The project consists of four 22-storeys residential towers with 684 units in all.

The project is intended for middle-income professionals and will be located at the entry to Reem Island about 300 metres from Abu Dhabi Island.

The development spans a built-up area of 156,800 square metres and consists of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and eight exclusive water villas.

The waterfront Carina Views towers will be designed for middle-income professionals.

Khaleel I Al Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer at NREC, said:

“Even with the economic crisis, accommodation requirements still need to be addressed in Abu Dhabi. We decided to enter the market and target mid-income professionals to fill a gap that was very much there. We are confident in Abu Dhabi and the UAE and Carina Views is the first of many UAE projects we are embarking on.”

NREC owns and manages properties and assets throughout Kuwait, the Middle East and North Africa. Carina Views is NREC’s flagship development for Abu Dhabi and situated on the master development of Al Reem Island- Najmat, Abu Dhabi.

NREC is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange since 1984. Founded with a capital of KWD5 million (Dh63.6m), NREC has assets and capital now exceeding KD589m and KD81m.

Based in Kuwait, NREC houses subsidiaries, entities and developments that are spread throughout the region, including UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Djibouti and Libya.

Prices

According to a sales manager of Carina Views, the prices of Tower 1 are as follows:

1st floor AED 1,169/ft2 – District View – upto 7th floor AED 1,198/ft2
1st floor AED 1,230/ft2 – Full Reem View upto 7th floor AED 1,261/ft2
1st floor AED 1,279/ft2 – Ful Sea View – upto 7th floor AED 1,311/ft2

4 out of 8 Water Villas
From AED 10,500,000 (6,372 ft2) – AED 11,312,000 (6,867 ft2) incl. garden.

Payment plan
5% on signing Reservation Agreement
5% 3 months after signing RA
5% Construction milestone A (after 6 months)
10% Construction milestone B (after 12 months)
75% Final Payment – on completion

Emirates Business

Nakheel recently received US$9bn (Dh33bn) from the Dubai Government to revive stalled projects and settle debt, and have now announced more options to investors in long-term projects, such as Palm Jebel Ali.

Options

The options outlined by Nakheel are:

• Staying in the project
• Swapping into near-term projects
• Consolidating into other owned properties
• Consolidating into a third-party property
• Receiving credit that will be useable against any property at anytime and redeemable in five years

History

The debate began late 2009 when Nakheel offered buyers of waterfront homes on Palm Jebel Ali alternatives in Jumeirah Heights and Al Furjan. The buyers declined these offers, saying the options were “inadequate and not acceptable”, and said they would hire a law firm to represent them.

Property prices for a villa on Palm Jebel Ali plunged from  $4.35m to $2.45m in just two months when the financial crisis hit the artifical island in second half of 2008. The project was launched in 2003, but came to a halt in 2008 and on April 10 this year investors will meet in London to sketch up a plan how to put pressure on the project.

The National

The total built-up area of the Royal Bay development is a little over 1.2 million square feet.

The project consists of a residential tower with 158 apartments and one penthouse. The commercial tower has 107 offices.

The two towers are connected at one level with a floor housing a gym and spa.

Also in the development are 12 villas and 2 palaces and a three-storey, 400,000 square foot shopping mall.

Royal Bay will have two helipads to ease transportation in the area.

“We believe that heli-transportation will be developing in this country. Royal Bay is not far from the largest international airport [Dubai World Central] so it is very convenient as car traffic is also restricted in Waterfront,”

Slava Garin, chief executive officer of VIP Waterfront, told Gulf News.

When asked about availability of liquidity for such projects, Garin said it was not a real issue.

“The crisis in this country is 70 per cent psychological rather than financial. People prefer to wait rather than invest. We prefer to act and move forward. This is the best time to invest for long-term investors,” Garin said.

Prices for apartments are starting at Dh2,300 per square foot and Dh2,700 per square foot for villas.

While VIP Waterfront are not targeting a particular nationality, Garin said investors from eastern Europe are “investing very well”.

In line with this, Royal Bay will be showcased at the International Property Show being held in Moscow next week.

Gallery

Gulfnews

World Island Resort – on the north-east perimeter of The World development – is the tenth project for Limitless and the latest addition to its growing global portfolio, currently worth more than US$100 billion. It will be showcased at Cityscape Dubai next month.

World Island Resort will comprise 53 villas and water homes. Among them, 23 privately-owned villas, ranging from 650 to 820 square metres, offered for sale by invitation. Each will have a beachfront location or sea frontage with a private jetty, summerhouse and mooring facilities, and will come with its own spa treatment room, swimming pool, rooftop garden with outdoor kitchen, landscaped ground level garden overlooking the sea and internal elevator. The villas will be serviced by the hotel and can be leased back to the hotel when they are not being used by their owners.

The hotel – the first of several luxury hotels planned by Limitless – will focus on health, wellness, relaxation, world-class cuisine and the arts. It will feature a 2,000 square metre spa; an amenity building including specialty restaurants, art galleries, auction rooms, conference facilities and libraries; and luxurious accommodation in 30 villas or water homes. At its heart will be a calming lagoon with water features and a social clubhouse. There will also be a reception suite on the Dubai mainland: residents will reach the island by a private boat.

Like all Limitless developments, World Island Resort is designed on a human scale, and will be constructed in line with international sustainability and environmental standards.

Saeed Ahmed Saeed, CEO of Limitless, said: “In delivering World Island Resort we will draw on our expertise in waterfront development and the creation of distinctive projects that enhance and enrich people’s lives.

“World Island Resort will set a new global benchmark in the design and operation of luxury resorts. It is the flagship for Limitless’ waterfront hospitality developments and the launch pad for a range of high-end hotels we are planning in other waterfront and city locations.”

Construction will begin towards the end of 2008, with completion in around two years.

World Island Resort can be seen at the Limitless stand (ZJ20) at Cityscape Dubai 2008. Limitless will also display nine other projects: Arabian Canal and Downtown Jebel Ali (UAE); Sanaya Amman (Jordan); Al Wasl (Saudi Arabia); Khimki Region (Russia); Bidadi (India); Puteri Harbour and Malaysia International Halal Park (Malaysia) and Halong Star (Vietnam).