With the launch of works on the Dh3 billion ($816 million) Building Materials City (BMC), a master development spread over a 230,000 sq m area in Abu Dhabi, the foundations are being set for the creation of a hub for all commercial services and trading activities related to construction and building materials in the UAE.

This unique city, being developed by Manazel Real Estate in partnership with United Group Holdings, will ensure that all construction materials and associated services necessary for a wide range of current and future real estate projects in the region, will be available in one place for the first time in the Middle East, says the developer.
The project, which was officially launched in November 2006, is strategically located on prime land at Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed Bin Zayed City opposite the Mussafah Bridge, on the road leading to the Abu Dhabi International Airport.
With excavation and installation of dewatering systems completed on the project, piling work is currently in progress and is about 50 per cent complete. SNH Engineering is the piling contractor. Work is proceeding according to schedule, with an expected completion turnaround time of 28 months.
BMC will consist of 17 twenty-storey office buildings, 32 twenty-storey residential buildings, a four-star hotel covering 30,000 sq m, superior infrastructure and landscaping, and an exhibition and shopping mall, which will cover over 100,000 sq m. The first phase, currently under construction, features the mall and two high-end office buildings, entitled Prestige Towers. The main contractor on this phase is a joint venture partnership between Fibrex and Thinet.
“As an integrated city with regard to amenities and services, it will reinforce the role of individual companies in the development of the national construction industry. From construction material and decoration companies to real estate developers, engineering and consultancy firms, the city will provide the ideal locale to grow together,” says a spokesperson for BMC.
In line with a government decree, the BMC will include the first building materials exchange in the Middle East, attracting international companies and investors to gain a stake in the booming UAE real estate sector. Companies established within the city will also benefit from the year-round exhibition hall and competitively-priced commercial, residential and retail space.
Manazel Real Estate – a relatively new real estate firm based in Abu Dhabi and one of the largest privately funded firms in the country – is the primary investor, developer, employer, marketer, financier, and director of this mega project. The company has contracted Aswaq Management & Services (AMS), a UAE-French joint venture, to lease 60,000 sq m of gross leasable area (GLA) at the mixed-use development. Leading international and local retail operators are said to have already applied for over 60 per cent of the entire GLA at the shopping centre within the project. AMS and Manazel Real Estate have already agreed on the anchor stores and operators for the shopping centre, which is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2009.