Marina 101 headed for completion

SHEFFIELD Holdings, a leading developer in the UAE, says more than 80 per cent of the work on the Marina 101 project in Dubai, UAE, is already complete and handover of the hotel is expected in early 2015.

The 425-m tower is poised to be the tallest tower in Dubai Marina and the second tallest in the UAE.

With most of the structural work already completed, mock-ups of the hotel apartments and residential units are ready for viewing by investors and interested end-users, according to a spokesman for Sheffield Holdings.

Upon completion, the tower will house a total of 420 hotel and hotel apartments, 60 three-bedroom residential units, eight duplexes and a five-star hotel. The tower will be fully equipped with health clubs and swimming pools on different levels, along with other leisure facilities.

Handover of the hotel apartments and residential units will begin following the approvals and the certification of its completion.

Project manager and engineer Mohammad Jeilani says: “Visually, the tower will be a very distinctive mixed-use tower in the midst of the Dubai Marina. We have completed a large part of the construction, with merely a few elements left. Construction is well under way, with no delays to speak of.”

Damac bags green building certificate

DUBAI-based Damac Properties, a leading luxury real estate developer, said it has become the first company to receive a Green Building certification from the Department of Planning and Development, Trakhees, a local regulatory authority.

Trakhees, the first to undertake local certification, bestowed the honour on the NAIA at Suburbia Jebel Ali, a two-tower luxury furnished serviced apartment development adjacent to Jebel Ali Port, which will open later this year.

The project demonstrated its compliance to environment, health and safety (EHS) sustainability criteria for the built environment, and became the first project to ever be certified ‘green’ under the scheme, said the company.

NAIA at Suburbia Jebel Ali was shown to use nearly 30 per cent of its materials having recycled content, and had sourced more than 22 per cent of its materials regionally. The project will also achieve an energy saving of more than 22 per cent and 33 per cent savings on potable water use.

Pact ... GFH chairman Dr Ahmed Al Mutawa (centre) shakes hands with DPG’s chief officer urban planning and infrastructure Mohammed Al Habbai, as GFH’s CEO Hisham Al Rayes looks on.

GFH, DPG in landmark project deal

A NEW mixed-use residential community is expected to come up in Dubailand, following a land sale agreement between Gulf Finance House (GFH), the Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank, and Dubai Properties Group (DPG), a member of Dubai Holding and the master developer of the destination in Dubai, UAE.

Under the deal, GFH has purchased a total area of approximately 1.2 million sq ft to establish a high standard of residential, commercial and retail space and facilities within Dubailand.

The new development includes both separate and adjacent villas and housing groups on some 830,000 sq ft, in addition to integrated-services residential apartments on another 75,000 sq ft. The initial development process is expected to be launched later this year with the project to be completed within the next five years.

The project site is located near Dubai International Airport and in close proximity to a unique collection of sports, entertainment and luxury commercial and residential facilities. This location will effectively position the project to become a prime visitor attraction and to further enhance Dubai’s appeal as a family tourism destination, says GFH.