. Porsche said that those wanting to order the caar now are likely to have to wait a year before taking delivery. It will $176,000, and be available from February.

Video report: Porsche mulls Cayenne rally release

Although present in the region, its brand is not as popular as others in the market, and the company wants to improve its visibility and raise its profile. It will release 10 new cars over the coming two years, it said.

At the car Show is unveiled new Megans and Clios, both badged as Formula 1, and in the yellow used by the team. The Renault Clio F1 Team R27 is aimed at those that want performance, fashion and driving pleasure, the company said. Released in the first half of 2008, it comes with a two litre, 200bhp engine. The Megan F1 Team R26 is a two litre, 230bhp turbo, starting from around Dhs85,000. Both will sport an F1 plaque on their body.

Also coming out next year is its concept SUV, the Koleos is a 2.5litre Nissan engined car which includes a panoramic glass sunroof. Nicolas Guiochet, the general manager market at Renault, said the prototype was 90 per cent of the final version. It will be made in Korean and ship in the GCC countries in November next year.

The LED lighting on the concept version will not appear in the final version, because of the cost, said Guiochet. ‘We want to make citizen SUVs, not hardcore SUVs. So it’s about having fun onboard.’

Other Renault’s due out next year are the Logan and Logan MCV, which target the cheap end of the market.