Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan opens Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2011

Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2011 was officially opened this morning by His Highness Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, with regional and international real estate companies showcasing what they have in store for the market during 2011.

Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2011, one of the region's most premier events for the real estate industry, will run until Wednesday, 20 April at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) and will host a number of regional and international exhibitors who will be showcasing the latest projects and upcoming developments from across all sectors of the real estate industry.

The opening day also saw the commencement of the Middle East Real Estate Summit, with the opening keynote speech from H.E Ahmad Shareef, Undersecretary of the Department of Municipal Affairs. Mubadala Real Estate & Hospitality CEO, Peter Wilding, followed with his view on 'Placing Abu Dhabi real estate investment and development on the world stage', which led into a discussion on looking 'Beyond the Crisis' with Fergal Harris, head of commercial real estate Middle East, Strategic Client Coverage Group, Standard Chartered Bank.

In addition to the conference, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council has teamed up with the Municipality of Abu Dhabi and the Department of Transport to provide a number of free of charge workshops on a number of city planning topics, entitled 'Shape Your City - scape' Public Awareness Sessions. Topics will include Estidama, parking in Abu Dhabi, urban street design and Al Garbia 2030.

Chris Speller, group director of Cityscape Abu Dhabi, said, "Thank you to His Highness Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan for officially inaugurating Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2011. It is a very exciting year for the real estate industry and we look forward to listening to the discussions, finding out about the status of current and new projects and honouring excellence over the next four days. Abu Dhabi is a very diverse and fertile market and Cityscape Abu Dhabi provides a gateway for both local and international real estate professionals to discover that potential."

The first of three investor round tables also took place on the opening day, addressing Abu Dhabi's most profitable investment opportunities with head of UAE operations for Cushman & Wakefield, David Quinn; capitalising on PPP structures for infrastructure development with Deepak Jain, national director & head of strategic consulting at MENA Jones Lang LaSalle; and highlighting the opportunities within the Saudi Arabian market, moderated by John Harris, co-head, of Jones Lang LaSalle KSA Branch.

In addition, excitement and anticipation is building up for the unveiling of the winners of the Cityscape Abu Dhabi Awards for Real Estate in MENA tomorrow evening. Winners will be announced at a special ceremony at Emirates Palace.

Speller concluded, "It has been an excellent opening day and we look forward to an interesting and successful week."

Cityscape Abu Dhabi will run until Thursday 20 April at ADNEC, with headline sponsors Mubadala Real Estate & Hospitality Holding Company LLC, Foundation Partner is the Department of Municipal Affairs and Platinum Sponsors are Al Qudra Real Estate LLC, Aabar Properties and Platinum Sponsors are Al Qudra Real Estate LLC, Aabar Properties.