The National: Cityscape Abu Dhabi to showcase projects including affordable housing from different emirates
News: 16 April 2018
The National reports that Aljada is one of the top 5 biggest projects at Cityscape Abu Dhabi this year
More than 100 real estate developers are expected to showcase projects at the Cityscape exhibition in Abu Dhabi this week, as recovering oil prices and slower rate of price declines rejuvenates investor sentiment.
“We are confident that the attendance figure will exceed last year’s 17,549 participants,” Carlo Schembri, exhibition manager at the annual conference that takes place in Abu Dhabi from 17-19 April, and in Dubai later this year, told The National.
“A significant number of new exhibitors taking part this year come from Sharjah and Dubai, which is a promising sign that Emirati-led companies are playing a role in the show’s growth.”
Among the five biggest projects on show at Cityscape next week are Sharjah-based developer Arada’s $6.5 billion Aljada mega-community, and the 18-hectare Makers’ District in Abu Dhabi, whose developer Imkan will market ‘Pixel’, the scheme’s first mixed-use destination on Reem Island.
Aldar will market at Cityscape the first phase of its planned Dh10 billion Al Ghadeer masterplan that unveiled on Monday. The first phase of the affordable scheme comprises 611 homes, including maisonettes, townhouses and villas with prices starting at Dh290,000 for maisonettes and Dh899,900 for townhouses.
Other projects to be showcased at Cityscape include Binghatti Developers’ Dh400m Millennium Binghatti Residences along Dubai Water Canal in Business Bay, and Azizi Developments’ Meydan Avenue, a mixed-use scheme close to the 47 million square feet freehold scheme, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City and Meydan Racecourse.
Last year’s Cityscape Abu Dhabi was a “fruitful” event for exhibitors, Mr Schembri said, although he declined to reveal the estimated value of deals conducted during the show. Listed real estate developer Aldar Properties sold out homes in the first two towers of its The Bridges scheme at last year’s event, with a total value of Dh400m, while Sharjah-based developer Tilal Properties said they achieved around Dh8m of sales. The 2017 post-show survey showed that 63 per cent of visitors “expressed interest in making a purchase from an exhibitor within the next 12 months”, he added.
The UAE property market has slowed in recent years on the back of a three-year oil slump that has caused job losses, dampened demand and subsequently pushed sales and rental prices of residential units lower. Analysts predict the market will continue to decline, albeit at a slower rate, before bottoming out later this year.
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