Damac plans Dh55 billion project in Iraq

Dubai-based Damac Properties yesterday unveiled plans to build a Dh55-billion master development – Tarin Hills – in Iraq's Kurdistan province, work on which will commence December.

"The project will include residential, commercial and hospitality buildings over 170 million square feet in Erbil. We will break ground in December and the development will be completed in seven years," Damac Chairman Hussain Sajwani told Emirates Business.

Tarin Hills will be developed in three phases, with the first phase costing $4.5 billion. The project will have Mediterranean styled villas, townhouses, apartment blocks, retail outlets, a business park, a sports centre and spa, business hotels and country lodge hotels, water and theme park as well as schools for the residents.

The project, which is owned 100 per cent by Damac, will also have a golf course residential community with villas surrounding and intertwined among the 18-hole course.

"The Tarin Hills development will not only help promote the global face of Erbil, it will also create jobs and support growth in related sectors, such as tourism and hospitality," Nerchivan Barzani, the prime minister of the region, said.

When asked about ownership issues, Barzani said the region allowed 100 per cent freehold ownership and therefore anyone had a right to buy a property.

"The region is safe and secure. Moreover, the law allows anyone to own a property in Kurdistan," he said.

The prime minister also urged Iraqi and other Gulf investors to invest in the region, which he said was a "gateway" to Iraq.

"Our doors are open and we look forward to more investment from the region," Barzani said.

According to Sajwani, the company is looking to attract mostly people of Iraqi origin who have either settled in Europe or the Middle East.

"We are targeting overseas Iraqis who are looking to come back to their country. Moreover, locals too are looking for luxury apartments and that is what we are giving them," he said.

According to Peter Riddoch, Chief Executive Officer of Damac Properties, the enabling contracts for the project will be awarded in November.

"We will start selling the first phase in the next two to three weeks," Riddoch said.

The company, with projects in countries including Egypt, Qatar and Jordan, will eventually borrow funds from banks but will launch the project using Damac's own equity, Sajwani said when asked about financing for the project.

Earlier Damac Kuwaiti Holding, which listed in Kuwait in April, said it would use listing proceeds to finance Iraq projects.

Damac Properties is expanding rapidly into North Africa, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Far East.

The company's portfolio includes properties spread across 500 million square feet and is worth more than Dh110 billion ($30 billion).