Dubai Investments to restart Dh400m Fujairah property projects

Dubai Investments yesterday said it plans to revive Dh400 million worth of property projects in Fujairah that were put on hold following Dubai’s property downturn in 2008.

Khalid bin Kalban, the investment company’s chief executive, said yesterday that the long-delayed Fujairah Business Park and The Market developments in the northern emirate would be officially launched in the first week of December.

“The contractor is on board, we’re all set to go,” said Mr bin Kalban, declining to name the party involved.

“We’ve received term sheets from various banks.”

The developments will include a Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, serviced apartments, an office tower, and retail and residential property.

The project is still awaiting final approval from Fujairah Municipality, he said.

Dubai Investments showcased both projects at the Cityscape Global exhibition in Dubai in September.

These will be developed by Al Taif Investment, a joint venture between Dubai Investments and the Fujairah Investment Establishment, an investment vehicle of the government of Fujairah, which holds a 40 per cent stake in the company.

The projects were initially announced in March 2008, but were suspended following the slump of Dubai’s property market that year, with banks reluctant to provide funding for property projects.

The revival of the Fujairah projects coincides with the relaunch yesterday of six Dubai-based property projects that were also suspended in 2008.

The projects, which were part of the former Best Homes development portfolio, have been taken over by Empire Arabia, which has signed an initial agreement with Q Developments, part of the Dubai-based Q Group of companies.

The developments include Global Golf Residences 2 and Rescom Tower in Dubai Sports City, Global Green Views 2 & 3 in International City, Global Bay View in Business Bay and an unnamed 19-storey residential tower in Jumeirah Village Triangle.

Dubai has experienced a surge in the number of developers seeking to restart stalled projects in the past year as the economy has gathered momentum and property values have soared.

Dubai Investments announced a net profit of Dh995m for the first nine months of the year on Sunday.

Mr bin Kalban said profits for 2014 were likely to be in the range of Dh1.4 billion.

jeverington@thenational.ae

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