Emaar Properties has announced that it has reopened the hotel at The Address Downtown building, some two and-a-half years after it was closed due to a fire. However, owners of serviced apartments in the building are still awaiting news of when they can return to the building.

Headlines were made around the world when the 63-storey tower caught fire on New Years' Eve in 2015 as revellers gathered by the nearby Burj Khalifa to welcome in the New Year. The fire was blamed on an electrical fault.

The developer appointed Dubai-based Dutco Group within days of the blaze to work on its reconstruction, stating that it planned to reopen the tower 'in record time', but work has taken longer to complete than initially anticipated.

Emaar Properties said in its press release that the hotel now has 220 guest rooms and suites (it had 196 previously) and that new restaurant concepts had been created.

“With the opening of Address Downtown, Emaar is bringing to life a crowning glory in its hotel assets," Olivier Harnisch, the head of Emaar Hospitality said.

However, a spokesperson for the company could not give a date as to when owners of serviced apartments will be able to regain access to their homes.

“Final touches are being made on the serviced residences; we will announce the handover schedule shortly,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Zawya.

The company confirmed in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market last year that it was set to recover 1.22 billion UAE dirhams ($332 million) from insurers as a result of the fire, allowing it to reverse a 301 million dirham provision it made in its prior year accounts.

(Writing by Michael Fahy; Editing by Anoop Menon)

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