Friday, Dec 16, 2005
By Arif Sharif, Staff Reporter
Dubai: A Dubai property start-up and a Bahraini investment bank are teaming up to build a premium 30-storey commercial tower on Dubai's Shaikh Zayed Road at a cost of Dh294 million ($79.9 million), the two companies told a news conference yesterday.
Omniyat Properties, launched earlier this week as a unit of Dubai's Dh2 billion Almasa Holdings, said Bahrain's International Investment Bank, an Islamic institution, had bought a 50 per cent stake in the freehold project.
To be developed in Dubai's prime Business Bay area, the project will include futuristic features like voice controls and robots which will vacuum clean, mop floors and even press shirts. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2006 and completion is scheduled for early 2008, although buyers enquiries have already begun coming in.
"There is still a lot of potential to be realised in Dubai's office property market," Mehdi Amjad, Omniyat's chief executive told the conference.
International Investment Bank said that the investment offered an attractive internal rate of return of more than 25 per cent with the possibility of added gains from capital appreciation upon exit. Bank officials said the project would be offered as a syndicated investment opportunity to its equity investors.
The project is funded by equity of Dh103 million, equally subscribed by Omniyat and International Investment Bank, pre-sales of the property and bank loans, to a small extent.
Amjad said pricing details of the property would be announced on January 23 and the contractors, for which three "popular" firms are in the running, close to the ground breaking next quarter.
"Several countries in the region are envious of the development taking place in Dubai. This boom is going to continue and create demand for quality office space," Saeed Al Fahim, chairman of International Investment Bank, said.
He said the bank would explore other property opportunities in the UAE with Omniyat or with other companies.
Omniyat, born out of Almasa Holding's five-year old real estate division, will unveil four other projects in 2006, including commercial buildings, residential as well as hotels and service apartments with a total estimated cost of Dh1 billion, Amjad said.
Omniyat has acquired various plots of land in Dubai and plans to expand in the region as well.
Dubai's rapidly growing economy is fuelling a real estate boom as companies expand businesses and others use the city as a base for regional operations.
Gulf News 2005. All rights reserved.
