95% work on The Lagoons Islands completed

Sama Dubai, the international real estate investment and development arm of Dubai Holding, today announced it has successfully completed over 95 per cent of work on the water front (water-edging) at ‘The Lagoons’, the 70 million square feet Dubai Creek waterfront project that is fast taking shape as one of Dubai’s most ambitious developments.

With the excavation of canals almost complete and land reclamation in final stages, Sama Dubai estimates the seven landscaped and interconnected island districts that comprise ‘The Lagoons’ will be surrounded by Creek waters by end-2009.

As a master developer, Sama Dubai’s strategy is to develop various areas of the project through strategic partnerships with select third party developers. The preparedness of the site to flag off construction activities is being demonstrated with several third party (sub) developers mobilizing contractors to commence construction on their plots at The Lagoons. Last April, National Properties broke ground for its low-rise Flamingo Creek residential community at the award winning development.

Located within the heart of Dubai, the self-contained urban development has registered perhaps the most visible manifestation of the break-neck progression on site. Infrastructure work on more than 185,000 square meters of land is making rapid headway, achieving a significant number of key milestones.

Farhan Faraidooni, Executive Chairman of Sama Dubai, said:

“Sama Dubai is investing significant resources and efforts to ensure the infrastructure at ‘The Lagoons’ project is the best of breed. We have been making impressive strides towards the realization of a distinct project that will set precedents and raise the bar for future waterborne developments across the world.”

‘The Lagoons’ is currently making way to open its impressive on-site sales and customer service centre by the fourth quarter of 2008 with the upcoming release of two residential buildings slated for the first half of 2009.

The Lagoons’ will comprise seven beautifully landscaped islands, offering an inspired landscaped surrounding that is enhanced by a plethora of tranquil waterways, peaceful open parks, and green belts, all in a natural habitat setting. The development’s unique features have enabled it to continue attracting interest amidst the surge of real estate projects currently being developed in the UAE and across the region.

Underlining the emirate’s position as a world renowned destination, ‘The Lagoons’ anticipates the growing need in Dubai for a living environment that delivers an unmatched quality of life within a unique natural setting. The development embodies a bold vision of the future while building upon its rich past, where traditional souks and navigable waterways will co-exist with global business houses and boldly designed landmarks in a dynamic environment set amongst a lush, green waterfront.

Eye of Dubai

Schön Properties signs AED 1.171 Bn contract with Belhasa for Dubai Lagoon

Schön Properties, developers of the AED 3 Billion Dubai Lagoon Development, has signed an AED 1.171 billion contract with Belhasa Engineering and Contracting Company LLC (BHECC), to handle the construction of zones 3 and 6 of the exclusive mixed-use project.

Site work is scheduled to begin in October 2008, with a projected completion date between the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011. BECC’s remit will include all civil, architectural, construction and MEP works as well as air conditioning and service facilities, for a total of 17 buildings.

Asher H. Schön, Vice President of Schön Properties, expressed his confidence in the newly appointed contractors, saying,

“We have been in negotiations with a number of leading contractors for these next zones, but Belhasa Contracting and Engineering Company really stood out with a very impressive track record and highly professional attitude towards our requirements. We are looking forward to moving ahead on the project and working closely with BHECC.”

BHECC General Manager, A.G.Abdul Azeem, commented on the deal, “The Dubai Lagoon is a very interesting project and one that we feel more than equipped to handle with our sturdy background in large-scale development on many varied projects. Building the skyline of new Dubai and delivering fantastic end-products to customers are two key drivers in our decision to sign with Schön Properties.

With a sterling reputation in the market, BHECC is one of Dubai’s larger construction companies, and has undertaken a wide range of construction projects comprising - 5 star Hotels, Mosques, Multi-storey residential complexes, buildings for governmental institutions, shopping malls, multipurpose indoor sports halls, auditoriums, schools and office blocks. Some of BHECC projects have included construction of 200 residential units in the Green Community, 10 office blocks as well as the 48 storey Salam Tower in Dubai Media City, Movenpick Hotel (Holiday Inn) in Oud Metha and three, 50 storey mixed-used buildings in Cluster-X of Jumeirah Lake Towers, among numerous other large-scale projects.

