Saudi-based developer Cayan Group has announced plans to enter the European market through an alliance with Spanish developer, Sarena. The partnership will develop a luxury project, Costa del Sol, situated in Marbella, Spain. The project is part of Cayan’s aims to expand into newer markets, predominantly in the European belt. Ahmed Alhatti, president and chairperson of Cayan Group, said: “Although our absolute priority is the development of strategic projects within the Kingdom which we will be announcing multiple projects soon, developing projects in Europe is a strategic decision that was made at the first place to serve our clients better…
Author: Paromita Dey
Partner James Simpson, counsel Katharine Sonneborn, and associate Giulia De Michelis at Winston and Strawn examine how Africa can benefit from experience gathered in the Middle East on infrastructure and power projects Over the last decade, Africa has, for the most part, demonstrated resilient economic performance. But, by most measures and in most regions, sustainable and affordable energy development has not kept pace with economic growth. With the rising demand for power, Africa could witness a continued infrastructure gap which presents a genuine risk to its growth. According to the World Bank, 25 of the 54 African countries are in…
Kuwait-based property developer Tamdeem Group’s project, Al Kout Mall, is on schedule to formally open in Q4 2017. The development of the project is carried out by Tamdeen’s subsidiary company. The multi-faceted destination, built at a cost of $235m, is a replacement of Al Manshar Mall and four residential towers. The expansion will make the new Al Kout Mall over 100,000 square metres of retail leasable area. “Construction is well underway and we are building the mall to the highest specifications,” said Ahmed Al Sarawi, CEO of Tamdeen Shopping Centers. Anchor tenants will move in to the mall in 2017,…
Majid Al Futtaim has announced it is to build Saudi Arabia’s largest mall that will include the Kingdom’s first indoor ski slope, Reuters reported. Alain Bejjani, MAF’s CEO told The National, the “spirit of innovation” has made MAF make it snow in the desert for the first time with Ski Dubai in Mall of the Emirates (in above image), and also introduce the region’s first indoor and outdoor water park in Bahrain. “We look forward to delivering similar life-changing experiences for residents and guests of Saudi Arabia.” An investment of $3.73bn will be used to build two malls in Riyadh,…
Asteco released a Dubai real estate report that unveiled a significant drop in property prices in 2015 with affordable communities leading the way in rental demand and investor opportunity. The revealed residential sales recorded across-the-board declined, with villa sales prices down year-on-year by 11% and apartments by 8%. Villas on Palm Jumeirah recorded price declines of 13% over the year, dropping to AED2,475 per sq.ft on average and The Meadows was also down 15% to AED1,150. Villa rentals were down 9% on average year-on-year, except for Al Barsha and Mirdiff which recorded an increase. The biggest falls came in…
Guy Hutchinson, COO of Rotana, revealed that Rotana has plans to open nine new hotels in the UAE over the next five years at its 2016 GCC Roadshow. Together, these hotels will add 3,598 keys to the company’s existing 9,584-strong room count in the UAE only, and will take the total number of Rotana properties in the UAE to 44 by 2020. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, investments related to travel and tourism in the UAE touched AED21bn in 2015, or 6.2% of the overall investments, and this figure is expected to rise by 9.7% this…
Carlos Salas, regional director of Middle East at Crystal Lagoons, talks about the company’s latest 12.5-hectare CityStars Sharm El Sheikh project in Egypt; winning the Guinness World Record for the largest manmade body of water in the world Crystal Lagoons, developer of the patented technology of giant crystalline lagoons, was awarded by Guiness World Record (GWR) once again for its Sharm El Sheikh manmade lagoon. The current record breaks the company’s own previous record since 2007 for its eight-hectare San Alfonso del Mar lagoon in Chile. In Egypt, the $5.5m lagoon is the centrepiece of the $500m CityStars Sharm El…
Autodesk announced the launch of its new service, Autodesk SeeControl, a platform that enables the Internet of Things (IoT) allowing customers to capture, analyse and use data from remote products. According to Autodesk senior executives, IoT refers to the growing ecosystem of physical things embedded with electronics, software and sensors that are connected to the Internet and to each other. After acquiring SeeControl in September, Autodesk will use it to optimise their existing products and capturing the intelligence required to offer their customers innovative new services. “The future of making products in the machinery and specialty vehicles industries is changing…
Consulting firm ValuStrat’s Q4 2015 Dubai Real Estate Market report estimates the total number of completed residential projects in 2015 included 14,000 apartments and 3,400 villas. According to Haider Tuaima, research manager at ValuStrat, around half of the residential projects originally scheduled for completion in 2015 are delayed and have been rescheduled for handover during 2016 and 2017. “This reflects a continued construction sector slowdown.” The report suggests that 2016 may witness a hike in prices, indicating a buyer’s market in anticipation of higher rental yields for mid-affordable properties, and increased interest in prime properties. Many cash investors are seeking…
Centre Point Logistics (CPL) announced the ground-breaking of its new warehouse at the Logistics District in Dubai South. The 22,550 square metre facility, which will open in October 2016, aims to widen the company’s reach and to capitalise on many opportunities as logistics activities in the UAE rapidly grows. The space will offer a wide range of integrated logistics support services from warehousing, transportation, technical and skilled labour to equipment and other operations management. It will be used for storage, distribution and other value-added services. With current total logistics investments of over AED100m and warehouse and distribution space of over…