DOHA: Qatar's biggest property developer by market value, Ezdan Real Estate Company, has joined force with Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company and Al Sarri Trading Company for the Asia Towers project, which has an estimated cost of QR2.5bn ($686.5m).
Ezdan Real Estate Company will own 32.5 percent of the project, while Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company and Al Sarri Trading Company will each own 33.75 percent.
Asia Towers, one of the largest real estate projects in Qatar this year, is slated for completion in three years. The development will see four residential towers built on a 30,000 square metre plot of land in Doha's West Bay area.
Each of the four towers will be 55 floors high with 1,600 residential units, and will have a built-up area of about 560,000 square metres. The project will also include commercial and entertainment facilities as well as hotel apartments.
Ezdan Real Estate Chairman, Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, and Sheikh Nasser bin Ali bin Saud Al Thani, the Chairman of Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company (QGIRC), who is also Chairman of the board of Al Sarri Trading Company, signed the partnership agreement here yesterday.
Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah told a news conference yesterday that the project would contribute to the overall economic growth of the country and will boost the Qatari real estate sector.
This project, he said, was a launching pad for other future projects that would be developed by Ezdan, which has a wealth of experience in the real estate sector, including Ezdan hotel towers, which were designed to host major events and conferences in the country.
He said the number of residential units owned by Ezdan was equivalent to, if not more than, the residential units available in hotels in Doha. Qatar's real estate sector had continued to maintain a reasonable growth rate and had managed to steer clear of the challenges posed by the global financial crisis, he noted.
Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah said the financing for the project would be done through loans from local and regional banks, adding that the venture was seeking funding sources and that talks being held to this effect with local banks were positive and were expected to be finalised soon.
Sheikh Nasser bin Ali, who also addressed the news conference, said the partnership agreement was the beginning of a strategic alliance with Ezdan and underscored the excellent prospects for the country's real estate sector's growth and sustainability.
© The Peninsula 2010
