DUBAI // Investors who bought apartments in a project that was never completed yesterday praised the Dubai authorities' decision to take their case to court.
People who put their cash into The Seasons - an Ishraqah development at Jumeirah Village Circle that promised a luxurious lifestyle - claim they have been left out of pocket after building work was only half finished.
The development was designed to be split into Summer, Winter, Spring and Autumn residential clusters. Only the Autumn and Summer sectors were completed. Work on the Winter section never began. Those who bought apartments in the Spring cluster were told last year that the scheme had been cancelled. The investors, including people living overseas, contacted the Land Department and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) in a bid to get their money back.
The Land Department confirmed it had passed the case on to its legal department.
"The Spring cluster project was cancelled at the request of the developer," said a statement. "The developer pledged to return the investors' rights when they raised this issue.
"Rera asked the developer to return the dues within the time limit granted to the developer as stated in Article 26 of the Executive Council resolution No 6 of 2010. The time frame was extended for the developer.
"Due to the lack of developer's commitment and not responding to Rera's notes of paying back, the topic was moved to the Centre of Legal Affairs to file a case against the developer to safeguard the rights of the investors."
The move was welcomed by investors, who said they had renewed hope that they would be refunded.
"This is wonderful news," said Swarup Anand, an Indian who paid Ishraqah Dh500,000 for an off-plan, one-bedroom apartment in the Spring cluster.
"I have wasted more than three years without this money, which I could have used to invest in something else.
"Finally, we can see a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm hopeful we can get a positive outcome to resolve this issue."
The Seasons project was to be a mix of residential and retail space featuring homes for 1,300 people.
Mr Anand said he wanted the apartment as a home for his young family but he has since been forced to pay rent on another home on top of his monthly loan repayments.
Despite welcoming the news that his case will now go before the courts, he was resigned to the legal process being a long one.
"I don't think we'll see anything happen for another six months at least," he said. "But at least now we have some hope that we can recoup our investments."
Roy Fleming, an Australian who invested Dh220,000 for his one-bedroom apartment in 2008, said: "This project was meant to be handed over in 2010.
"There is substantial rental income that would have been collected if the project had been delivered on time."
No one from Ishraqah was available for comment.
nhanif@thenational.ae
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
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Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Play-off fixtures
Two-legged ties to be played November 9-11 and November 12-14
- Northern Ireland v Switzerland
- Croatia v Greece
- Denmark v Ireland
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
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Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
