Al Hamra to award main construction contract for $272mln Falcon Island this month – Group CEO

Ras Al Khaimah-based developer Al Hamra will award the main works package for its one billion UAE dirhams ($272 million) Falcon Island development within Al Hamra Village this month, Group CEO Benoy Kurien told Zawya Projects. “The main works package will be awarded in February, and we are working closely with our partners to bring this mega project to fruition,” he stated in an interview. The enabling works were initiated in September 2022. “Ground-breaking for North Island was completed ahead of schedule, with work on South Island progressing well,” Kurien disclosed. Benoy Kurien, Group CEO of Al Hamra Excerpts from the interview: What factors were behind Al Hamra launching Falcon Island? COVID-19 changed the outlook of investors in a very short span of time, prompting them to reassess their living arrangements as well as prioritising location and space, therefore, leading to an upsurge in demand for villas and townhouses in safe destinations away from the metropolises and the busy city lives. Falcon Island, with its unique feature of exclusive island living in a fully developed community, is the ideal product launched at the right time to cater to this trend. Designed to meet the growing demand for premier lifestyle experiences by providing high-quality offerings with competitive and long-term returns, this development makes upscale living accessible to aspirational individuals. The launch of Falcon Island is also part of our strategic five-year roadmap, from 2023 to 2027, to drive sustained growth through mega-development projects that further underscore Ras Al Khaimah’s credentials as a preferred destination for living, holidaying, and doing business. Why do you term the project as “affordable exclusivity”? Falcon Island is a ground-breaking residential offering that surpasses any other development project in Ras Al Khaimah in terms of its livability, upscale lifestyle offerings, infrastructure, facilities, and services. We define it as ‘affordable exclusivity’ as it makes exclusive living accessible to aspirational individuals. This landmark community project is an extraordinary take on the private living experience and offers every modern convenience and amenity while bringing a global and diverse lifestyle to Ras Al Khaimah at an extremely competitive price point. The enabling works began in September 2022. The ground-breaking for North Island was completed ahead of schedule, and the work on South Island is progressing well. The main works package will be awarded in February 2023, and we are working closely with our partners to bring this mega project to fruition. Do you see construction costs going up this year? The increase in energy and commodity prices is leading to rising inflation worldwide. This has implications for all sectors globally, and the Middle East’s construction sector is no exception. Moreover, this comes at a time when Ras Al Khaimah’s property market is buzzing with investor interest owing to increased demand for housing, social, transportation, and other infrastructural developments. As a lifestyle development and investment company, Al Hamra is prepared to meet the challenges of price fluctuations with structured planning pegged towards long-term profitability. We believe other strategies, such as optimising design, building a solid procurement process, adoption of new technologies, and embracing best practices in project management, will help us beat price fluctuation. Is Al Hamra only focusing on residential projects, or do you plan to have new commercial and retail launches? Today, Ras Al Khaimah is replete with retail and commercial offerings; however, with tourism booming and an increasing number of people choosing to live, work, and invest in the emirate, our top focus is to bring premier lifestyle experiences, quality products, and world-class services to the Emirate through our unique hospitality and residential offerings. Last year, we also launched Marina residences Phase 3, a waterfront apartment building within Al Hamra Village residential community. Additionally, our relaunch plans were put into place for hospitality through our partnership with Deutsche Hospitality to assume the management of Al Hamra Residences and Al Hamra Village Hotel. We want to continue to be at the forefront of driving Ras Al Khaimah’s transformational trajectory and through strategic developments and partnerships with local and international investors in the areas of retail, hospitality, lifestyle, and leisure, we are determined to drive sustained growth for the company while supporting the emirate’s economic aspirations, tourism strategy, and livability agenda. Do you see growing inflation, global recession fears, and rising interest rates impacting your new projects? The UAE is predicted to buckle the global trend of recession and is on track to post a GDP growth better than in most parts of the world. Reform in the visa regime, improving oil prices, attractive policies facilitating domestic and FDI growth, rising population, the strong performance of non-oil sectors such as real estate, tourism, hospitality, and logistics, and the migration of wealth from different parts of the world to the UAE, are providing momentum and will be central to driving growth in the country’s economy. Despite the rising interest rates, substantial end-user demand gives strong stability to the real estate sector, and construction projects in the region will also benefit from this growth. How much raw land do you still have for development? We have upward of 40 million square feet of land parcels for potential real estate and hospitality developments. (Reporting by D Madhura; Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

Al Hamra to award main construction contract for $272mln Falcon Island this month – Group CEO

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