New records were set on a daily basis at this year’s Cityscape Abu Dhabi – the real estate development and investment event of the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Cityscape Abu Dhabi witnessed deals and transactions worth US$36 billion.
Explaining how this colossal sum was calculated, Mark Goodchild, Project Manager, Cityscape Abu, said, “Many of the master developers made contact with institutional or private investors, which will require due diligence on both sides prior to closing any deals. We have estimated the amount of projected business both during and after the event that this represents.”
He added, “Furthermore, we have also included the high levels of business activity between real estate developers for land sales and joint venture projects and the considerable amounts of business conducted by architects, consultants, engineers, contractors and other service providers.”
The three-day event, which was held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, on 13-15 May was extended by one extra day after the organizer, IIR Middle East, received a formal request from the Abu Dhabi Government. The show closed on Friday 16 after a second visit by General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the patron of Cityscape Abu Dhabi.
According to Goodchild, Sheikh Mohammed has taken a keen interest in the development of the show, expressing his confidence in the future landscape of the UAE capital.
Major local developers such as Mubadala, Sorouh Real Estate, ALDAR Properties and Al Qudra Real Estate all had a presence. Indeed the top ten projects in the capital, showcased at Cityscape Abu Dhabi were valued at US$190 billion alone.
“After Cityscape’s stunning debut last year in the capital, we forecast that the expanded 2008 event would attract around 25,000 visitors. However it was evident during the first day, when queues started forming around the exhibition centre, that even our most optimistic projections would be shattered. With a grand total of 50,000 participants, that proved to be the case,” commented Goodchild.
Two parallel conferences also ran alongside the exhibition, examining sustainable development and real estate finance and investment.
The Urban Planning Council scooped two awards: In the Architecture section for Best Urban Design and Master Planning; and in the Future Retail category for its 2030 initiative. Also honoured were Aldar Properties for Best Islamic Real Estate Finance and Masdar for Best Developer – Sustainable Development for the incomparable Masdar City.
“The aim of the awards is to celebrate excellence in real estate investment and development by rewarding truly exceptional achievements and thereby raising the bar for the industry as a whole. The Cityscape Abu Dhabi Awards definitely achieved that objective and some,” stated Goodchild.
The Cityscape portfolio of events now returns to Dubai with Retail City 2008, which will take place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre from 1-3 June 2008. Retail City, which focuses on retail developments, will bring together global retailers, investors, shopping centre developers, franchise networks, shopping centre managements, architects and regional authorities to focus on all aspects of the retail development cycle.
