Damac 'Trumps' Tiger Woods in Dubai

Dubai’s Damac Properties, which has listed Dh48 billion worth of real estate developments till end-June 2014, is building its latest master development - Akoya Oxygen - on the plot of land that was previously called Tiger Woods Dubai, a top company executive confirmed to Emirates24|7.

“The land used to be called Tiger Woods Dubai. It is the same land, but we have unveiled a new master plan,” Ziad El Chaar, Managing Director, Damac Properties, told this website during an interview at Cityscape Global 2014.

Work has already started on the Trump World Golf Club Dubai, a 18-hole championship course in Akoya Oxygen, and is slated to open by end-2017.

Akoya Oxygen, spread over 55 million square feet, will include residential home, retail and hotel options surrounding a championship golf course.

The developer has not disclosed the value of the project, which it plans to do soon.

The $1.1 billion Tiger Woods Dubai, 55-million-square-feet development, was being built in partnership between Tatweer, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, and Tiger Woods Design. It was suspended “indefinitely” in 2011.

Damac is already building 18-hole PGA Championship Golf Course, in Akoya, Dubailand, through a joint venture with The Trump Organisation.

So why two golf courses next to each other?

“If you go to Scotland or Ireland, you have 50 golf courses next to each other. The proximity of golf courses is not a problem because golfers love to play at every course… they want to try work of every designer,” says El Chaar.

“But from a real estate development perspective, if you are an able developer who can deliver a world-class golf course it adds more ‘premium’ to a development; gives residents a better scenery, greenery and water, and most importantly they don’t have to bear the cost of maintaining the golf course as golf supports itself, from golfers and users of the club house.”

He adds: ‘If we remove that golf course and we build for you a massive lake… who pays for the lake? When you are living there, your community fee will go through the roof because you have to support the lake.

This is why golf is ‘the intelligent option’ if you are able to develop a world-class championship course.”

600 sales staff

Currently, Damac has a sales team of 600 people from over 80 countries.

“We are targeting 40 markets. When the rupee went down (investment from) India stopped… you need to diversify international marketing and this is one of the main elements of success. Every developer, who wants to succeed, should do that today,” he asserts, adding, the company is not likely to increase its sales team as “this is the number today that is giving the exposure they need.”

Service fees decline

El Chaar revealed that services charges/fees across Damac properties have declined by 12 per cent in the past three years.

“The way we design our buildings and communities is in a way to reduce the burden on the owners… through the last three years when all the costs of living were going up in Dubai, we were able to reduce service fees across our buildings by 12 per cent because we are looking for more efficient options to manage our buildings and looking for ways that could generate income for these buildings to help reduce service charges.”

Damac has launched 11 projects in the first half of 2014 and has delivered nearly 11,000 units to date. It has a development portfolio of over 26,000 units at various stages of progress and planning as of June 30, 2014.

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