Oil & Gas Abu Dhabi’s Lunate buys stake in Adnoc’s pipelines US companies Blackrock and KKR have sold their 40 percent stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) oil pipeline infrastructure assets to Abu Dhabi alternative investor Lunate. Lunate is backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and has $105 billion of assets under management. The acquisition was made by one of Lunate’s funds. […] April 3, 2024
Manufacturing Abu Dhabi’s non-oil growth spurred by manufacturing Abu Dhabi’s non-oil sector expanded by more than 9 percent last year with manufacturing and construction leading the way, according to new figures. The Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi issued preliminary GDP estimates for 2023, revealing non-oil growth of 9.1 percent – slightly down from 9.2 percent in 2022 – as the emirate’s overall economy improved […] April 3, 2024
Real Estate Union Properties to repay $263m debt in 2024 Union Properties plans to repay AED966 million ($263 million) to lenders in 2024 as part of its debt restructuring plan. The developer, which trades on the Dubai Financial Market, has repaid AED290 million ($78.96 million) worth of debts as a result of AED816 million generated from plot sales in the first quarter of 2024. The […] April 3, 2024
Tourism Turkey secures more funds for Antalya airport expansion An additional $463 million financing has been secured to help upgrade and expand Turkey’s second busiest airport, Antalya. Antalya served more than 35 million passengers in 2023 which went some way towards Turkey recording record tourism receipts. The first phase of development will include the expansion of Terminal 2 and the construction of new general […] April 3, 2024
Infrastructure DP World teams up with Rumo for new Brazilian port terminal DP World and the Brazilian railway operator Rumo are to build a new terminal at the port of Santos in São Paulo, to handle 12.5 million tonnes of grain and fertiliser a year. The project is intended to make the port Brazil’s primary gateway, and central to trade for South America. Rumo estimates the total […] April 2, 2024
Giga-projects Roshn to build its first residential district in Mecca The Saudi giga-project Roshn is building its first residential community in Mecca, which will cater to middle income Saudis. The Almanar project will sit on the western outskirts of the city, with easy access to Jeddah airport. It will house 17,000 people in its first phase, Roshn said this week. The development will include three […] April 2, 2024
Giga-projects Neom and Jeddah offer appeal to expat buyers Many expatriates in Saudi Arabia are interested in buying property in Neom and Jeddah Central and willing to spend over $1 million, a real estate survey showed this week. “When asked about which giga-project they would most like to buy a home to live in, Neom emerges as the clear favourite, followed by Jeddah Central […] April 2, 2024
Infrastructure Oman starts work on new economic zone A consortium of Omani and Saudi companies has won a consultancy services contract for the first phase of Al Dhahirah governorate’s integrated economic zone. The contract was awarded by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), state-run Oman News Agency reported. Names of the companies in the consortium were not disclosed. NewsletterGet […] April 2, 2024
Tourism Red Sea airport prepares for first international visitors Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Airport will record its first international visitors this month when a flight from Dubai arrives on April 18. Red Sea Global, the developer behind regenerative tourism destinations The Red Sea and Amaala, said the flight, operated by Flydubai, marks the start of a new twice-weekly route. Regular domestic flights operated […] April 1, 2024
Construction ADIA backs Indian developer in $240m deal Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, and India’s Kotak Alternative Investment Fund will support Indian developer Prestige Group in building residential projects across four Indian cities. The deal is valued at 20 billion rupees ($240 million), Prestige Group said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The projects will be […] April 1, 2024
Construction Losses narrow for developer of King Abdullah Economic City Emaar the Economic City, the developer of King Abdullah Economic City near Jeddah, narrowed its losses in 2023 as revenue nearly tripled. The developer cut losses to SAR253 million ($67 million) last year from SAR1.2 billion in 2022. Revenue was up 184 percent year on year to more than SAR1 billion in 2023, driven by sales […] April 1, 2024
Construction Auditors raise concerns over Drake & Scull as losses mount Auditors reviewing the finances of Drake & Scull International have issued a heavily qualified disclaimer in which they appear to distance themselves from the UAE construction contractor. A filing on Dubai Financial Market for Drake & Scull revealed revenues of AED94 million ($26 million) for the year to December 31 2023, up from AED81 million […] March 29, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Dubai land shortages push property prices even higher A shortage of undeveloped land in Dubai has caused an unprecedented rise in the cost of plots, setting the stage for further increases in the city’s already high property prices. Experts note that in some areas land prices have nearly quadrupled over the past year, compelling developers to rethink their strategies to capitalise on this […] March 29, 2024
Construction Alec IPO could start listings rush in construction sector A listing by Dubai’s Alec Engineering and Contracting could open the gates for more construction-related companies to go public as they take advantage of the country’s buoyant property market, according to a business expert. Alec, which is backed by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, is behind some of the […] March 28, 2024
Real Estate Abu Dhabi launches $953m housing project for citizens The Abu Dhabi government will build an AED3.5 billion ($953.08 million) residential project through a public-private partnership in the emirate to meet the housing needs of its citizens. The project, comprising 1,146 residential villas on Al Raha Beach, was launched by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi […] March 27, 2024
Video length: 06:07 VIDEO Giga-projects Saudi giga-project designs to merge tradition and futurism Saudi Arabia wants to ensure that the futurism of its giga-projects does not smother the diversity of its local architecture, according to the head of the government’s Architecture and Design Commission. One of the most striking features of the kingdom’s transformation plan launched in 2016 has been its design – from otherworldly resorts planned for […] March 27, 2024
Real Estate RAK government to raise stake in property developer to 34% The Ras Al Khaimah government is planning to raise its stake in the emirate’s flagship real estate developer to more than a third. Shareholders in RAK Properties have approved a capital increase with the issuance of 920 million new shares, each with a nominal value of one dirham, effectively increasing the company’s capital by AED920 […] March 26, 2024
Infrastructure Morocco issues tender for high-speed rail to Marrakech Morocco has issued a tender for a high-speed rail link as part of its $37 billion strategy to connect more of its cities, ports and airports by train. The national rail operator ONCF is seeking companies to build a 375km line, which will stretch from Kenitra on the northwest coast to Marrakech in the south. […] March 26, 2024
Real Estate Saudi home ownership fund hands out $257m in March Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Development Fund provided another SR963 million ($257 million) in housing support in March. This takes the total given since 2017 to increase home ownership in the kingdom to $15 billion, the Saudi government said. The government is trying to raise home ownership among nationals to 70 percent of the population by […] March 25, 2024
Construction Egyptian builder blames currency turmoil for revenue slump Egyptian construction giant Orascom has reported a 19 percent decline in revenue to about $3.4 billion last year, attributing most of the drop to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound. Orascom said that without the country’s foreign exchange issues, it would have reported a 5.5 percent increase in revenue compared to 2022, after completing a […] March 25, 2024
Analysis Real Estate What Dubai’s united nations of property buyers want When purchasing a property in Dubai amenities are important to Brits, while Indian buyers are all about the return on investment, according to real estate experts. Last year Dubai recorded 1.6 million real estate transactions, a record 17 percent year-on-year increase, according to data from the Dubai Land Department. The demand comes from a largely […] March 25, 2024
Video length: 03:31 VIDEO Industry Borouge to treble production despite lacklustre demand The UAE petrochemicals company Borouge is to treble annual production capacity at its $6 billion polyolefin complex, despite forecasts of an oversupply in the sector. Once completed next year, Borouge 4 will be the world’s largest single-site producer of polyolefins, plastics mainly obtained from oil and natural gas. Borouge’s CEO, Hazeem Al Suwaidi, told AGBI […] March 25, 2024
