TOMORROW’S TOWERS
A glimpse of the future at Cityscape Global 2017
Cityscapes are where we glimpse the future, albeit in miniature.
Billions of dirhams in investment are pledged on the basis of impressive, gleaming models, over which investors tower like the hero of Gulliver’s Travels.
It is a business model that has served the UAE well, turning cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi into architectural marvels, and powerhouses of economic growth.
Cityscape Global in Dubai promises more of the same.
The star of the first day was clearly District One Residences, the third phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum City, with flats featuring waterfront views and the chance to kayak in the heart of Dubai, at least according to the artist’s impression.
Among those inspecting the project on the opening morning was Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Once completed, the almost 4.5-million square metre MBR City will offer the “world’s tallest residential tower, the tallest observation deck, the longest indoor ski slope and the largest dancing fountain, as well as the newly launched Meydan One Mall”.
Also due to be unveiled is District 2020, the future legacy of Expo 2020, which will reimagine the exhibition site as a mix of commercial and residential projects, with a conference and exhibition centre.
This is the 16th Cityscape Global, with about 300 exhibitors from the UAE and 30 countries.
In Abu Dhabi, Japan’s Nikken Sekkei and the UAE’s National Bonds Corporation have unveiled the 44-storey, “super luxury” Reem Tower, at Reem Island’s Marina Square.
Nikken’s regional director, Dr Fadi Jabri, said it would be “a luxury, iconic tower in an iconic area of Abu Dhabi”.
Residents can expect an infinity pool, spa pools, a fully equipped gym and a “yoga lawn”.
Also in the capital, Aldar will promote its Water’s Edge development of 2,255 homes on Yas, a decade after the island made its debut at Cityscape in 2007.
Nakheel is promoting its 180-metre Palm Beach Residences on the Palm Jumeirah, complete with a 38th-floor sky lounge with views over the Arabian Gulf.
Cityscape is also nothing without its more exotic projects, the equivalent of the event’s fringe festival.
The Kleindienst Group, owner of six islands on The World and developers of The Floating Seahorse villas, has this year gone one step further with The Floating Venice.
Billed as “the world’s first five-star floating destination, bringing the charm, serenity and culture of Venice to the tranquil shores of Dubai”, it will include gondolas imported from Italy for the 3,000 guests.
This version of La Serenissima will also feature an entire floor under the water – something the real Venice has spent the past 40 years and US$7 billion (Dh25.71bn) trying to avoid.
Deyaar Development, the Dubai-listed real estate firm, expects its second half revenues and profit to improve “slightly” from the first six months of 2017, as the firm continues to focus on generating income from its operations, its chief executive Saeed Al Qatami said yesterday.
“We will continue in the same trend. We might be slightly better in terms of revenues than the first half [of 2017], Mr Al Qatami told The National at Cityscape Global in Dubai, where Deyaar unveiled its Dh1 billion South Bay residential development in Business Bay.
Mr Al Qatami said the company’s bottom line estimates for the last six months of the year are also higher, but “very slightly”.
Deyaar reported a year-onyear jump of 135 per cent in revenues to Dh316.4 million for the first half of the year, driven by sales and progress on under-construction properties. However, profit for the period declined to Dh67m from Dh111.3m in the same period of 2016, according to a filing on the Dubai bourse in July.
“There was one thing that was evident from our numbers [first-half bottom line], as this time we have made sure that our profit was purely coming from our own operations,” Mr Al Qatami said, adding that this will be the company’s strategy for the remainder of the year.
The firm plans to put 20 per cent of its own equity into funding the construction of the South Bay development. The remaining funding will be secured via a combination of revenues and bank debt, Mr Al Qatami said.
“We have been very shy in terms of borrowing in the past few years and we have been able, over the last 12 months, to raise funds mainly through our recurring income,” he said, noting that land for the development has already been fully paid for.
South Bay will be Deyaar’s first project with three accommodation components: residential, serviced apartment, and hotel units. It will comprise 926 units, from studios through to three-bedroom apartments.
The hotel apartments and serviced apartments represent 478 of the more than 2,000 keys that Deyaar plans to add to the hospitality sector in Dubai by 2020.