Dubai opens property lifeline to owners and investors

Property owners and investors in stalled projects across Dubai can approach the Dubai Land Department to seek inclusion of their project under the Tanmia initiative, Emirates 24|7 can reveal.

“Investors or property owners of stalled projects can come to us. We will look at their petition after taking into account all the technical and legal details,” said Majida Ali Rashed, Senior Counsel Strategy, DLD.

The initiative was launched mid-September and is aimed at revitalising the real estate market by focusing on the incomplete projects under all categories.

Construction on some projects has come to a halt for over a year now, as foreign developers have filed for bankruptcy in their home countries.

South Korea’s Sungwon Corporation and Germany’s Alternative Capital Invest (ACI) are cases in point.

“We have been to Rera on several occasions to get an update on our projects. Unfortunately, they couldn’t share much. This is something new and we will possibly now group together and approach DLD to restart our project,” an investor in Sungwon’s Santeville project told this website on condition of anonymity.

Santevill is a Dh400 million 25-storey tower in Business Bay.

Sultan bin Butti bin Mijren, Director General of the Land Department, told this website last month that the Tanmia initiative will cover 100 projects in 2012 with the department continuing it for the next three to four years.

Majida reiterated that the initiative will continue for the next three to four years, but the process was not an easy one.
“The scheme targets the government and private sector and will help them benefit from these projects, but it not an easy task. We have to look at all the legal, technical and financial aspects before allowing another investor/developer to take over the project,” she added.

According to bin Mijren, close to 225 projects are currently in progress in Dubai and will be delivered in the next three years.

Jones Lang LaSalle, in a recent report, said that Dubai expects to see completion of 5,000 units by end-2011 with an estimated 27,000 units being completed next year.

The third quarter saw completion of 4,000 units, which took the total residential stock to 326,000 units.

Major completions in the quarter were Grosvenor House Residence in Dubai Marina, La Riviera in Jumeirah Village and Masakin in Jumeirah Park.

DLD has been launching new initiatives to reinvigorate the property market. The Tayseer (guaranteed funding) initiative was launched in June last year, initially covering 40 projects across Business Bay, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers, but then extending to 114 projects over time.

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