Work on The Reem Mall to begin in 2015

CONSTRUCTION for The Reem Mall, Abu Dhabi’s new retail, leisure, dining and entertainment destination, is scheduled to begin at the start of 2015 and the project will take around three years to complete, officially opening in 2018.

Developed by National Real Estate Company (NREC) of Kuwait at an investment of around $1 billion, the project will include around 450 stores, 85 restaurants, and a range of entertainment features across three floors.

“The mall will introduce some completely new brands to the Middle East and will also contain some of the largest hypermarket space in the region. The project is to go through a single-phase construction period that will last around 30-36 months,” says a spokesman for NREC.

Reem Mall is one of the largest and most ambitious projects that NREC has undertaken and more announcements on the mall’s progress are to be made over the coming period.

Meanwhile, NREC has appointed Stuart Ingram as director of development for the mall.

Ingram will be responsible for all aspects of development and delivery of the project, which is set to be one of the UAE’s largest and most exciting malls.

A chartered civil engineer, Ingram has more than 20 years of experience in international real estate development projects and has won five international construction awards. He has specialised knowledge of the Middle East retail and property industry, having previously worked on major regional projects including Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai and The Wave, Muscat.

Established in Kuwait in 1973, NREC has grown into one of the largest real estate companies in the region with ventures across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. The company has assets exceeding $1.9 billion and manages 80 million sq ft of land. The organisation houses subsidiaries and entities across a range of countries including the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Libya.

Suites in the SKAI ... value for money.

Suites in the SKAI sold out

SKAI Holdings, the Dubai-based real estate investment company, has secured Dh927 million ($252.4 million) worth of sales for its new Dh1.2-billion ($326.9m) four-star hotel, Suites in the SKAI, in Dubai’s Jumeirah Village Circle.

Construction on the project will begin in September 2014 with operations due to commence in 2017. China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East) has been appointed the main contractor; Atkins has been appointed lead consultants and architects, while Tokyo-based Nao Taniyama will design the interiors and Australia’s TOPO Design Studio the landscaping.

According to Kabir Mulchandani, Group CEO of Skai Holdings: “Suites in the SKAI will cater to the growing number of business and leisure tourists that are looking for value for money as well as comfort and convenience in a luxurious setting. SKAI Holdings’ strategy is to build high quality hotels in several key locations in Dubai that will cater to the growing demand for tourism in the emirate.”

SKAI Holdings officially launched the project in June 2014 and has already sold all available hotel rooms and serviced apartments in the 60-storey tower. The remaining areas such as the food and beverage outlets, meeting rooms, spa and retail will be retained by the developer.

Strategically located in close proximity to three of Dubai’s arterial roads – Al Khail Road, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road (formerly Emirates Road) and Hessa Street – and a short drive from Dubai’s new Al Maktoum International Airport, Suites in the SKAI will comprise 234 hotel rooms, 234 one-and-two bedroom apartments and 33 penthouses.

Suites in the SKAI will include five dining venues hosted by world-class chefs, including an all-day dining concept, a lobby café, pool bar and other facilities.

Nakheel awards $11m work for master communities

DUBAI developer Nakheel has awarded three contracts worth more than $11 million for its Al Furjan and Warsan Village master communities.

The contracts cover infrastructure design and supervision work in the two communities in Dubai, UAE.

“Two of the contracts, awarded to consultants Arif and Bintoak worth Dh13.6 million ($3.7 million) and Dar Al Handasah worth Dh2.9 million ($789,532), cover infrastructure design and supervision for third-party villas and mixed-use plots at a new phase of Al Furjan,” says a spokesman for Nakheel.

Al Furjan’s new phase, spread across more than 1.2 million sq m, includes over 500 third-party villa plots and more than 30 mixed-use plots. The first phase of the project, containing 800 homes, is already complete.