Infrastructure UAE offers loan relief in response to flood damage The UAE central bank has instructed banks to defer personal and car loan installments for six months for customers affected by last week’s flooding. The deferral will come without additional fees, interest or profits, and won’t increase the principal amount of the loan for the deferral of the repayment of installments, the UAE state-run Wam […] April 23, 2024
Real Estate UAE launches Aston Martin-branded residential tower The global development arm of Saudi-listed Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development will launch a $250 million luxury beachfront residential project in Ras Al Khaimah with interiors designed by British luxury carmaker Aston Martin. The residential project, located on Al Marjan Island, will be launched in May, London-listed Dar Global said in a statement. The project is […] April 23, 2024
Infrastructure Crown Prince tells developers to pay for Dubai flood clean-up Dubai property developers have been ordered by the emirate’s Crown Prince to bring “normalcy” back to communities devastated by last week’s flooding – at no additional charge to tenants. The UAE experienced its heaviest rains in 75 years last Tuesday. The downpour turned main roads, particularly in Dubai, into waterways, leaving motorists stranded and causing […] April 22, 2024
Infrastructure Emaar promises free repairs as Dubai launches sewerage system Emaar Properties is offering free repairs to residents whose homes were damaged during this week’s extreme flooding, as Dubai also announced an AED80 billion ($22 billion) sewerage system. The developer announced on Friday that it would repair all homes in its communities affected by the historic levels of rain, “at no cost to residents”. Emaar’s […] April 19, 2024
Real Estate Kuwait signs $140m contracts for Al Metlaa development Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has signed two contracts worth KD42 million ($140 million) to construct public buildings in Al Metlaa, a new residential district north of Kuwait City. Nurseries, stores, schools and shops will be included, state news agency Kuna reported. Electricity connections have been provided for 109 buildings in the district, […] April 19, 2024
Video length: 07:03 Analysis Giga-projects Saudi Arabia strives to counter giga-project doubts As Saudi Arabia ramps up its global tour to attract more giga-project investment, doubts have begun to set in over costs and whether they will meet the imminent 2030 deadline. The kingdom’s officials put on a big show at an international real estate event in Cannes in March and this week Neom kicked off the […] April 18, 2024
Video length: 03:08 Infrastructure UAE president orders review after flooding The UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered an urgent review of the country’s infrastructure after historic levels of rainfall brought the Gulf state to a standstill, with some areas seeing more than a year’s worth of rain in one day. The president has contacted authorities “to quickly work on studying the […] April 18, 2024
Real Estate Emirates REIT in profit after revaluation gain Dubai’s Emirates REIT reported a 55 percent rise in annual profit after making a nine-figure revaluation gain on its property portfolio. A REIT – a real estate investment trust – is a company that owns income-producing assets related to real estate such as buildings, land and real estate securities. Through REITs investors can have fractional […] April 17, 2024
Analysis Infrastructure Gulf’s record floods highlight ‘balance between risk and investment’ Historic rainfall this week in the Gulf, particularly in the UAE, has raised serious questions about investment in infrastructure to prevent the widespread flooding that brought much of the region to a standstill. On Tuesday the UAE was hit by its heaviest rains in 75 years. The downpour turned main roads into waterways, particularly in […] April 17, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Rising prices risk making Dubai homes ‘unattainable’ Escalating home prices in Dubai’s affordable communities are making it even more difficult for residents to get on the property ladder, real estate experts have warned. February data from property consultancy ValuStrat shows the highest annual growth in apartment values was recorded in the emirate’s more budget-friendly neighbourhoods. Prices in Discovery Gardens and The Greens […] April 17, 2024
Sustainability Masdar City has up to $1bn of projects at design phase Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s sustainability-focused urban community, is working on projects in critical sectors of the UAE, backed by investments of between AED3 and AED4 billion ($817 million and $1 billion). The projects include energy, artificial intelligence (AI), space, life sciences and agriculture, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, quoting CEO Ahmed Baghoum. He […] April 17, 2024
Real Estate Arada awards $168m in contracts for Sharjah development UAE real estate developer Arada has awarded two contracts worth AED615 million ($167.5 million) to build all 565 residential dwellings in Azalea, the fourth phase of the AED9.5 billion Masaar mega-development in Sharjah’s Suyoh district. Construction will begin immediately and the units will be ready for handover by the end of 2025, the developer said […] April 17, 2024
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
