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Work is expected to resume on the long-stalled Marina West development as early as September, a spokesman for the developer told the GDN.
He also confirmed that investors from the UAE had stepped in to complete the project, which has been on hold since 2010.
A spokesman for the Marina West Real Estate Company has exclusively told the GDN that a new company would be formed, owned by investors from Abu Dhabi, to ensure completion of the project by 2022.
“A new company will be formed to take over the project and complete it,” said the spokesman in an e-mail response to the GDN.
“The company will be mainly owned by UAE investors.”
He added that there were “serious and committed” investors, mainly from Abu Dhabi, who have shown interest in the project.
The GDN exclusively reported last Monday on a breakthrough in the project, which has become of one of the country’s longest-running stalled property sagas.
Existing investors received communication from the developer indicating that the project would finally be finished in September or October of 2022.
Hundreds of off-plan investors put their savings in the $750 million Marina West project after it was launched in 2007.
It was supposed to have been finished in 2010, complete with 11 residential towers consisting of over 1,000 units and a five-star hotel.
The spokesman said 484 buyers registered in the company database had received a questionnaire about their preference moving forward.
The GDN revealed last week that the developer presented various options – including full reimbursement upon project completion in 2022 if buyers wished to pull out of their purchase.
Those who don’t want to wait can apply for a 50 per cent refund, which they could receive as early as this October, while those who prefer to go ahead with their purchase will be able to do so – although the asking price will be revised up to around BD1,200 per square metre, from an original starting price ranging from BD600 to BD900.
However, a discount of 20 per cent has been offered to investors who already paid more than 75pc of the original asking price, or 10pc to those who have paid 50pc to 74pc.
The spokesman said there had been positive feedback from buyers who filled out the questionnaires, which have been discussed with a government panel tasked with resolving stalled properties.
“The previous purchasers were very pleased to see some investors stepping forward to provide a lifeline to this huge stalled project, which will be a much better option for them than selling the project in auction – especially that the options provided in the survey are very generous and they were also discussed with the Committee for Stalled Real Estate Projects,” he added.
“The next step is to find out how many of the investors have chosen different options in order to allocate the funds to pay them, as well as settling the debts with other third parties.
“The estimated timeframe to kick off the project and start construction again will be in September or October 2019.”
He also explained that design changes have been made to residential units, meaning the specifications in terms of area and number of rooms have been modified.
In addition, the original hotel would be replaced by residential or office space.
“The changes in the residential units are in line with the current real estate market in terms of sizes and prices,” he said.
“The major change to the project is the conversion of the hotel into either residential or offices complex in order to maintain better privacy for the residents.”
The developer previously blamed the global financial crisis for bringing the project to a standstill.
sandy@gdn.com.bh
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