The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) yesterday signed a Dh300-million joint venture agreement with Ascon to create a mixed use building within the centre.
The agreement follows a series of announcements confirming keen interest in the project from local, regional and global investors and developers.
The building once completed will comprise 550,000 square feet of residential, retail and office space. It will create a mixed use building and use smart card technology and integrate an intelligent parking system for its 1,000 space car park.
The DIFC, on behalf of the Government of Dubai, expects to announce further successful bids over the coming weeks.
"This agreement demonstrates the excitement the DIFC has created among investors in the region and internationally," said Anis Al Jallaf, chairman.
Early agreements with companies such as Union Properties, Nexus Capital SA and the Sovereign Group created a benchmark and demonstrated the high potential of DIFC real estate.
Following the constitutional amendment investor demand surged, prompting DIFC to tender 10 selected plots in February this year, following which it received over 25 bids from leading local, regional and international businesses. These tenders were evaluated with the support of consultants PriceWaterhouse Coopers.
The awarding of agreements for the remaining plots, which represent about 50 per cent of the 44-hectare site, will take place soon, according to a DIFC statement. "Following the success of the earlier phases of the project, we anticipate considerable demand," said Al Jallaf.
Added Naser Nabulsi, CEO: "The vision of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence, is to create a state-of-the-art financial hub. The innovation, attention to detail and the flexibility we intend to incorporate in this new project are going to be the highlights of this mixed use building."
In February, DIFC invited bids for the land development projects, which attracted almost 100 investors. These included bidders from the US, Switzerland and Monaco, and regional investors from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The land development plan envisaged the creation of state-of-the-art infrastructure and scores of high rise buildings on the DIFC site within six and a half years.
The gate where the DIFC will have its offices, and the six buildings surrounding it will be developed by the centre itself.
"The huge investments in DIFC's property development, said to be larger than Canary Warf, will trigger the flow of large foreign direct investments into the country," Nabulsi added.
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