Bahrain to distribute BD38.8 million housing loans to national families

MANAMA -- Bahrain announced yesterday distribution of BD38.8 million housing loans covering 1,308 families to mark the National Day celebrations.

The Minister of Housing Shaikh Ibrahim bin Khalifa bin Ali Al Khalifa said that the loans covered families who applied in the year 2003.

He congratulated the leadership and lauded its care for the citizens and housing affairs that placed housing issues on top of development plans and led to great achievements in the field.

He said the loans would be distributed according to eligibility criteria to help applicants buy, build or restore housing units.

The applications include 479 building loans, 506 purchase loans and 323 loans for restoration of old buildings, he said.

In addition to this years loans, 1,0165 Bahraini families have either benefited or going to benefit from loans worth BD207.2 million, he added.

The housing projects under construction are worth BD110 million, the minister said, noting that within few weeks more housing units will be distributed throughout the kingdom's five governorates.

Shaikh Ibrahim also affirmed that the ministry, in its capacity as a pioneering occupational institution, would offer high class housing units, mainly to the needy families to attain equity and ensure decent living conditions for the families with limited income.
He also asserted that the ministry adopted a strategy, based on partnership with the private sector o fhte country in planning, implementing, equitably offering services, training and raising productivity.

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source: zawya.com

Construction work on 2 Aqaba megaprojects to start soon

AMMAN - Construction work on Ayla Oasis and Aqaba Heights, two tourism megaprojects at the Red Sea resort of Aqaba is scheduled to start in the near future.

Under an agreement signed Sunday between the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA)Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA)Loading..., the Saudi Astra GroupSaudi Astra Group
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and the Ayla Oasis Development CompanyAyla Oasis Development Company
Ayla Oasis Development Company
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, the land for Ayla project was handed over to the company to start development work, according to a statement received by The Jordan Times.

The agreement was signed by ASEZAASEZALoading... Chief Commissioner Hosni Abu Gheida and by Sabih Al Masri on behalf of Astra Group and Khalid Masri, on behalf of Ayla Oasis Development.

"We will start with the project soon. The company is in the process of awarding the international tender for infrastructure work, valued at JD135 million, which is part of the initial phase of development," Sahl Dudin, Ayla's managing director said.

"We expect to announce the winning company that will implement the infrastructure work between January and February," Dudin told The Jordan Times.

Ayla, valued at more than JD1 billion, will be implemented in two stages over the next eight years.

The project is a large, mixed-use development, evolving around developing 4,300-dunums of land by creating a series of inland lakes and lagoons with an overall area of 750 dunums that will add a spectacular 17 kilometres to the Jordanian shoreline.

The project includes the development of five hotels (1,500 rooms), 300 residential units with various configurations and settings and a town centre that encompass commercial and retail areas.

After its completion, Ayla will provide over 4,000 direct job opportunities for the local community, in addition to indirect job opportunities and services which will benefit the people of Aqaba and Jordan as a whole.

Another agreement was signed on Sunday for the development of Aqaba Heights by ASEZAASEZALoading... and the Zara Investment Holding CompanyZara Investment Holding CompanyLoading....

The agreement entails establishing and developing a comprehensive tourism and real estate project in Aqaba in a bid to transform the southern coast into a tourist destination adding more to the new architectural image of Aqaba.

Stretching over an area of 570 dunums, Aqaba Heights consists of the development of a four-star hotel containing 300 rooms in addition to 100 service apartments as well as a comprehensive commercial centre and 1,000 residential units with a large beach club for the use of the residents of the community.

The development cost of the project is estimated at JD275 million and the project will be implemented in two phases over the coming eight years.

The Aqaba Heights agreement was signed by Abu Gheida and Sabih Al Masri, chairman of Zara Investment Holding CompanyZara Investment Holding CompanyLoading....

The two projects reflect part of the success story achieved in the Aqaba zone by having attracted more than $8 billion in investments by the first half of 2007. Investments in the tourism sector have accounted to about 50 per cent of total investment, the statement said.

