On prime land on the outskirts of Dubai, a prestigious housing development, which is expected to meet demands for high quality, affordable housing from UAE nationals, has just been completed ahead of schedule, thanks to meticulous project management.

Managed by Dubai-based Union Properties, the 271 villas project in Al Warkaa was also completed under budget and follows hot on the heels of the company's successful Al Barshaa development, which was finished in the middle of last year.

The Al Warkaa project was initiated on April 1, 2000 for the Private Housing Finance Scheme, which is the client. Some 4,500 tonnes of steel and two million blocks later, this striking new development will serve the housing requirements for UAE citizens, a senior Union Properties official said.

"With the economies of scale which are available on such a large development of villas, and with highly professional project management during the design, tender and construction phases, top quality housing has been achieved at the lowest possible cost," says Abdul Hamid Moukayed, senior project manager, Union Properties.

"Union Properties is proud to have optimised costs to achieve quality in terms of finishes and final product, including the size of villas, gates, fences, joinery, kitchens, ceilings and air-conditioning systems, compared with other similar projects," he explains.

With the emphasis firmly on quality and location, and especially its close proximity to the heart of Dubai, Moukayed says that the four-bedroom villas, each with a price tag of 500,000 dirhams, would increase in value and appeal with time.

"Location was very important when the project was envisaged," he says. "In this regard, we are grateful for the vision of both the Planning and Roads Departments of the Dubai Municipality, for their awareness, perseverance and intelligence for such a massive development, and making it so accessible by building infrastructure, including an immaculate network of roads for us, from day one," he continues.

"We also want to thank Dewa (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) for their assistance in providing sufficient power and water for the project," Moukayed adds.

Integral to the success of the project was the teamwork which prevailed throughout all phases. Working with one target and one vision, the architects, main contractor and all subcontractors and participants worked alongside Union Properties as one team, with Arenco Consulting Engineers as the consultant and Al Basti & Muktha the main contractor.

With an average of 1,500 workers, five mobile cranes, one tower crane, 10 shovels, four bobcats and two JCBs on site during the course of the project, there were some inevitable, though minor, difficulties experienced by Union Properties, one of which was in overcoming the harsh climatic conditions at a site surrounded by sand dunes and a relative lack of landscaping.

As with most projects, the time factor was also a major challenge for Union Properties at Al Warkaa. To help meet the challenge, the company developed a mock-up villa at an early stage in the project to assess potential difficulties and variables which could occur, thereby eliminating costly and time-consuming problems later in the project.

Architecturally, the villas have been designed to keep repetition to a minimum, with the facades finished in differing colours in small neighbourhood clusters, thus giving them a somewhat unique identity. Each villa has four bedrooms, two majlis, a dining room and servant's quarters. Kitchen surfaces and cupboards are fitted, as are exhaust fans and even air-conditioning systems, not a standard feature in many projects. Each plot is 12,000 sq ft, 3,000 sq ft of which is built on, providing for instance scope for additional landscaping, children's areas and swimming pools.

An important aspect of the development is that provision has been made for future expansions to the villas, yet another example of Union Properties' unsurpassed vision and planning for the overall project. "We have considered the fact that some owners may want to expand their villa in the future. So we instructed the designers to take this into account. Existing foundations for the terraces are therefore able to take two additional rooms if the owner wishes to build an extension," Moukayed says.

He now sees the Al Warkaa area developing into a self-sufficient neighbourhood of landscaped gardens and recreation centres, schools, mosques and parks. "Al Warkaa will soon become a friendly community right on the doorstep of Dubai," Moukayed enthuses. For its part, the Private Housing Financing Scheme has also been encouraging other landowners to develop around the 271 villas, build their own villas and further enhance the community feeling.

Response to the development from potential buyers has certainly been, as expected, extremely good. Such a comprehensively-managed project also saves the buyer the heartache and possible bitter experience of having to deal with contractors or consultants who may not be up to scratch, he says.

Union Properties continues to lead the way in terms of the type of services and client advice it offers, as well as the quality and scale of projects it is working on. Providing options to the client and end-user will be an ongoing and increasingly important focus for the company.

"In terms of the 271 villas project, for instance, we had sensed that there were UAE nationals who were maybe willing to spend a little more than the 500,000 dirhams price per villa," he explains. "So this matter is now being looked into by the PHFS for future projects, including providing better options on villa layouts and price.

"Our aim is to always exceed expectations and be pioneers in project management for the public, industry and the client," says the senior project manager, who has witnessed significant growth in Union Properties' project portfolio over the course of a number of years. We will seek to remain the market leaders by simply delivering what we promise, which is quality projects in the fullest sense of the word, including cost and timely completion."

With a second major housing development under its belt, Union Properties is confident that it will now be given the opportunity to manage other similar projects.

"We envisage that a number of projects will be floated, and we would be privileged to be asked to project manage these on the back of our undisputed success of the first two housing developments," Moukayed concludes.