Under the patronage of General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Cityscape Abu Dhabi is all set for its capital debut at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) on Tuesday 8 May 2007. Over 12,000 participants are expected to attend the three-day event that will showcase over US$ 400 billion worth of projects, through 200 exhibitors from 50 different countries.
In terms of ‘home-grown’ projects the Abu Dhabi government and locally-based real estate heavyweights have shown full support for the debutant. Major developers such as Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), Sorouh Real Estate, ALDAR Properties, Al Qudra Real Estate, Reem Investments and Tamouh Investments are all committed to a significant presence at the event as development projects in the UAE capital alone top US$ 270 billion.
Rohan Marwaha, Group Director, Cityscape, commented, “This is the first time the Cityscape brand has ventured into Abu Dhabi. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response and invaluable support from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nayan as well as the Abu Dhabi Government and key local, regional and international industry players. This is an ideal opportunity especially for Abu Dhabi to showcase some of its spectacular projects to an international audience.”
TDIC is responsible for the prestigious Saadiyat Island development at a cost of US$ 27 billion, ALDAR Properties is developing the US$ 18 billion Al Raha Beach project and the breathtaking Yas Island project which includes the Ferrari Theme Park and Race Track, estimated at a cool US$ 40 billion.
Sorouh is leading the US$ 6 billion Al Shams Development with Tamouh Investments being the principal developer of the US$ 8 billion Al Reem Island Development. The US$ 9 billion Danet Abu Dhabi is Al Qudra Real Estate’s landmark project, not forgetting ADNEC’s own US$ 2 billion Capital Centre project.
Running alongside the exhibition are two parallel conferences, one which will focus on ‘Waterfront Developments’ and the other on ‘Real Estate Finance and Investment’. Another highlight of the three-day programme is the ‘Cityscape Real Estate Awards – Excellence in Real Estate Investment And Development’ to be held at The Emirates Palace on 8th May.
“Abu Dhabi not only has the long term financial stability to attract conventional and Shari’a compliant private and institutional investors, it also has immense potential for highly profitable and much sought after waterfront development. The natural beauty of their 400 kilometre coastline studded with 200 islands are something of a blank canvass for developers, and to their credit Abu Dhabi’s planning agencies have so far only approved projects that provide synergy with their own enviable environmental standards. This provides industry specialists with outstanding opportunities based on sustainability and quality rather than quantity and price,” added Marwaha.
