Saturday, June 25, 2011

Canal Point Hospital in JLT

Technology and nature live side-by-side at Canal Point Hospital. Combining a world-class medical center with a spa-like wellness center, this state-of-the-art facility provides a holistic approach to medical recovery for patients and onsite support for their loved ones. The seven-story hospital features private patient rooms; VIP suites with attached private living rooms or majlis areas; a 400-seat dining area for staff that also functions as a divisible space for conferences and training; separate outpatient departments distinctively styled for men, women, and children; and three levels of covered parking.


Vast landscaped terraces on the first, second, and fifth floors of the hospital provide immediate outdoor spaces where patients and visitors can relax and rejuvenate. Even closer to the natural world is the Wellness Center, a cluster of single-story structures tucked away on a podium amidst lush landscaping. The tiered, tiled roofs combine with the abundant foliage and the very shapes of the buildings to create the feel of a Thai spa.


Work stops at Canal Point hospital in Dubai (http://www.cnplus.co.uk/news/work-stops-at-canal-point-hospital-in-dubai/1965328.article)

14 January, 2009
Building work on the Canal Point Hospital at Jumeirah Lake Towers has been put on hold after the client Istithmar cancelled the AED500m ($136m) construction contract with the local Al-Naboodah Contracting.



The project involves the construction of a 200-bed hospital in an eight storey building with two basement levels.

The project originally included a hotel and residential block, but these elements were scrapped before construction work started on the project in 2007.

US-based Burt Hill is the consultant. Istithmar Real Estate, which is part of the local developer Nakheel, is the client (MEED 24:3:06).



Monday, June 20, 2011

Owners spared of training course

Elected board members do not need to undergo the course offered by the Dubai Real Estate Institute


Dubai: Pay heed, interim board members. Upon registration of your building's owners' association (OA) with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), elected board members are no longer obliged to undergo the Dh3,000-worth five-day training course offered by the Dubai Real Estate Institute. The onus has, instead, passed on to association managers.

Though Rera's earlier mandate required board members to complete the training course and obtain a certificate of good conduct from the Dubai Police, the regulatory body soon realised this could be impractical. Most interim board members find the Rera-certified course financially cumbersome, especially because they serve in a voluntary capacity.

"It's not mandatory for the board members to do the course. The association manager must take the course, have the specific licence and be registered with the Rera," says Mohammad Khalifa Bin Hammad, head, Real Estate Relations Management, Rera. He adds that 161 OAs have been registered at the Rera so far.

Most interim board members Property spoke to were unaware of the change in requirements. "We were asked to submit our passport and visa copies recently as part of the pre-registration process," says Iona Stanley, interim board member, The Palladium, JLT.

According to Mohammad Nafees, member of The Meadows 1 & 2 interim owners' association, "All the details about the members have to be submitted to Rera, which is the final authority to accept or reject a board member. We need to convince unit owners to become interim board members since it is a voluntary job sans compensation."

The board can either hire an association manager who is a unit owner within the jointly-owned property and granted permission by Rera to manage the OA; or enter into a contract with an OA management company, which is registered and licensed with Rera.

However, well-entrenched association managers argue that the OA course alone is insufficient to perform the complex roles required of a building manager. Says Nima Khanpour, commercial director, Stratum, an OA management company, "You cannot expect a practically inexperienced association manager to be adequately qualified by just obtaining his/her OA certificate from Rera. The necessary skills for association management come from years of experience under the supervision of an experienced association manager, who trains the novice manager to understand the inter-relationships between all components of a building."

Gulf News

Monday, June 13, 2011

The Smartest Way to Shop in Jlt: Virtual Grocery Shopping with SUPERMART

SuperMart.ae is an online supermarket with an easy user-friendly web interface, that allows you to order your groceries online at the convenience of your own home.
Order groceries online & have them delivered right at your doorstep in JLT. SuperMart has an array of popular products to choose from, whether beverage, baby diapers, tea, pet food and a whole lot more.

If you feel like trying this new way of buying grocery, go to SuperMart Website and let us know about your experience!


Jumeirah Business Centre 1 Handover Complete to End Users in JLT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading commercial real estate developer, Al Fajer Properties (AFP), today announced that its first commercial tower in its Jumeirah Business Centre (JBC) series has been handed over to customers. JBC 1 represents the flagship tower for the developer in the 9 tower JBC series located in the heart of the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) free-zone.


The handing over of the 180 meter high JBC1 commercial tower is a major milestone for AFP and is an endorsement of AFPs successful and prudent strategy of restructuring its business model at the beginning of the real estate downturn to focus on delivering projects within the committed timeframe.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Al Maktoum, President of Al Fajer Properties, commenting on the milestone said: “The handing over of JBC1 is a significant achievement for us and vindicates the strategy we adopted in 2008 to restructure our management and business to enable us to focus on our core commitment of delivering projects on time. The delivery of the JBC1 is the result of three years of dedicated hard work by Al Fajer.”


