Al Hanoo launches new commercial zone in Sharjah

Monday, Jan 31, 2011

Gulf News

Sharjah Park for Cars, Heavy Equipment and Spare Parts aims to attract investment in the city by facilitating the purchase of plots

Sharjah: Sharjah-based developer Al Hanoo Holding yesterday launched an integrated commercial zone for the growing automotive industry designed to attract stakeholders in the automobile market that is expected to open in the first quarter of 2012.

The Sharjah Park for Cars, Heavy Equipment and Spare Parts, which is located in the Al Sajaa Industrial Area, aims to attract investment in the city by facilitating the purchase of plots, in addition to providing a long lease agreement of 25 years, which can be renewed three times.

The credibility of this project is substantially enhanced by the existing infrastructure which was started six months ago by the contractor and customer payments, whereby all payments are linked to completion, said Shaikh Abdullah Al Shakra, Chairman of Al Hanoo Holding.

Despite the global downturn, the UAE auto market is worth an estimated Dh8 billion, and for spare parts it is an estimated Dh10 billion.

In addition, the re-export market for heavy equipment from Sharjah has exceeded Dh9 billion.

Currently, hundreds of used car showrooms clog the streets in the Abu Shagara residential area of Sharjah and need to be relocated.

Investment

An official at Al Hanoo Holding however refused to disclose the investment in the project, although the pre-launch price of the plot was Dh70 per square foot.

We are providing this business community with a 24-hour security service with complete infrastructure of international standards at very minimal facility management charges, explained Al Shakra.

Once the project is completed, the Sharjah Park will cover 12 million square feet that can accommodate over 850 shops that will be made up of four-storey buildings.

The company strongly believes that creating a specialised hub with all the facilities will create an unprecedented business opportunity and synergies by providing a one-stop shop service for all the needs of auto market dealers, he said. During the press conference, an official at Bangash Properties pointed out that the park will be divided into three zones that will cater to heavy equipment in an area of 18,361 square feet, auto-spare parts in an area of 10,377 square feet and vehicle showrooms in an area of 7,088 square feet.

Shift

It will be a new facility for new and used cars. The new facility is not imposing any rules on owners of used car showrooms in Abu Shagara, but we intend to help them with the shift, said Faiz Sukhera, director of sales and Marketing at Bangash Properties.

There are more than 1,000 shops in the Sharjah used car market and even though their reaction has been positive, they want the confidence that the park will open in 2012 and that we will work towards keeping our deadline, Sukhera noted.

He added that the owners in the new facility will be able to acquire a plot of land equipped with office space, a gate and a shed.

By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter