Marina Square handover on target
TAMOUH, the primary master developer of Reem Island, has said the handover of its Abu Dhabi-based Marina Square project to buyers will be finalised after Ramadan, following the receipt of mandatory approvals and certifications from regulatory authorities and utility service providers.
In line with this, Tamouh is scheduling one-to-one site visits with investors to offer updates on the progress of the project and jointly plan a schedule for the handover stage.
Tamouh managing director Joe Ong said: “The first phase of Marina Square is getting prepped up for handover to end-users, with over 3,440 residential units set to be added to Abu Dhabi’s inventory. The final stage of approvals on services such as water, electricity and other utilities is expected to come through in the next few weeks.”
The project comprises a selection of studios, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, town houses and seven exclusive villas.
Estidama training scheduled
ABU DHABI'S Urban Planning Council (UPC) has announced an extensive training programme for the Estidama Pearl Rating System (PRS) a sustainability initiative spearheaded by the council.
The training programme will facilitate the development of industry professionals for utilising the Estidama’s PRS to achieve higher levels of sustainability for development projects.
While most training sessions will be hosted in Abu Dhabi City and delivered in English, certain courses will also be conducted in Al Ain and Al Gharbia and selected sessions will be delivered in Arabic language as well.
The programme, offering a range of courses until January 2011, will build capacity at three levels: understanding and awareness, application of the PRS for industry professionals and administration of the PRS.
ADLC wins Reem Island project
ABU DHABI Land Contracting (ADLC) has won a contracts worth a total of Dh1.9 billion ($517.27 million)  for the development of infrastructure on Sectors Two and Three on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi.
The duration for the contract is 18 months,  with work expected to be completed by mid-2011, according to a company spokesman.
ADLC’s branch office in Abu Dhabi is the lead partner for the implementation of this project.
The company expects a 20 per cent growth in business this year and is in the process of finalising joint venture partnerships with two large infrastructure and construction companies. 
ADLC, which has an annual turnover of Dh500-600 million ($136-163 million) expects to win more contracts in 2010, the spokesman added.

ADF to finance Tamouh projects
ABU DHABI Finance has entered an agreement with master developer Tamouh Investments to  be a preferred mortgage lender when the latter starts selling its real estate developments.
The partnership marks another milestone in the mortgage lender’s ambitions to become the biggest and best mortgage lender in the UAE and its commitment to the property sector in Abu Dhabi.
Tamouh  managing director Joe Ong said: “We are confident that this partnership will further strengthen the relation between key market players in Abu Dhabi and benefit the real estate sector.”
Reception building for police
THE Dubai Municipality has begun constructing a new public reception building for the Dubai Police in the Al Tawar-1 area. Covering a total area of 800 sq m, the building will be situated on the north-eastern side of the existing Dubai Police headquarters overlooking Al Nahda Road. The project consists of a main reception with waiting room, visitor and administrative offices as well as facilities and a security room.
The project, being carried out by the municipality’s General Projects Department, is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2011.
RSS gets $15m credit
RENTAL Solutions & Services (RSS), a global provider of rental power, temporary cooling and mobile water solutions, has secured $15-million credit from Lloyds Banking Group to support its regional growth plans.
Lloyds Bank had provided the extra credit facilities to RSS through its corporate markets team in Aberdeen. RSS said the funding package will be used to facilitate both geographic and product expansion plans in response to growing demands for the company’s services in a global market worth £4 billion annually.
Dubai-based RSS is part owned by Scottish director Bob Kidd, who is majority shareholder of ITS Tubular Services (Holdings), a global oil and gas services group based in Aberdeen.
Emirates Steel secures $2.2bn funds
EMIRATES Steel and its parent General Holding Corporation (GHC) are on track to complete the financing plan associated with the steel plant’s expansion. Financial close was achieved in July on a $500-million export credit facility raised by GHC on a corporate basis and insured by Sace.  In parallel, Emirates Steel has secured project finance and working capital commitments from both conventional and Islamic institutions for facilities totalling $1.7 billion.
GHC director general Suhail Al Ameri said the Sace facility attracted very strong interest from the international bank market.

Metro bridges opened
DUBAI’S Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has now opened all the bridges leading to the entry and exit points of the giant car-park at Rashidya metro station, under the second stage of the project. These include the right inbound lane from Sharjah towards the station, the lane inbound from Abu Dhabi towards the station’s car park, the right inbound lane from Al Khawaneej Road towards Abu Dhabi as well as the bridge from the station, and Al Khawaneej Road towards Mirdiff and Sharjah. 
The bridges were constructed in order to attract more metro users and thus reduce traffic jams. Dubai Metro’s Red Line starts at Al Rashidya station, which has a giant multi-storey car-park for 2,700 vehicles.
Private transport favoured: poll
AS MANY AS 91 per cent of the UAE’s workers use  either their own cars, a taxi or a chauffeur to reach the workplace, according to a random Regus survey  which also found four per cent walked to work, while three per cent took the public bus. No respondents said that they used the Dubai Metro to commute to work.