Continuing he said, “The restructuring has helped AFP to deliver on its contractual obligations of developing the JBC developments. In record time AFP has completed five of its nine towers in the JLT community, constructing over 200 floors in 18 months.”

The company’s restructuring, including the liquidation of AED 1 billion worth of land bank, after HH Sheikh Maktoum took over the management during the initial days of the financial crisis helped AFP shore up its balance sheet by AED 3.2 billion and focus on its goal of accelerated development of the JBC towers.

“For Al Fajer Properties, it was equally important to be superior and consistent in our quality benchmarks as it was to adhere to contractual obligations and JBC1 reflects this focus in its exquisite design and finishes. We have taken pains to ensure that JBC1 is made to perfection in its aesthetic appeal, functionality and modern amenities so that the development offers investors the best corporate address in the JLT community,” HH Sheikh Maktoum said.

The 44 floor JBC1 tower has an area of 546,000 square feet of commercial space including premium commercial floors with dedicated lifts. It has refined and distinctive exterior, beautiful lobby interiors and panoramic lifts. The development offers an excellent view of the skyline of the new residential and business district of Dubai flanking Sheikh Zayed Road with excellent views across the Marina and Jumeirah beachfront.

“AFP believes that handing over JBC1 to end users will also endorse the fact that there is a salient resonance of a gradual revival in the real estate and property market of Dubai,” HH Sheikh Maktoum said.

AFP has recently announced the introduction of an aftermarket services for the JBC project as part of its end-to-end commitment to its investors, making it a first-of-its-kind developer to offer its support to buyers in a finished and sold out property.

Business Wire

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Registered firms at DMCC grow to over 3,000

JLT is fastest growing free zone in the UAE

Dubai: The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC), the licensing authority for the Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) free zone, has licensed over 3,000 companies.

Since the beginning of 2011, DMCC has registered an average of over 100 companies a month, growing by 65 per cent compared to the same period in 2010.

"In January we announced record performances in 2010 when we registered 725 new companies in that period which was our best performance. What we've seen in the first four months of this year was a continuation of that," said Malcolm Wall Morris, CEO of DMCC.

According to DMCC, 93 per cent of 2011 registration are companies that are either internationally based or new to the emirate.

"JLT remains the fastest growing free zone in the UAE and we are pleased to see that the vast majority of company registrations are new to the region, with particular interest coming from Europe and India," said Morris. "The vision was to create this commodity free zone to attract business and trade into Dubai. It wasn't about attracting businesses that were already here and were the seeing the culmination of all that work coming to the fore," he said.

The countries were evenly spread with 25 per cent coming from Europe, 20 per cent from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, 17.5 per cent from India and Asia and the remainder from the rest of the world.

Gulf News

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Super Care Pharmacy Officially Open!

You no longer have to call Ibn Battuta or Dubai Marina pharmacies to get your medicine! Super Care Pharmacy has finally opened in JLT.
Below are the contact details:
Cluster E2, Al Shera Tower, Next to Park N Shop.
Telephone: +971 4 454 1157


Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Giving business its best chance in JLT

Despite volatile commodities markets, new firms are striking transactions in DMCC

Malcolm Wall Morris, CEO of DMCC, says the authority has always looked to add value such as allowing a 50-year tax holiday and guaranteed capital repatriation among other things.

Dubai: The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC) is the master developer and licensing authority for the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) free-zone. The entity was established in 2002 to promote commodity trade flows through the emirate by building the necessary infrastructure.

DMCC recently announced it had crossed the 3,000 mark in the number of companies that have registered in the free-zone. Since the beginning of 2011, DMCC grew at an average of over 100 companies a month.

JLT, the 200-hectare mixed-used waterfront development that currently comprises 58 towers, over 3,000 companies and over 15,000 residents has also seen steady progression. Eight additional towers are expected to be delivered by the end of this year. These include a residential tower, a mixed-use tower, two hotels and serviced apartments and four office towers.

DMCC's CEO Malcolm Wall Morris talks about the free-zone's growth and future plans. Before joining DMCC, Morris spent two years as CEO of the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX).

Gulf News: How have you done so far this year and what are your projections for the next few years?

Malcolm Wall Morris: In January 2011, we announced record performances in 2010 where we witnessed 725 new companies registered in that period. What we've seen in the first four months of this year was a continuation of that. Since the start of 2011, DMCC has registered over 400 companies, averaging over 100 per month; a rise of 65 per cent over the same period in 2010.