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source: zawya.com

Pharma World Holding to streamline GCC logistics

Pharmaceutical distribution, storage and third party logistic provider, Pharma World Holdings, said it was negotiating with some leading US and European manufacturers, which were looking to streamline their GCC logistics.

UAE based Ithmar CapitalIthmar Capital
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, Fund I and Banaja International Group partnered to form Pharma World Holdings and setting up a high tech warehousing hub at Jafza in the UAE.

"The facility provides a new and totally unique offering to local and international manufacturers. It allows for more effective and efficient forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services, and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet customers' requirements," said Maher Kheder, Business Development Group Director of Pharma World Holdings.

"Our offering takes the local storage, distribution and general administration issues off the manufacturers' hands as we control the entire process - from public warehousing, contact warehousing storage to distribution, transportation, packaging, order fulfillment and same day shipment. This will lower distribution costs through better logistical services and greater inventory control, creating an overall streamlined process," he added.

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source: zawya.com

Luxury Homes Gain International Recognition at Real Estate Awards

Luxury Homes, a leading real estate broker in Dubai, enjoyed glittering success at the 2007 Homes Overseas Magazine Awards in London earlier this month, where it was presented with the Silver award for best UAE Real Estate Agency.

The awards are considered the Oscars of the international real estate industry and are the only global property awards where every short-listed entry is visited by judges. The agency was the only company to be short-listed in the category and went on to be the sole Dubai based winners.

The win follows the success at CNBC Arabian Property Awards, which saw Luxury Homes scoop the four-star award for Best Dubai Agent.

Marke Leale, managing partner of Luxury Homes said: " We are extremely pleased with the success and development of the company throughout 2007 and the recognition we have been given. We aim to continue our excellent standards of customer service and further our growth during 2008."

There were 42 categories in all, including awards for international estate agents and public relations companies. Award winners came from 18 different countries. Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Dubai, France, Italy, Jamaica, Martinique, Oman, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey and the United States of America.

Rupert Bates, editorial director of Homes Overseas magazine, said: "There were outstanding examples of craftsmanship, style and innovation. Equally judges were disappointed in some categories where the standard was simply not good enough to merit awards."

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source: zawya.com

Al Reem Island attracts AED 24.55 billion within 3 months

Dr. Abdulraman Al-Tassan, CEO of RAKAA Properties, the real estate subsidiary of RAKAA Holding, has said that the attractiveness of the real estate market in Abu Dhabi, particularly that of Al Reem Island, is encouraging competition between real estate developers who are vying for plots on the island. The objective of this competition is not so much development of the area as putting their signature projects in place in order to prove their leading position in the real estate market.

Al Tassan, whose company has invested AED 1.2 billion in developing three smart home technology-equipped towers on Al Reem Island stated that aspects of the emirate's prudent and visionary legislative system, such as the freehold law, which allows people of all nationalities to own property, have contributed to the unprecedented demand from foreign investors for commercial and residential units. This, in turn, has enhanced the influx of capital into the regional real estate market, which has grown substantially enough to enter into competition with the real estate markets in the US, the UK, Singapore and other markets.

Al Tassan added that Al Reem Island is considered a magnetic draw for real estate investment in the region. Statistics reveal that the volume of real estate investment in the Abu Dhabi market is expected to reach AED 500-600 billion over the next two decades, while the volume of investment activity recorded for projects under development on the island alone until mid-September 2007 was estimated at AED 24.55 billion.

These investments exclude the construction of towers and bridges, real estate services, management services, power plant contracts, and various other infrastructural services. These substantial figures indicate the significance of the island on the architectural map of Abu Dhabi.

Various real estate reports have categorised Al Reem Island as a first class tourism project featuring the latest in smart home technologies, as well as other technologies that will be used for the first time in the world.

The project contains luxury hotels, hospitals, schools, mosques, commercial and entertainment complexes, and bridges linking the project to the city of Abu Dhabi.

Other reports have concluded that the growth of the Abu Dhabi real estate market can be attributed to petro-dollar recycling resulting from the recent windfall of oil revenues. Other diversified revenues of non-oil sectors, which already account for a significant share of the Abu Dhabi GDP, also contribute to the flow of surplus liquidity in the booming real estate market.

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source: zawya.com