Omniyat set to unveil 3 mega-projects worth over AED 3.5 billion at Cityscape Global 2014

Omniyat set to unveil 3 mega-projects worth over AED 3.5 billion at Cityscape Global 2014

The projects are all strategically located and designed to surpass all expectation in design and living experience, says Mahdi Amjad

Dubai, UAE, 15 September 2014: Omniyat, a leading development group in the Middle East, is set to launch three distinguished mega-projects worth AED xx billion at Cityscape Global 2014 which will be held from September 21 to 23 September at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The group’s prime showpiece at the event will be will ‘One at Palm Jumeirah’, a landmark joint project  in collaboration with Drake & Scull International; while the other two prestigious projects will be located on prime plots in Dubai.

Mr. Mahdi Amjad, Executive Chairman and CEO of the Omniyat group, said: “All three projects boast outstanding locations - on The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Maritime City and Downtown Dubai, as we believe that location holds the key in Dubai’s highly competitive real estate market, supported by innovation and quality, all three of which are hallmarks of Omniyat projects. Our focus now is to offer excellent residential options to suit all those interested in the rapidly growing real estate industry in Dubai.”

All three projects boast unique and distinguished features that will represent a further value addition to Dubai’s real estate market.

The group will exclusively showcase the design of One at Palm Jumeirah in a private room at the Omniyat stand. The project is a global collaborative effort involving Soma of New York, Super Potato of Japan and Vladimir of Lebanon. The building will offer 360-degree breathtaking views, with apartment sizes ranging from 2,500 to 20,000 square feet. The enabling works are due to commence within two months.

“One at Palm represents a major milestone in Omniyat’s history. Our previous iconic projects like The Opus and The Pad generated overwhelming response at the international level. We are pleased to say that these new projects will surpass the luxury standards we have set so far,” said Amjad.

“Every project we launch has a story to tell and an experience to be lived,” added Amjad. “Our aim is to continuously set new benchmarks and surpass all expectations. This is what keeps us excited and that’s how we continue to attract the best talents in the industry.”

He added: “Our project in Dubai Maritime City will be conceived as an imposing landmark that will be Omniyat’s gift to visitors approaching Dubai by sea; while the third project will be a spectacular twin tower in Downtown Dubai in the vicinity of The Dubai Mall.”

“The unveiling of these three upscale projects will signify our dominant presence in Cityscape Global and we are positive that they will generate massive interest from investors and end-users, including our loyal customers,” added Amjad.

Omniyat’s projects can be viewed at Cityscape Global 2014 at its stand 6D30 in Hall 6 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Nikken Sekkei to showcase $12 billion worth of projects at Cityscape Dubai

Nikken Sekkei to showcase $12 billion worth of projects at Cityscape Dubai

Japanese architect to design projects in Dubai and Saudi Arabia; creative boundaries pushed with innovative, culturally aesthetic building developments

Leading Japanese architect Nikken Sekkei, will showcase projects from, amongst others, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Mongolia at this year’s Cityscape Global exhibition, taking place 21-23 September 2014 at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre (DICEC).

In recognition of Nikken’s award winning visionary design capabilities the firm is living up to its global reputation for challenging the world of architecture design by creating innovative, authentic and inspirational buildings and providing the very latest technology in sustainable living.

“Nikken Sekkei is one of the great idiosyncratic architecture firms of its time, our ability to incorporate distinguishing design features and unique cultural references in keeping with the local environment ensures our creativity stands out from anything the world has ever seen,” said Mr. Nakamura Mitsuo, Chairman of Nikken Sekkei.

The pipeline of projects, including developments in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Russia, Japan and China will further underscore the firms’ international standing with developers from around the world.  

Nikken’s Dubai inventory includes Dubai Festival City which will encompass an integrated waterfront community and the second phase of the Dubai Cultural Village another waterfront project in the Al Jadaf area of Dubai.

The jewel in the crown of the Nikken Sekkei designed Saudi developments, five of which will be showcased at Cityscape, is the mixed-use Riyadh Tower. At 338 metres tall and consisting of 73 levels it will house 201-key five-star hotel, private residences, penthouse units and at the very top a ‘Sky Palace’ apartment. Leisure facilities, retail outlets and office space complete the makeup of the project, which will be the tallest building in Riyadh.

The design has already been recognised by the International Property Awards in London winning the ‘Best Mixed-Use Architecture - Arabia’ category.

Nikken is also designing Expressbank’s new headquarters’ building in Baku, which will become one of the highest buildings in Azerbaijan. It is located next to the Heydar Aliyev Center and its unique features include the building’s flowing, curved design, in addition to the sky lounge observatory on the 40^th floor, which offers panoramic views across Baku city.

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Ulaanbaatar, capital city of Mongolia, will be transformed when designs created by Nikken are completed. The Mongol Tower and WOO City developments, both to be unveiled during the exhibition, will symbolise a modern day Mongolia and reflect the burgeoning economic prosperity.

