Real Estate Residential price rise counters slip in Saudi commercial property Residential property was the driving force behind a rise in Saudi Arabian real estate prices in the first quarter of 2024 as prices of commercial real estate fell, government statistics released this week showed. The overall real estate price index rose by 0.6 percent compared with the same quarter in 2023. But while there was […] April 16, 2024
Construction UAE wealth fund ADQ buys stake in Abu Dhabi builder UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ is acquiring a stake in the construction company building the Guggenheim and Zayed National museums in Abu Dhabi. Alpha Dhabi Holding (ADH), an investment holding company, announced in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange on Tuesday that it will divest 49 percent of its subsidiary Alpha Dhabi Construction […] April 16, 2024
Giga-projects Roshn awards $57m contract for Riyadh villa community The Saudi giga-project Roshn has signed a deal worth more than SAR215 million ($57 million) with Dar Al Arkan, a local developer, for a villa community in Riyadh. The two companies signed an agreement allowing Dar Al Arkan to acquire and develop residential villas in the first phase of Sedra. The 35 million sq m […] April 16, 2024
Giga-projects Neom increases workforce to get vision over the line The pace of construction on Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-project Neom is to accelerate, with the workforce rising by almost half by next year. The number of people employed in construction will increase from more than 140,000 to more than 200,000 in 2025, the developer said in a statement, after reports of construction workers being […] April 15, 2024
Infrastructure Iraq and Kuwait team up for European telecom corridor Iraq’s Informatics and Telecommunication Public Company, a division of the Ministry of Communications, has signed an agreement with Kuwait’s Zajil Telecom to create a telecommunications corridor from the Gulf region to Europe, transiting through Iraq and Turkey. The new route will pass through Iraqi sea and land ports. Iraq’s minister of communications Hayam Al-Yasiri said […] April 14, 2024
Retail Diriyah Square planned for historic Riyadh district A public space featuring 400 retail outlets and 100 restaurants and cafes is planned for the historic Riyadh district of Diriyah. Diriyah Square will be announced next week at the World Retail Congress in Paris and aims to attract a combination of international retail brands and local artisans. Diriyah Gate Development Authority group CEO Jerry […] April 14, 2024
Opinion Finance I have seen the future and it’s ICD Brookfield Place Abu Dhabi and Riyadh also know a good thing when they see it April 12, 2024
Analysis Tech The Mena metaverse: moving beyond the hype Two years ago, the concept of metaverse lands transformed from an interesting subculture into a thriving multi-billion-dollar market, capturing the interest of major investors both regionally in the Middle East and globally. Metaverse lands, made of pixels and digital images, refer to buildings and plots within a virtual environment, offering spaces for gaming, socialising, business […] April 12, 2024
Construction Delays keep property oversupply at bay in Dubai Dubai’s off-plan market is treading a delicate line between the risk of having too many properties and the threat of project delays, industry insiders have said. “There’s plenty of supply coming in,” Haider Tuaima, director of real estate research at consultancy Valustrat, told AGBI. “If everything is handed over on time, then we will have […] April 12, 2024
Construction Egypt allocates land for airport at ADQ’s metropolis The Egyptian government has allocated two plots of land for the development of Ras El-Hekma international airport by UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ. The land plots in Matrouh, a governorate in the north-west of Egypt, were handed over to the country’s civil aviation ministry, Ahram Online newspaper reported. The airport development is part of the […] April 11, 2024
Construction Mena steel demand to rise over next two years Steel demand in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is expected to accelerate in 2024 and 2025 after a significant slowdown in the past two years, the World Steel Association (WSA) said in a report. Demand is forecast to rise by just over 4 percent and 2.6 percent year on year to 57 […] April 11, 2024
Construction Prompt payments prop up Dubai’s construction sector Dubai’s construction industry is at the healthiest it has been in almost 20 years, according to an executive from one of the city’s most established industrial groups. This resurgence is notable for its relative lack of payment delays – a common issue in construction projects globally and in the Gulf region. “Delayed payments are not […] April 10, 2024
Construction Saudi cement prices under pressure as competition mounts Strong competition among Saudi Arabia’s cement companies is likely to continue and will exert pressure on prices in the short to medium term, according to a report from investment advisory company Ubhar Capital. There is ongoing optimism regarding the pipeline of mega and giga projects, as well as anticipated investments related to Expo 2030. However, […] April 10, 2024
Real Estate Oman real estate ‘in good health despite drop in deals’ Higher interest rates are hitting Oman’s real estate industry, but economists are confident that a drop in transactions in January does not signal the start of a downturn in the sector. The value of real estate deals in the sultanate fell by more than 20 percent to OR208 million ($540 million) in January, compared to […] April 10, 2024
Economy Housing benefit for Abu Dhabi citizens tops $500m Abu Dhabi has handed out over AED2 billion ($500 million) worth of housing benefits to citizens across the emirate. The first benefits package of the year, to coincide with the Eid Al Fitr celebrations, includes housing loans, ready-built houses and residential land grants. Thety will help 1,400 Emiratis. Additionally, senior citizens, retirees with low incomes, […] April 9, 2024
Real Estate Lunate and Olayan buy into Dubai’s ICD Brookfield Place Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai and Brookfield Corporation have sold a 49 percent stake in ICD Brookfield Place (ICDBP), the emirates’ largest office tower. Abu Dhabi alternative investment fund Lunate and Saudi Arabia-based Olayan will each own 24.5 percent equity interest in ICDBP. It is the largest institutional third-party single-asset real estate […] April 8, 2024
Construction Saudi Arabia scales down plans for 170km Line by 2030 Less than half of the first phase of The Line, Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city, is expected to be completed by 2030. Publicity materials available at a construction industry conference in Cannes in March showed that phase one would consist of modules 44 to 47 of the 170 km The Line, making the first phase about […] April 7, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Dubai developers tempt off-plan buyers with 1% payment Dubai developers are offering 1 percent payment plans in an attempt to maintain interest in an increasingly crowded off-plan sales market and to delay an anticipated slowdown after years of record growth. Yet experts warn that this tactic carries significant risks, drawing parallels to the precedents set before the 2008 housing crash. Ziad Hinnawi, sales […] April 6, 2024
Infrastructure PIF close to buying Pakistan copper mine stake Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is close to finalising a deal to buy a $1 billion stake in Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper-gold mine, in what would be a Saudi lifeline for the debt-ridden country, a Pakistani newspaper has reported. Barrick Gold, the Canadian-listed company that owns a 50 percent stake in the Reko Diq mine, […] April 5, 2024
Infrastructure Egypt chooses British Steel for Green Line rail track British Steel, the UK steel products producer, has secured a multi-million-pound deal to supply parts for a new rail route stretching across Egypt. In total 9,500 tonnes of track will be delivered for Egypt’s Green Line, its first fully electrified mainline and freight network from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. The exact value of […] April 4, 2024
Infrastructure UAE to develop Iraq’s port and economic zone Iraq’s Al-Faw Grand Port and its economic zone will receive an investment boost with the backing of a UAE state-backed entity. Abu Dhabi Ports Group has signed a preliminary agreement with the General Company for Ports of Iraq, state-run Wam news agency said. The entities will establish a joint venture to develop the Al-Faw Grand […] April 4, 2024
Real Estate Abu Dhabi real estate deals hit $4bn during first quarter The value of real estate deals in Abu Dhabi reached almost AED16 billion ($4 billion) during the first quarter of the year as another beachfront community was launched in the emirate. There were over 5,000 sales and mortgage transactions in Abu Dhabi during the first three months of the year, according to data from the […] April 3, 2024