The announcement follows recent news that Powerline Gulf has been maintained on the first 2 zones only, with site work for these zones currently mobilizing to resume construction.

Police arrest 4 Sama Dubai employees over alleged corruption

Four officials of real-estate developer Sama Dubai have been arrested and are being questioned by Dubai’s Public Prosecution, adding to the number of persons under investigation over allegations of bribe-taking and other financial wrongdoings.

One of the four people being held is Abdulsalam Almarri, chief executive of the Lagoon project of Sama Dubai, the international real-estate development and investment arm of the government-owned Dubai Holding, said a report by Zawya Dow Jones, citing the documents it saw on Thursday.

A Sama Dubai spokesperson said in a phone interview that he is trying to contact the company’s executive chairman, Farhan Faraidooni, who is out of the country, for “confirmation or negation” of the report.

“But as of now I have no information whether this is true or not,” said the spokesperson.

On Tuesday a former employee of Nakheel, another company owned by the government, was reported to be under investigation over allegations of bribe-taking, bringing to two the number of persons being investigated in connection with bribery at Nakheel.

Nakheel issued a statement on Friday confirming that a current employee was undergoing investigation by authorities for allegedly accepting bribes from another party. But it stressed that no embezzlement had happened in the company.

Dubai’s Public Prosecution issued a statement on Sunday saying that the government has a zero-tolerance policy against corruption, following a series of police probes this year into alleged financial wrongdoings by employees at firms including Tamweel, Dubai Islamic Bank and Deyaar Development.

Schön Properties affirms refunds

Schön Properties, developer of the Dhs3bn Dubai Lagoon project, has confirmed that full refunds will be given to all investors that purchased units scheduled for completion by December 2007.

The refund policy has been extended by Schön as an act of goodwill after confusion amongst some investors in regards to the project phases and revised completion dates.

Delays in completion of Dubai Lagoon have been the direct result of unanticipated civic and transportation infrastructure alterations, which have set back construction and produced scheduling issues.

“We at Schön Properties applaud and fully support the efforts of RTA and other government agencies to make Dubai a better place and we have re-designed our project to accommodate mandatory infrastructure developments imposed subsequent to the launch of the Dubai Lagoon,” said Nasir Husain, Co-Chairman of Schön Properties.

Schön has been in discussions with RERA to clarify the situation and reach a fair solution for all parties. Whilst not common practice in the UAE, the revised refund policy was approved by Schön Board of Directors during a board meeting held on Tuesday 19th August, to accommodate investors and demonstrate good faith. Investors, who purchased units with a completion date of December 2007, are eligible for a full refund and are directed to apply for this prior to September 15th 2008.

In a recent statement about Schön Properties and the Dubai Lagoon, Marwan Bin Ghalaita, CEO of RERA, characterized the objections of some investors as ‘a misunderstanding’.

He said, ‘Schön [Properties] is a registered developer with us and they have an open trust account and all the money from the Dubai Lagoon [project] is in trust account handled by the Land Department and RERA. Furthermore, RERA issued a press release earlier this week dismissing reports that the project had been cancelled and pledging continued involvement and monitoring of construction works.

Schön has also confirmed that the agreement with the original contractors Powerline Gulf has been renegotiated to include the first two zones and construction is due resume in the coming weeks.

The first zone is now set for completion within 13 months and the second zone is set for completion within 18 months as of July 28th. Negotiations with another leading contractor to handle the remaining zones are currently being finalised of which official appointments by Schön will be announced shortly.

“While certain investors are understandably frustrated and upset by the delays, the vast majority have demonstrated great understanding and patience and have expressed confidence in Schön Properties and support for the Dubai Lagoon project. It is not in the best interest of any parties involved with the project, including developers to delay construction, as material costs are exponentially rising. Therefore we are aiming to deliver the project in the timeliest manner given the unforeseen circumstances,” concluded Husain.

AME Info/Press release