Located in the downtown area of the city, the design of the tower has been created to give the impression of rising from the ground and melting into the sky because of the ratio of glass to concrete on the exterior; which increases gradually on higher floors. WOO City will mark Mongolia’s first world-class resort benefiting the country’s tourism industry and overall economy.

Three projects in Russia will also grace Nikken’s exhibition space; they include the 500,000 square metre, US$1 billion K City development in northern Krasnoyarsk. The development will accommodate 15,000 residents with a total of 6000 units ranging from five to 25 storey buildings and utilise a range of technologies to promote sustainability, ultimately creating a ‘Smart City’ concept.

Botanicheski Sad and Novyi Bereg developments, based in Moscow and Saint Petersburg respectively, complete the trio of Russian projects.

Completing Nikken’s line-up of creative designs for Cityscape are the Menara Astra in Jakarta, Indonesia and the Guangzhou Library, Guangzhou and South Bund Financial Center Shanghai in China.  

“Our ability to create designs that encompass cultural sensibilities sympathetic to the local environment while utilising the latest energy saving technologies has ensured a range of projects wins that showcase our extraordinary capabilities and underscore our reputation in architecture design and creativity on the world stage,” added Dubai-based, Dr. Fadi Jabri, Nikken Sekkei’s Regional Manager for CIS, MENA & India.

Nikken Sekkei is located in hall 2, stand number 2A30, at Cityscape Global.

Photo caption:  

Dubai Cultural Village.

About Nikken Sekkei:

One of the world’s largest architectural design firms and led by Chairman Mitsuo Nakamura, Nikken Sekkei employs over 2,500 professional staff in eight group companies offering comprehensive design, engineering, management, consulting and R&D services. The company’s portfolio consists of over 20,000 projects in 40 countries and have successfully achieved international recognition with a variety of industry awards. For more information, please log on to www.nikken.co.jp

Runway refurbishment to help Dubai airport ‘absorb’ traffic growth

Runway refurbishment to help Dubai airport ‘absorb’ traffic growth

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed: Ready to reap the benefits of the remarkable achievement

Mohammed Ahli:  Air traffic growing between five to seven per cent annually

DCAA employees surge 15 per cent; 28 per cent increase in Emiratisation  

40 new airlines taking to skies in 11 countries

Dubai, September 9, 2014: His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, has asserted that the refurbishment of two runways was a strategic infrastructure development and would enable Dubai International Airport ‘absorb’ traffic growth.

In his column in the September edition of Via Dubai, the official bilingual newsletter of DCAA (www.viadubaionline.com), he said: “The project has been acknowledged as the biggest specialized refurbishment of airport runways in the modern history of civil aviation. Dubai International Airport, ranked world’s second busiest airport for international passengers in 2013, is now ready to reap the benefits of this major investment and remarkable achievement.”

He added: “We are working with confidence to accomplish our goal of welcoming 70 million passengers by the end of year 2014. All performance indicators of Dubai International Airport strongly suggest that we will be able to achieve our objectives. The airport has been receiving five million passengers every month since the past 18 consecutive months, a strong indicator of the growing importance of Dubai as a most sought-after air connectivity hub.”

Sheikh Ahmed said the refurbishment will help the Dubai aviation industry a great deal in absorbing the anticipated increase in aircraft movements in the UAE, which are expected to jump to 1.2 million movements by 2020.

Mohammed Ahli, Director General of DCAA, said: “The upgraded runways would go a long way in handling the air traffic which has been consistently growing between five to seven per cent annually, higher than the global average of 3.5 per cent.”

He said the runways now have High Speed Turnoff (HST) allowing aircraft to vacate the quicker, permitting another to land or depart in a shorter space of time. The aircraft arrivals are to be increased from the present 33 to 45 an hour by 2016. The UAE airspace system currently handles approximately 600,000 movements a year. Dubai is projected to handle 660,000 movements by 2020. Dubai’s passenger and cargo aircraft movements are projected to go reach 416,650 and 35,000, respectively, in 2015.  

In an interview, Hamad Al Janahi, Head of Human Resources at DCAA, said Emiratisation programme has been progressing well at the authority with 28 per cent increase in a span of less than six years, surging from 42 per cent in 2008 to 70 per cent in 2014. He said the Emiratisation in higher management has reached 100 per cent while it stands at 77 per cent at the middle management levels.

The number of DCAA employees has increased by 15 per cent since the opening of Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai World Central (DWC) with cargo operations in 2010 and passenger services in 2013. In 2014, the number of DCAA employees rose to a total of 105, of which 73 were Emiratis.

The cover story offers insights into the preparations in several countries about new airlines reading to take off, offering the industry competition and a plenty of choice to travellers. Six new airlines each in the US and India are starting up, while in China up to 15 airlines are planned. Seychelles will see its second airline taking off soon, while Canada will have two. Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cambodia will have one each. Costa Rica will see five new carriers flying out of its airspace.

