DOHA: The first freehold properties ever to be offered for sale in Qatar and located in The Pearl Qatar, the island being built on reclaimed land offshore, went on the market yesterday.
This follows a test-marketing period which saw great interest from potential investors from the GCC states and other countries. The 1,012 fashionable apartments, 28 luxury penthouses and 140 stylish town homes in seven, 20-storey towers are due to be completed in the last quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007 and will line Porto Arabia, the main harbour of The Pearl-Qatar, the rediscovered island.
The range of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes, most with sweeping sea or picturesque harbour views, come in four architectural styles - Monaco, Tuscan, Provencal and Florentine - conceived to reflect The Pearl-Qatar's Riviera Arabia positioning.
"These are the first properties within the Gulf to be offered with true freehold status as laid down in Article 3 of Decree No 17 of 2004, issued by the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani on June 6th of this year," said Omar Al Fardan, Director, United Development Company (UDC), the developer and promoter of The Pearl-Qatar. The sales launch coincided with UDC's unveiling of the The Pearl-Qatar's final master plan and brand essence.
"Land reclamation is currently ahead of schedule and piling for the seven towers in the first phase is imminent," said Nick Bashkiroff, development director, The Pearl-Qatar.
The Porto Arabia will eventually feature 21 high rise residential towers in a Riviera-like boardwalk setting around the 400-boat slip marina. Also within Porto Arabia is the Fanar Croisette lighthouse, shopping, dining and residential district. In the heart of Porto Arabia lies the Marsa Arabia anchor island. Accessed via a causeway, this 'island-within-an-island' will feature a 250-room, five-star hotel - a haven for some of the million business and leisure travellers expected each year in Qatar by 2010.
The Pearl-Qatar covers 985 acres of reclaimed land. When complete in 2009, some 30,000 people are expected to live on the island.
© The Peninsula 2004