How that's happened is the continued understanding and realisation that JLT doesn't just offer value for money but unrivalled infrastructure and location and a continued improvement in our product and service, our registration process, our online services and the belief that is spreading through the community of businesses coming to Dubai.

What's really important and something that we're proud of is that of the 400 new business that have established themselves in Dubai, over 90 per cent are new to the emirate. In 2010, that percentage was 80 per cent, so it is increasing.

The vision was to create this commodity free-zone to attract business and trade into Dubai. It wasn't about attracting businesses that were already here. We're seeing the culmination of all that work coming to the fore.

Which industries are you seeing the most registered companies coming from?

Part of the work we did in 2010 was look at our business to understand why businesses come to the DMCC and JLT free-zone and from what sectors and what geographies. We've got a very focused and targeted business strategy right now so we're targeting particular industries and particular geographies and we're seeing the fruit of that.

Out of our newly registered companies 25 per cent come from Europe, 20 per cent from the Mena [Middle East and North Africa] region, 17.5 per cent from India and Asia, and the remainder from the rest of the world.

It's global but the sector we're targeting is seeing real results. We recently presented at the aluminum conference because we believe that we add value in the metals business. We've already seen great success in the bullions business. We believe that the DMCC is a natural home for these companies. We recently attended the Dubai Cotton Conference, Global Tea Forum and recently held the Biennial Presidents' Meeting of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) where the former president of South Africa, [Thabo] Mbeki spoke at a gala dinner. The growth you're seeing in the diamond trade is a result of providing infrastructure or products and services to stimulate the trade.

How have you attracted new companies to register in the free-zone?

We don't fall for quirks like lowering fees. We have fixed fees. We look at adding value such as having a 50-year tax holiday, a guaranteed capital repatriation, no personal tax or corporation tax and a regulatory environment to support businesses. That already is a compelling enough reason and what the DMCC has done is take that to the next level. We're very much focused on commodities services and in some sectors such as in the diamond, tea, cotton, bullion, jewellery and financial services, we have provided other products and services to help to either provide efficiency to the quality supply chain or to add value. Businesses come here because it's an advantageous environment. They come here because it has unparallelled infrastructure activity. Businesses set up so they can be alongside other related businesses.

In terms of higher figures we've seen the one that immediately leaps to the forefront is diamonds. We have over 550 diamond companies registered with us. Before DMCC was created, the value of the diamond trade coming through to Dubai was about $5 million (Dh18.36 million).

At the presidents meeting we had a party sponsored by ABN Amro and one of the companies involved with the event sponsored models to wear his jewellery. One of the items was a 33-carat diamond solitaire ring, which was worth about $5 million. So that one ring represented the value of the trade of diamonds in Dubai before 2002.

Last year's figures confirmed that the value of diamond trade in Dubai was worth $35 billion and that is down to the work DMCC has done. Diamond trading reached record volumes of 268.7 million carats in 2010, up 50 per cent on 2009.

In January this year, the Dubai Diamond Exchange hosted a three-day auction where 34,000 carats of polished diamonds were sold for a total consideration of $7.2 million.

Gold also set a record, with $41.3 billion traded through Dubai in 2010. India remains Dubai's leading partner with Switzerland ranking second. The Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DTTC) transacted a record 10.6 million kilos and imported 116.5 million kilos of multi-origin tea in 2010, an increase of 41 per cent and 15 per cent respectively compared with 2009.

The centre's only been operational for just over two years. Before that, there was zero facilitation of tea trade. Tea trade was ongoing in the UAE but the value-added services such as the packing of teas, blending, storage and tasting that we facilitate didn't exist, so to go from zero to 10 million kg which is about 10 per cent of the volume of tea trade through Dubai is a fantastic achievement.

In January, the Dubai Pearl Exchange (DPE) hosted the world's first commercial trade auctions outside Asia. The event, held over four days, featured Tahitian, Golden and South Sea pearls from Robert Wan, Jewelmer and Paspaley Pearling respectively. The auction attracted more than 100 pearl traders from 20 nations and netted sales of more than $13.5 million in wholesale value.

What are the main industry challenges?

The vast majority of commodities today are facing extreme price volatility and we're seeing record prices. DMCC's role is to facilitate the trade and provide the environment where they can trade. There are many in the commodity markets that regard price volatility as a good thing. If prices are correcting, buyers are saying now is the opportunity to buy. If prices are rising sellers are happy because they can get more money for their product. So if you're providing an environment where buyers and sellers can come together to facilitate that trade it's good for Dubai.

When will JLT as a mixed-use development be complete?

We have a unique situation whereby the DMCC is the master developer responsible for the infrastructure and beautification. We have only developed three towers ourselves. All the other towers within the main free zone are for third-party developers and it's up to these developers when the towers will be complete.

Gulf News
Image Credit: Karen Dias/Gulf News archive