EXCLUSIVE Real Estate Expo City races to cope with Dubai’s population surge Expo City Dubai, the legacy site of the World Expo 2020, is gearing up for a big construction drive in 2025, with plans to issue tenders for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects to meet rapid population growth, a senior official has said. Ahmed Al Khatib, chief development and delivery officer at Expo City Dubai, told […] December 26, 2024
Real Estate Dubai targets broader real-estate access with tokens Dubai plans to widen access to the real-estate sector by allowing tokenisation, which converts real-estate assets into digital tokens on a blockchain. This will enable the fractional ownership of properties, which in theory will attract more retail and institutional investors, a senior official in the emirate’s real estate regulator has said. Fractional ownership allows investors […] December 25, 2024
Construction UAE’s Modon enters Europe with Spanish developer deal Abu Dhabi’s Modon Holding has acquired 100 percent of La Zagaleta, the owner of the La Zagaleta residential estate in Costa del Sol, Spain, marking its entry into Europe’s luxury real estate market. La Zagaleta, located in the hills of Benahavís and 20 minutes from Marbella, is an ultra-luxury gated residential development. It is spread over 900 hectares of […] December 24, 2024
Real Estate Real estate fund behind billion-riyal Medina development A billion-riyal mixed-use project has been launched in Medina as the inaugural development of a new Saudi real estate fund. The development fund is a collaboration between the Knowledge Economic City Company (KEC), Sidra Capital and Ravel Properties. The fund will develop a 33,2300sq m plot of land along King Abdulaziz Road, which is located […] December 23, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Real Estate Damac secures rights to build Trump Tower Abu Dhabi The Dubai luxury developer Damac Properties has secured the rights to build a Trump Tower in Abu Dhabi, sources familiar with the matter have told AGBI, as the Trump Organisation expands its footprint in the Gulf. Damac has an established relationship with the Trump Organisation, the family business of US President-elect Donald Trump, with a […] December 21, 2024
Real Estate Two UAE banks fund London property buyout Emirates NBD and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) have funded the acquisition of a student accommodation property in London for £140 million ($176.23 million). The property, Paddington Citi View, has 353 premium bedrooms in a high-demand location, 100 metres from London’s Paddington Station. It is ideally situated for top academic institutions across the city, the Emirati […] December 19, 2024
Real Estate Seven awards $346m contract for new entertainment venue Saudi Arabian developer Seven is investing SAR1.3 billion ($346 million) to develop a new entertainment destination in the Jazan region. The development has been awarded to Riyadh-based Alfanar Projects. Located adjacent to the North Corniche Park along Jazan’s waterfront, it will span more than 60,000 sq m, with 73,000 sq m of built-up space. Designed […] December 18, 2024
Real Estate Ardco sets up $933m fund to develop Riyadh project The Riyadh Development Company (ArdCo) and three partners have set up a SAR3.5 billion ($933 million) real estate investment fund to develop a mixed-use project in the Saudi capital. The project will include residential, office and commercial spaces, as well as hotels. When built, the towers in the Urban Wadi, part of the Sports Boulevard […] December 17, 2024
Construction Developer Modon signs deal for UAE green steel Abu Dhabi property company Modon is poised to be the first customer of a UAE pilot project to make sustainable steel with green hydrogen. Modon has entered a tentative agreement to purchase the more environmentally friendly construction material from Emsteel Group, which has been manufacturing it through a partnership with the Emirati renewable energy company […] December 16, 2024
Real Estate Emaar hikes dividend distribution for 2024 Emaar Properties said on Friday that it would double dividend payouts in 2024 over the previous year. The Dubai-listed property developer will disburse AED 8.8 billion (US$ 2.4 billion), or 100 percent of its share capital, up from AED 4.4 billion (US$ 1.2 billion) in 2023, according to a press release. “At Emaar, our priority […] December 13, 2024
