Construction & Real Estate
Construction projects in Gulf reach US$1 trillion
The Al Mazaya Holding Company has announced that the value of construction projects currently underway in Gulf countries has reached US$1 trillion. The figure is predicted to increase further if the Common Gulf Market experiment is shored up with uniform legislation, Salwa Melhas of Al Mazaya said.
Soaring iron prices halt constructions, fuel court disputes
The unrelenting upsurge in iron prices in Saudi Arabia has spurred rows amongst small-scale housing project owners and contractors.
Project owners reject liability for the latest price hike maintaining the contracts were signed prior to the move, while contractors deem the most recent increase in iron prices as "unbearable" and beyond their control.
Skyrocketing UAE realty market to hit AED2.5 trillion
Investments in residential and commercial realty in the UAE are expected to total AED184 billion by 2010. Moreover, the overall worth of the UAE realty market is set to reach a staggering AED2.5 trillion over the next 25 years, predicts an expert from the local real estate sector.
AREDC operation to launch 20m sq metre development on the Red Sea
A subsidiary of the Arab Real Estate Development Company (AREDC) in Egypt is poised to launch a 20 million square metre profit south of Hurghada on the Red Sea coast.
Limitless unveils plans for US$12bn Saudi project
Limitless, a real estate development arm of Dubai World, said its US$12 billion Al Wasl project in Saudi Arabia will have 50 mosques and eight shopping complexes. The 1,411-hectare project, which was announced last October, will create 55,000 homes for 200,000 people.
Korean firms to build infrastructure in Iraq
South Korean builder SSangyong Engineering & Construction Co. said that a consortium led by the builder plans to submit its proposals to build infrastructure for the Kurdistan Regional Government early next month.
SSangyong E&C said the consortium inked the memorandum of understanding with the Kurdish government to rehabilitate infrastructure in the autonomous region of northern Iraq on February 14.
Gulf States in race to build world's tallest tower
Gulf Arab states, flush with proceeds from record high oil prices, are racing to build the world's tallest tower. Saudi Arabia, which sits on a quarter of the planet's proven oil reserves, has just joined the fray with a plan to build a one-mile (1,600 metre, 5,249 foot) tower in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
The project, which would overtake super-tall skyscrapers in neighbouring Kuwait and Dubai, the city state associated with mega ventures, places the competition to build the world's tallest tower firmly in the Gulf region.
Dubai Techno Park to sponsor US$300m KTIC Jasper Asia Gulf Horizons Fund in Dubai
Dubai Techno Park, the Dubai Government's centrepiece technology initiative, announced today that it has agreed to base the first Asia Gulf Horizons Fund Technology Center in the Dubai Techno Park and for Dubai Techno Park to sponsor the launch of the KTIC Jasper Asia Gulf Horizons Fund in Dubai. Dubai Techno Park is managed by DP World.
Dubai: Building concerns
While there has been no slowdown in the flow of new projects announced in the emirate, Dubai's construction sector, like those across the Gulf, is experiencing some difficulties as it struggles to cope with labour and materials shortages, in addition to steeply rising prices.
On March 17, Emaar Properties, the developer in charge of the Burj Dubai tower, announced that the project marketed as the world's tallest building would not be completed as scheduled by the end of the year. Local media reported the tower could be four months behind schedule, and may now be finished in spring of 2009. The company declined to give a reason for the delay.
Indonesia's Bakrieland in US$110m sale to Dubai firm
Indonesian property firm, PT Bakrieland Development Tbk, said it had agreed to sell stakes in three units to Dubai property company Limitless for US$110m. Bakrieland said Limitless, a real estate arm of Dubai World, will control around 30 percent of three Bakrieland units which own properties in prime areas of South Jakarta.
Real estate officials welcome contribution from Goldman Sachs in Palm Hills
Officials at the Egyptian real estate industry welcomed a recent move by Goldman Sachs to hold shares in Palm Hills real estate company in Egypt.
Palm Hills announced that an agreement has been sealed between Goldman Sachs and El Mansour and El Maghraby Investment and Development Company – the largest shareholder in Palm Hills – that allows the international bank to buy a 5.5 percent stake in Palm Hills. The agreement also allows Goldman Sachs to increase its stake in the company to 10 percent.