| 15 Nov 2009 |
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Al Barari eyes Oman, Qatar and Abu Dhabi
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November 2009
Al BarariAl Barari
is getting ready to hand over completed villas to owners after a delay of more than a year. The luxury developer is planning similar projects in Abu Dhabi, while Oman and Qatar are also being considered. A MONEYworks report.Developer Al BarariAl Barari
said during Cityscape Dubai 2009 last month that it was ready to hand over the first group of completed villas in the US$6.4 billion Al BarariAl Barari project, spread across 14.2 million square feet in the heart of DubailandDubailand.By now, 30-35 villas should have been handed over to their owners, while another 33 villas will be handed over within the next few weeks. After that, five to 10 villas will be handed over to owners every week, according to Mohammad Zaal, chief operating officer of Al BarariAl Barari. A total of 287 villas is scheduled to be developed during phase one of the project.
Like many other mega projects in Dubai, Al BarariAl Barari has been affected by delays. The scheduled delivery for phase one was August 2008. Zaal is hopeful that all 287 villas will be ready for handover by April 2010.
Zaal said that the Al BarariAl Barari project did not suffer from any payment defaults or debt-related issues, as most of the funding for the development was generated by the project owners. And the project catered to the super-affluent, who were comfortable paying in cash. Of the total number of units, only seven units were mortgaged, Zaal disclosed.
Zaal added that as the project had a construction-based payment plan, there was very little chance of default. The project has sold nearly 75 per cent of phase one. The rest has been deliberately kept aside for selling later.
Zaal said that the minimum price of a villa, even in today's market conditions, starts at AED10 million.
"Of course, everybody has been affected due to the crisis. We have also faced prices coming down to a certain extent," Zaal admitted.
Al BarariAl Barari was founded by Zaal Mohamed Zaal in 2005 to develop luxury homes in the UAE that offer a unique living experience in the midst of lush manmade greenery. Eighty-eight per cent of the project funding came through equity from the family. The rest, around 12 per cent, was contributed by three banks: Abu Dhabi Islamic BankAbu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial BankAbu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Oman Emirates Bank, each having only a minority stake.
The Al BarariAl Barari luxury villas sport four distinct architectural styles: Acacia, Bromellia, Camellia and Dahlia. Though the original plan was to construct 330 super-luxurious five- to seven-bedroom villas, the number of villas was scaled down to 287 because of the downturn in the real estate sector. The average size of the villas ranges between 12,000 and 35,000 square feet.
True to the meaning of the word Al BarariAl Barari, which means 'wilderness' in Arabic, the most important feature of Al BarariAl Barari is greenery. The total development will have 34 landscaped, themed gardens and will host one of the region's largest plant nurseries once completed. Zaal boasted of 800 species of plants and flowers from 20 different countries across six continents.
has established its own property servicing company, Wojood. The company will be responsible for providing fully integrated management services for all the facilities within the community.Al BarariAl Barari
has secured another two sites for projects of a similar nature in Abu Dhabi, one occupying a waterfront location and another placed in a strategically located, exclusive plot, according to published reports. When asked about the location for next project, Zaal replied that places close to nature are the first choice. Oman and Qatar are being seriously considered, he added.Zaal said that phase two of the project will see a mixed development comprising apartments, boutique hotels, a wellness spa, restaurants, amphitheatres, art galleries, boutique offices and retail outlets.
However, for the time being, the focus will be to complete phase one. Details about phase two will be announced by the end of this year, he added.
© MONEYworks 2009
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