Etihad officials visit rail sites
WORK on the UAE’s first railway network was taken a step forward when directors and senior executives of Etihad Rail, the master developer and operator of the railway network, visited the sites for the first route, last month.
Etihad Rail chairman of the board of directors Nasser Al Sowaidi and Mattar Al Tayer, vice-chairman, were joined by the CEO as well as other senior managers to inspect the sites on the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. Construction of the 264-km route that links Shah and Habshan to Ruwais is scheduled to begin soon after the award of contracts, tenders for which were issued in March of this year.
This section of the railway is being developed in partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), which looks to use rail as a main means of transporting granulated sulphur from Shah and Habshan to the port of Ruwais for export.
Commenting on the visit, Shadi Malak, Etihad Rail’s executive director – commercial, said: “We have completed several technical and engineering studies as well as the design and alignments for the first phase of the railway network. As we now move from the planning phase to the actual implementation of the first route, we look forward, with our partners at Adnoc, to the first steps in the realisation of this flagship project.”
HLG to build $109m bank HQ
AL HABTOOR Leighton Group (HLG) has won a Dh400-million ($109 million) contract to build Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s new headquarters in the UAE capital. The project consists of two 12-storey towers, alongside four levels of basement parking, which will house the bank’s flagship retail branch as well as additional retail tenants. Construction of the two-tower headquarters will begin immediately and is scheduled for completion before the end of 2012, HLG said.
HLG’s new contract builds on the March announcement of a $600-million contract it won with Murray & Roberts for Al Mafraq Hospital, also in Abu Dhabi.
42 luxury villas planned at Najmat
REEM Investments is to build a 42-luxury villa waterfront community at Najmat, the master developer’s $8-billion real estate project at Reem Island, Abu Dhabi.
Nalaya Villas will be located on the southern shore of Najmat, a spectacular 16-million-sq-ft development on Reem Island, which is just 300 m off the coast of Abu Dhabi’s city centre.
Comprising three, four and five bedrooms, the 42 villas are expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2012.
“Progress on Najmat continues to be made at a steady pace. We have completed infrastructure works for Phase One and have started Phase Two infrastructure works, which include creation of beaches,” said Bambang Sugeng bin Kajairi, CEO of Reem Investments.
Damac adds tower to Marina Bay
THE region’s largest independent property developer, Damac Properties, is adding a new tower to the skyline of Abu Dhabi’s Al Reem Island, with its Marina Bay development already reaching the seventh floor.
Marina Bay is a waterfront development offering residential, retail and commercial space. The 25-storey tower will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. In addition, there will be retail and commercial space with shops and restaurant outlets along the ground and mezzanine levels. Marina Bay’s location within the Al Reem development means that residents will have views across the canals that run through the entire development and also out across the Marina itself.
“Damac Properties is making excellent progress with our development at Al Reem Island. Construction of Marina Bay is accelerating and we are adding a new floor every week,’’ said Niall Mc Loughlin, senior vice-president of Damac Properties.
Adnec unveils Marasi Village
ABU DHABI National Exhibitions Company (Adnec) has unveiled Marasi Village, a luxury waterfront development comprising 81 luxury villas for sale exclusively to UAE nationals.
The latest addition to Adnec’s expanding portfolio of award-winning projects, Marasi Village is located on the shore of the Al Bateen Channel, near the iconic Capital Gate tower and the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre – a commercially significant area, highlighted as a location of strategic importance in Abu Dhabi’s future growth plan.
The six-bedroom villas at Marasi Village will each have a plot size of approximately 15,220 sq ft, while the four- and five-bedroom villas have a plot size of approximately 11,862 sq ft (1,102 sq m). Each of the villas come with covered garden terraces, an office, two reception rooms, two dining rooms, two kitchens with exclusive European-branded, top-of-the-range appliances, four balconies, an entrance porch, a maid’s room and a driver’s room, besides multiple parking slots. Villas at Marasi Village are expected to go on sale later this year.
Sorouh to build 1,470 villas
ABU DHABI-based real estate developer Sorouh Real Estate Company has been awarded two new contracts by the Urban Planning Council (UPC) to build high quality residential units for UAE nationals.
These two contracts together comprise a total of 1,470 quality villas to be delivered over the next two years, with combined total project values of Dh2.89 billion ($786.8 million). The new contracts – for Al Ghuraibah in Al Ain and Sila in the Western Region – will be developed in line with UPC’s Al Ain and Al Gharbia’s 2030 masterplans and guidelines. These developments will be built in the traditional Emirati “Fareej” style.