The In Focus section highlights a study by global technology giant, Hewlett-Packard about how technologies like wearables, geolocation and biometric immigration and security control is making the airport experience better for the travelers. Digital technologies are transforming the way airports and airlines connect with customers and how staff goes about their daily work.  

The Technology section has reports about 98 airports joining carbon reduction programme of ACI, how airlines are investing in smart technologies to manage flight disruptions, new system to reduce energy costs of airports, Boeing collaboration to turn new tobacco plant into jet fuel, texting takes off for pilots and ATCs in Canada, Honeywell developing new aviation technologies and how Google Glass-style pilot gear could end plane delays.

Major challenges facing the Freight-forwarding markets declining in value by 3.3 per cent from 2012 is the main report in the Cargo and Logistics section.  The other reports cover the decision to have dedicated cargo terminals in 24 Indian airports, Dominican Republic’s move to impose e-commerce tax for courier companies, Etihad Airways strategic move to revive dormant Alitalia Cargo and decision by the US Borders and Customs authorities on advancing ACAS pilot programme.

In Opinion Section, Tim Johnson, Head of Policy at the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) talks about the new runway investment, while the benefits of strengthening the fundamentals of air hub has been highlighted by Lee Seow Hiang, CEO, Changi Airport Group (CAG).  Marc Parent, President & CEO of CAE argued about aerospace being a flagship industry for Canada. Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO of IATA, presented the roadmap for the way forward for the aviation industry in a global environment.

Latest developments in different parts of the world, including the Middle East, GCC and the UAE have been covered by the newsletter. A flashback page takes the readers down the journey about Dubai airport’s growth since the 1960s creating a new ‘air’ Silk Road.

The entire content of the print edition is available on online at www.viadubaionline.com  

Asteco to lease premium office space in Al Saqr Business Tower

Asteco to lease premium office space in Al Saqr Business Tower

Al Saqr Property management appoints Asteco as sole agent for blue chip office space in rebranded business tower in prime Sheik Zayed Road location.  

Asteco one of the region’s leading real estate consultancy and property management firms, has been appointed the sole leasing agent for the Al Saqr Business Tower, situated in one of Dubai’s most prestigious and sought after business addresses.

Within walking distance of Dubai International Financial Centre and facing Sheikh Zayed Road, the 37-storey Al Saqr Business Tower, previously known as Al Attar Business Tower was recently acquired and rebranded by property developer Al Saqr Property Management.

Boasting 150 offices covering approximate total of 280,000 square feet, space ranging from 1,000 to over 9,600 square feet can be leased as customised individual units, or full floor options. Prices start from AED 135 per square foot which includes service charges and all utilities. The building also comprises of three executive floors which has its own dedicated VIP lift.

The business tower has built an enviable reputation over the years with corporate tenants and is currently home to, amongst others, Ernst and Young, British Airways, HSBC and Shakespeare & Co. Such is the popularity of the tower just five vacant offices remain, resulting in a 97.5% occupancy rate.

“The Al Saqr Business Tower is in a prime location close to DIFC and DWTC in the heart of Dubai’s financial and business district. Major corporate companies are drawn to the area especially listed companies and those that need to be close to the Dubai Financial Market. To accommodate ‘blue chips’ office space in Al Saqr is extremely well laid out, with quality fittings and commanding those all-important cityscape views,” said Sean McCauley, Director – Agency, Asteco Property Management.

The Al Saqr Business Tower underscores Asteco’s maturing partnership with Al Saqr Properties, having already been entrusted with sole agency status for the Sama Tower also located on Sheik Zayed Road. This property was completed in 2009, with Asteco successfully leasing since inception. 

“We have built an excellent reputation with owners, investors and development companies throughout the GCC, which has helped us secure leasing and management contracts for many high-profile developments, particularly in the UAE. Our relationship with Al Saqr Property Management is one of mutual respect and trust, built-up over the past five years – experience in a very young industry is the key to our ongoing success,” added McCauley.

Although office leasing in Dubai has seen relative stabilisation with overall market average rental rate increases of just 2% in Q2 compared with Q1 2014, an increase in enquiries and transactions is expected post summer as ongoing economic improvements and activity on the part of companies budgeting for the year ahead, and those expanding or relocating in the market, will all contribute to an increase in demand.

“We expect the main beneficiaries of this increase in demand to be the quality single-owned office buildings in prime business locations such as DIFC, Sheikh Zayed Road and Dubai Media & Internet City,” noted McCauley.

For more details, please visit www.asteco.com

Asteco, a major regional and international real estate services firm and the largest property services company in the United Arab Emirates, was founded in Dubai in 1985.  Asteco offers independent market analysis, design development consultancy and valuation services, sales and leasing services, as well as asset and property management services.