2006
- The news you choose »
- Login to Add to Watchlist
The Wave, second sales phase
The Wave, Muscat is to launch a second phase of homes on Saturday, December 16. Phase two will comprise a selection of townhouses, as well as garden and waterfront villas. To secure a property, purchasers will need to provide a non-refundable payment of OMR3,000. Following this, a first payment of 10% needs to be completed within ten working days.
Emaar launches Loft Towers
Emaar Properties has launched a three tower, high rise residential complex, The Loft Towers, on Burj Dubai Boulevard at the Downtown Burj Dubai development. The east and west towers will be 30 storeys high, while the central tower will have 26 storeys. Amlak Finance is offering home finance options for the Central tower, which is now open for sale.
Dubai Sports City, Siemens deal
Dubai Sports City has awarded Siemens and Electrowatt - Ekono the contract to supply, install, test and commission three 132/11KV substations, and associated work, to serve the 50m sqft site area. Siemens will act as the main contractor on the project with Electrowatt acting as the lead engineer. The contract, worth $52.3m, will take 18 months to complete.
Rakeen launches Al Marjan
Rakeen, Ras Al Khaimah's new property development company, has officially launched its first major real estate project in the emirate, Al Marjan Islands, according to the local WAM news agency. Al Marjan will be a cluster of five man-made islands covering 27m sqft and worth around $1.8bn. The firm, with a paid up capital of $109m, will launch further projects in forthcoming months.
Empower awards DHCC deal
Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation, Empower, has awarded Trans Gulf Electro-Mechanical a $59.9m construction contract to provide district cooling services to Dubai Healthcare City. Trans Gulf will complete the civil as well as the mechanical, electrical and plumbing works, in addition to the construction of the 56,000 refrigeration tonne district cooling plant. The project is expected to be completed by June 2007.
Skycourts, 1,000 sales in one day
The National Bonds Corporation has said that more than 1,000 apartments were sold on the first day of sales for the Skycourts development at Dubailand; the figure represents about 40% of available units. Sales are restricted to national bond holders and Dubai Bank customers until December 15, but the NBC believes all units will be sold before then.
Nakheel halts World sales in 2008
Nakheel is to halt the sales of islands in The World offshore development for a two year period from 2008 according to a senior official cited by Emirates Today. Hamza Mustafa, the GM of The World, said the reason behind this was to prevent the development becoming a giant construction site. Initial construction work will commence on islands such as Australia, North America and some in Asia.
Mideast investors choose Tokyo
Middle Eastern investors are putting increasing amounts of capital into the Tokyo real estate market, reported Reuters. Mikihisa Hirai, the President of Atlas Partners Japan, said Arab investors were worried that prices had peaked in the US and UK and so were seeking alternative markets in Asia. The Institute of International Finance estimates the GCC will export $450bn of capital in 2006 and 2007.
Istithmar buys Shell-Mex
Istithmar has bought the art-deco Shell-Mex building on The Strand in central London for just over $1bn, according to Reuters citing Property Week magazine. The deal would mark the single-biggest building sale in London since March when Plantation Place was purchased by Tishman International and Insight Investment Management. Istithmar swooped for another art-deco building in London, the Adelphi, just last month.
70% more Dubai units by 2008
Around 92,000 residential units will come on to the market in Dubai next year according to a report by the Deutsche Bank and cited by Emirates Today. By 2008, an additional 123,000 units will be added meaning the market will have expanded by 70% in two years from the current level of 305,000 residential units. A separate survey by Future Brand suggests the housing supply will double by 2015.
Bonyan, $104m Oman venture
Dubai's Bonyan International Investment Group has launched the Springs, a $104m project in Oman's Al Qarm district. The development, covering a 190,000 sqft plot, will include five towers, two of which will be for residential purposes, two for hotel apartments and one will be earmarked for a luxury hotel. The project's announcement coincides with the opening of Bonyan's offices in Muscat.
3,000 beds at Diar resort
Qatari Diar's Al Houara resort development in Tangier will create around 3,000 hotel beds, a conference centre and should generate about 1,500 jobs, reported Reuters citing a statement released at a conference in Rabat. The project was in fact launched back in July 2005 and, according to the company website, will have an ultimate investment value of $600m.
Durrat Al Bahrain, Tameer deal
The Durrat Al Bahrain Company and the Al Khaleej Development Company, or Tameer, have signed a deal for the development of the marina at Durrat Al Bahrain. The proposed marina will be located to the east of the golf course and will cover an area of 6m sqft; it will take two years to build. The facility will include restaurants, coffee shops, commercial buildings and berthing space for 400 boats.
Sorouh enters Morocco
Abu Dhabi's Sorouh Real Estate is to enter the North African market and is already working on a project in Morocco called Bab Al Bahr near Rabat, reported Emirates Today. Sorouh's Marketing and Communications Director Kevin Storey said a number of other Abu Dhabi based firms had also been approached about possible involvement. The master plan is still being developed and Storey would not be drawn on values or time-scales.
Housing shortage for Saudi
Real estate studies in Saudi Arabia have shown there will be a serious housing shortage by 2010 as the population is expected to reach 35m, reported Arab News. The Ministry of Economy and Planning announced yesterday that the country should build 1m new units by 2009 to address the problem. But Aman Jamal, from the real estate development firm Mullak Al Arabiyah, said 4.5m units will be needed within 15 years.
It looks like you are using a Mac - check out our 
Web Feeds