TECOM TO DEVELOP DH5 BILLION EMIRATES TOWERS PROJECT

Business parks operator’s acting COO Fareed Al Janahi has been chosen as project head

Dubai Holding, the investment conglomerate of the Dubai government, has appointed its Tecom Group subsidiary to develop the mixed-use Dh5 billion Emirates Business Park project that will expand the emirate’s financial free zone, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Tecom has appointed a dedicated chief executive to oversee the project, which was unveiled earlier this month.

The investment company said Tecom will develop and manage the project, which is set to contain four high-rise towers and a number of other buildings. The project is being developed as a collaboration between Dubai Holding and DIFC, with tenants being able to access the financial centre directly by footbridge. Firms within Emirates Business Park will benefit from the same legal and regulatory status as DIFC firms.

Work is due to start on the project by the end of this year, with completion due within four years. The new business park will offer premium office space and contain three fivestar hotels, plus new food and beverage units, and a space dedicated to host events and other functions.

“Choosing Tecom Group to take over the development and management of Emirates Towers Business Park reflects the confidence and distinct status that the group enjoys as a leading developer and operator of the region’s most successful business communities,” said Amina Al Rustamani, the chief executive of Tecom.

The investment group already runs a number of business parks in the emirate, including Dubai Media City, Dubai Design District (d3), Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Wholesale City.

Tecom’s chief commercial operator and acting chief operating officer, Fareed Al Janahi, has been named as chief executive for the Emirates Towers Business Park project.

Ms Rustamani argued that the project’s launch “comes at an opportunistic time” as there is demand for prime, commercial office space in Dubai.

“Premium commercial space accounts for 20 per cent of the total business space currently available in Dubai, with an occupancy rate of 92 per cent,” she said.

“The growing demand for distinguished business space is evidence that Dubai remains a preferred destination for key international and regional companies, given the Emirate’s strategic location and business-friendly environment.”

Property consultancy Cluttons said that Emirates Business Park is the most exciting commercial development in Dubai in 10 years.

The firm’s head of research, Faisal Durrani, said that the project was “a huge positive for the market” as it will meet an increasing demand for premium space. Its latest Office Market Bulletin published last Thursday said that city-wide demand for commercial space has been “weaker than normal” so far this year, but that performance varied. Lower-level rents in Deira dropped by 16.7 per cent to Dh50 per square foot, but rents for the priciest offices in Business Bay increased by 12 per cent to Dh140 per square feet.

Rents in DIFC remained the highest in the city at about Dh370 per sq ft and occupancy levels at near 100 per cent, which Cluttons argued was due partly to the “strong prestige factor” of being based in the district, alongside the fact that it is an internationally-regulated free zone.

Tecom already runs a number of business parks in the emirate, including Dubai Media City and Design District