ETA Star and OHI launch luxury township in Oman

One more player from Dubai has arrived in Oman to fill the 'vast gap' for apartment units against the demand as Muscat keeps expanding in every direction.

"In the last couple of years nearly 5,000 housing units have come up in Muscat, but there's room for more," Abid Juneid, executive director of Dubai-based ETA Star Properties, told Gulf News on the sidelines of a signing ceremony on Saturday at the Oman Holdings International Co (OHI) headquarters in Muscat.

ETA Star Properties inked an agreement with Oman-based OHI to launch a premium luxury township at Qurum, in the heart of Oman.

"The new 5,000 apartment units are just the tip of the iceberg and there's immense potential to develop property in Oman, which is witnessing robust, all-round growth," said Maqbool Hamed Al Saleh, chairman of the OHI Group, after signing the agreement.

http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Real_Estate_Property/10243164.html

Burj Dubai hits a new high

Burj Dubai, the iconic tower being developed by Emaar Properties, has
reached another record height of 688 metres (2,257.2 feet).

The
tower became the world's tallest after surpassing North Dakota's,
United States, KVLY-TV mast (628.8 metres; 2,063 ft) in April 2008.
Currently at more than 160 storeys, the tower also has the largest
number of floors in any building.

When completed, Burj Dubai
will meet all four criteria listed by the Council on Tall Buildings and
Urban Habitat (CTBUH), which classifies the world's tallest structures.

CTBUH
measures the height of buildings to the structural top, the highest
occupied floor, the top of the roof and the tip of the spire, pinnacle,
antenna, mast or flag pole.

Designed by Chicago-based
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Burj Dubai is constructed by
high-rise experts South Korea's Samsung Corporation.

Turner Construction International is the project and construction manager.

Currently, some 7,500 professionals and skilled workers are employed on-site at Burj Dubai.

Cladding work is almost nearing completion and work has started on the interiors, which will boast superior finishes.

The
best energy efficient technologies are being deployed to ensure that
the iconic building is also a standard for energy usage and recycling
of water.

Burj Dubai anchors Emaar's flagship mega-project, the Dh73 billion Downtown Burj Dubai.

Described
as the new heart of the city, Downtown Burj Dubai is a mixed-use
neighbourhood with premium hotels, business facilities, modern
residences, shopping malls as well as excellent leisure facilities.

Sheffield Real Estate works on projects worth Dh7bn

Sheffield Real Estate currently has projects worth Dh7 billion, said the Dubai-based private developer in a statement.

"We
have been working very closely for the last year to get our current
projects on stream, including our flagship project in Dubai Marina,
Marina 101. We have already awarded an Dh1.1bn contract for Marina 101
recently and we are in the process of finalising the contract for our
commercial development, Corporate Towers in Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT)
community,"

"Over the last few years, we have diversified our portfolio in line
with the market needs, which is why we forayed into commercial
development as well as retail. We believe that the real estate market
of Dubai will remain on the growth trail, particularly because of the
number of legislations and regulations brought in by the Land
Department and Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera). These regulations
will bring in more transparency and prudence to the market which will
benefit Dubai realty in the long run," said Shroff.

Sheffield
currently has projects across Dubai, which include International City,
Jumeirah Lake Towers and Mizin. The realty firm has undertaken to
diversify its portfolio in Mizin where the developer is building a
retail mall.

Sheffield Real Estate is expected to announce projects in Nakheel's master-development project, Dubai Waterfront

On
its Dh1.7 billion project in Dubai Marina, The Marina 101, a tower
comprising of a hotel component and hotel apartments, the developer
envisages its investors to gain a return on investment of about 75 per
cent.

Marina 101 is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.