Leisure & Hospitality Hilton to triple Egypt presence with new brands Hilton is planning to triple its presence in Egypt, increasing the number of hotels to 25 and expanding its footprint to more than 40 properties. The expansion includes the opening of its lifestyle brand, Tapestry Collection, on the African continent, as well as Egypt’s first Curio Collection and a resort under the Hilton Hotels & […] December 13, 2024
Real Estate Trump Towers proposed for Saudi and UAE capitals The Trump Organization intends to build Trump Towers in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, marking its expansion across the Gulf region. The projects will be developed in partnership with Dar Global, the global development arm of Saudi-listed Dar Al Arkan, Eric Trump, the US president-elect’s son, told Reuters. The Abu Dhabi project is scheduled for launch next year, he said. Ziad El […] December 13, 2024
People & Lifestyle UAE’s Arada strengthens gym holding Arada has finalised the purchase of three UAE-based gym brands, bringing its total number of premises operated across the Gulf state to 15. The real estate developer said that the women-only FitnGlam, boutique exercise hub The Platform Studios and recently launched health club Fitcode make its fitness and wellness division, Wellfit, worth more than AED1 […] December 10, 2024
Opinion Construction Oman’s heritage is at stake as it seeks investors for ‘lavish’ city The growth of Muscat must be handled with sensitivity December 10, 2024
Construction Turkish builders sense opportunity in Syria Turkey’s construction sector is hoping to build on the rubble of the collapsed Assad regime in Syria. There are high expectations that Turkish companies will be in the running to win valuable contracts to replace damaged housing and infrastructure. There were sharp rises in building shares on the Istanbul Stock Exchange on December 9, the […] December 10, 2024
Development Abu Dhabi fund backs social housing project in Africa The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) will provide financing of AED183.5 million ($50 million) for a social housing programme in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The first phase of the scheme includes 25,000 housing units and expands ADFD’s geographic reach across the African continent. The investment in critical infrastructure projects will promote sustainable economic and social […] December 10, 2024
Real Estate Dar Global plans two Trump-branded projects in Riyadh Real estate developer Dar Global has signed an agreement with The Trump Organization to build two “landmark projects” in Riyadh. No details were provided on the Trump-branded projects, which are set to be the fourth and fifth collaborations between the two companies. Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi-listed developer Dar Al Arkan,said the projects […] December 9, 2024
Real Estate Property Finder ‘likely’ to go public, says CEO Property Finder, a real estate platform in the Middle East and North Africa, is likely to go public, Michael Lahyani, its CEO, said. “It’s not something that we’re actively working on, but Property Finder is likely to be a public company at some point,” he said at Abu Dhabi Finance Week on Monday. “It’s just […] December 9, 2024
Real Estate Property app Stake to launch in Saudi Arabia A fractional-ownership platform that enables investors to own parcels of real estate for as little as SAR500 ($134) is to launch in Saudi Arabia on December 9. Based in Dubai, Stake offers investors the opportunity to buy parts of residential and commercial properties. Fractional property ownership is a rising trend in the global real estate market. […] December 6, 2024
Real Estate Abu Dhabi royal family buys £61.5m London mansion Abu Dhabi’s Al Nahyan royal family has purchased a mansion in Holland Park, one of London’s exclusive neighbourhoods. The family paid £61.5 million ($78.1 million) for the property, which includes a swimming pool and cinema room, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal was completed in October before the UK government introduced […] December 6, 2024
Opinion Real Estate Dubai home renovations: enough to drive a man to drink Real estate may be peaking if the work in my apartment block is anything to go by December 6, 2024
Analysis People & Lifestyle Egypt’s historic rent controls are a problem to be solved Ahmed lives in a four-bedroom apartment in a concrete tenement with his ailing mother. The flat has been in the family since his father, who died several years ago, began renting it when he graduated from university in the 1960s. It is in Manial, a bustling, lower-middle-class area of Cairo, the kind of place where […] December 6, 2024
