25 April 2017
 
Dubai-based global property developer Emaar Properties PJSC is still investigating the cause of the fire at its under construction luxury property in downtown Dubai, a company executive said on Monday.

Four workers were rescued from a blaze that broke out at the Address Residence Fountain Views tower on April 2. No casualties were reported.

“We’re still investigating (the cause of the fire),” Olivier Harnisch, CEO of Emaar Hospitality Group, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emaar Properties, told reporters at a press conference during the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai.

He said he could not comment on how much the project is expected to be delayed by at this time.

“We are still investigating what the cause was and we will share that information in due time,” he added.

The three 60-storey tower complex was slated to complete by April 2018.

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Emaar Properties said in February it will recover 1.22 billion dirhams ($332.2 million) from an insurance claim for its Address Downtown hotel which caught fire on New Year’s Eve 2015. The company also said it intends to reopen the landmark skyscraper by the end of the year, two years after it was ruined by a fire caused by an electrical fault.

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Harnisch, who joined the group on March 1, did not comment when asked if he was concerned about the impact of both fires on the luxury Address brand’s image.

However, he added: “Our safety and security standards are the highest both in projects as in the hotels.”

The hospitality CEO also said that the Address Downtown was being “fully renovated” and that it would open at the end of the year.

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Meanwhile, Emaar Hospitality Group also plans to build six new hotels and serviced residences projects in the region, the company announced at the press conference.

The upcoming projects will be based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Egypt, Harnisch said, adding that the properties were at “various stages of development”.

Emaar Hospitality Group’s current portfolio of hotels in Dubai includes the Address Boulevard, Address Dubai Mall, Address Montgomerie, Address Dubai Marina, Palace Downtown, Vida Downtown, Manzil Downtown, Rove Downtown, Rove City Centre and Rove Healthcare City.

© Zawya 2017