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Construction

Construction news, real estate, property, and infrastructure news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis on the construction market.

Expo 2020 Dubai site

Dubai unveils plan to transform Expo 2020 site into free zone

The Expo 2020 Dubai site is to be transformed into the emirate’s newest business free zone – and is being lined up as a possible venue for more of the world’s biggest events, executives have told AGBI. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the UAE and the ruler […]

IPO expected for Dubai road toll operator

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Wednesday issued a new law establishing road toll operator Salik as a public joint stock company (PJSC), paving the way for a potential initial public offering (IPO).  According to the law, Salik Company PJSC will have a term of 99 years, starting from the date of […]

Path, Walkway, Motorcycle

Russian buyers help Turkish house sales double in May

Turkish home sales surged 107.5 percent in May over last year to 122,768 houses, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Wednesday, with Russians topping foreign buyers for a second consecutive month. Sales to foreigners jumped 235.7 percent year-on-year to 5,962 units, the institute said. Russian citizens topped the list again in May with […]

358% rise in licences turbocharges Riyadh office rents

Office buildings in Riyadh have seen a surge in rental rates and occupancy levels, as the Saudi capital begins to see the benefits from a new policy to encourage international companies to set up their regional headquarters in the city. In February last year, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans to transform Riyadh into […]

High-end cash purchases are keeping the market bouyant

Half-year house sales prompt cautious optimism in Dubai

Transactions of villas and apartments were so strong in the first five months of this year that analysts believe Dubai can withstand the battering that global inflation usually brings. An estimated total of AED61.9bn of property deals were completed between January and May, suggesting that the emirate’s market is fending off any threat from record […]

Oil price fall dents Gulf stock markets

Most Gulf markets ended lower on Thursday on growing concerns over inflation and recession and as oil prices slumped following speculation that Saudi Arabia would boost production. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index finished 1.3 percent lower, hurt by a 2.1 percent fall in oil giant Saudi Aramco and a 1.2 percent decline in country’s biggest Islamic […]

One in five queries for Dubai homes from Russians

Russian speaking investors continue to look to the emirate’s real estate for deals, as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies Investors from Russia and the 11 other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries now represent more than 20 percent of potential homebuyers in Dubai. The average ticket size ranges from AED 2.5 million ($680,000) for individuals […]

Global real estate frenzy fades, as some markets slow

Huge price rises of as much as 50 percent in last few years In Dubai analysts agree affordability will worsen Many have resigned themselves to renting over owning, driving up rents The global property market frenzy that gathered pace during the pandemic as people scrambled to buy more living space is likely over as interest […]

Sharjah’s Arada Developments set to raise $350m with debut sukuk

Arada Developments, the largest developer in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, was set to raise $350 million in its debut foray in the debt markets, a document showed on Tuesday. The yield was set at 8.12 percent, tightening from initial price guidance of around 8.25 percent. The Islamic bonds, or sukuk, received more than […]

Sharjah developer

Sharjah developer hires banks to debut dollar sukuk

Arada Developments, the largest developer in the United Arab Emirate of Sharjah, has hired banks to arrange a debut sale of US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, sukuk. The deal could be the first dollar bond sale out of the Gulf since late March, when the Sharjah government raised $750 million, also with sharia-compliant sukuk. The region […]

London has long been an attractive area for Middle Eastern investors but they are now turning their sights away from the city centre

Lure of London homes is hard to resist for Arab buyers

International appetite for London’s property market has picked up with Arab buyers expected to play a key role in its post-Covid recovery. The pandemic impacted every sector of the UK economy, with house-buying in England’s capital no exception. As global investment retrenched, the market became increasingly dependent on domestic buyers and resident non-doms for new […]

The project's scope has expanded from its inception, adding a further $30 billion to the originally estimated $20 billion cost

Diriyah Gate: The kingdom’s cultural heart

Roughly 20 minutes’ drive north-west of Riyadh’s city centre lies the historic town of Diriyah. The original home of the House of Saud and the capital of the First Saudi State, it is here that the country’s new cultural capital is beginning to take shape. Overseeing its transformation is the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA), […]

The Red Sea Project will will host 50 resorts providing up to 8,000 hotel rooms and beach villas

The Red Sea Project: Showcasing natural abundance

One of the most ambitious and environmentally responsible tourism developments in the world is beginning to take shape on the north-west coast of Saudi Arabia. Spread across 28,000 square kilometres and including an archipelago of more than 90 islands, The Red Sea Project will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy and is committed to […]

Inside NEOM: Saudi’s $500bn smart megacity

Arguably the most ambitious project taking shape in the kingdom is NEOM, a vast region in the northwest of the country that is slowly being transformed into a vision of the future. At the heart of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to diversify the country’s economy, it is being built at an estimated cost […]

Artist's impression of the planned cliff-top football stadium in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia's entertainment and sports complex south-west of Riyadh

Qiddiya: A sports and arts revolution

Marketed as the kingdom’s capital of entertainment, sports and the arts, Qiddiya is beginning to take shape 45 minutes’ drive south-west of Riyadh. First announced in 2017 as part of Vision 2030, Qiddiya has a dual economic and social purpose – to contribute to the advancement of Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification and to open up […]