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Meydan Sobha raisesDh10b from villa saleMeydan Sobha raisesDh10b from villa sale

Sales revenue gener-ated from 631 villaswithin Phase I andPhase II has createda Dh10 billion rev-

enue base for MeydanSobha, developers of theDh36.7 billion (US$10 billion)master-planned luxury resi-dential neighbourhood – Mo-hammed Bin Rashid CityDistrict 1 at Meydan City, atop official said.Meydan Sobha releasedthe sale of 631 villas under

the Phase I and Phase II in2013, construction of whichis progressing fast with de-liver of the 261 villas underthe Phase I is scheduled formid 2016, he said.“The sale of the first twophases gives us a revenuebase of Dh10 billion,” PNCMenon, Chairman of SobhaGroup, whose company hadpartnered with Meydan CityCorporation to develop theproject.“We hope to deliver the firstphase of the project on timeby mid 2016 and the nextphase by 2017, as we pre-pare to launch the sale ofPhase III and Phase IV.”

Prices of villas range be-tween Dh16 million to Dh25million depending on thesize, configuration and loca-tion within Mohammed BinRashid City District 1 – a50:50 joint venture betweenMeydan LLC and SobhaLLC.Menon says that the com-pany is developing the proj-ect with its own resourcesand from sales proceeds.Construction and interiorsare all done by Sobha LLC –which has a fully integratedconstruction and interiors setup in Dubai. At present,4,000 workers are working tomeet the deadline at a rate of

3 million man hourspresently. The number ofworkers are expected tojump to 7,000 at its peakconstruction activity.“We have a positive cash-flow from the sale of proper-ties from 52 differentnationalities and we do notneed bank finance to finishthe project,” Menon, who iscredited to build some of thefinest palaces and civil struc-tures in Oman, Kazakhstanand India.“This is a super luxury proj-ect close to the new centralbusiness districts of Busi-ness Bay, Downtown Dubaiwith a skyline graced with

By Indrajit SenSenior Reporter

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from around the world’.“The first set of buyers isprimarily Indians,” Menontold Gulf Property. “The sec-ond prominent group of buy-ers are the Saudis. Then wehave other regional national-ities like Qataris, Kuwaitis,Iraqis, Iranians, as well asBritish expats buying in theproject,” he said.Menon said, out of the 631luxury villas that were re-leased to the market, 511have been sold. “One third ofthe total project is alreadysold. Our buyers are veryhappy with the location,” hestated. He also believes thatabout 80 per cent of the buy-

ers of this freehold projectare end-users.The freehold MohammedBin Rashid Al Maktoum CityDistrict One project – locatedwithin the Mohammed BinRashid City master develop-ment – has attracted healthyinvestments due to its con-venient location. The project, off Al KhailRoad, is in close proximity toDowntown Dubai and Busi-ness Bay, with the Burj Khal-ifa and the Dubai Mall beingjust about 4 kilometres away.The master developmentalso has access to Dubai’sother arterial roads such asthe Sheikh Zayed Road, Mo-

hammed Bin Zayed Roadand the Dubai-Al Ain Road.“You cannot repeat thisproject in this country. Thereare other villa projects else-where, but ours is right in theheart of the city,” Menoncommented. Menon declined to namethe bank in which the devel-opers have the escrow ac-count, saying “We are aprivate and conservativecompany.”Construction of the 267sold-out villas in Phase 1 ison track for delivery, andMeydan Sobha expects tohand over to buyers by mid-2016. The villas in Phase 2,most of which have alsobeen sold, are due for deliv-ery in mid-2017.“We are incredibly proud ofthe progress made so farand feedback from our cus-tomers has been fantastic.With construction hitting tar-gets for both Phase 1 andPhase 2 we are looking for-ward to another successfulyear ahead as we gear up fordelivery of Phase 1 startingin mid-2016,” MohammedAhmed bin Abdulaziz Al She-hhi, Board member of Mey-dan Sobha, was quoted in apress release as saying.“We are doing the con-struction ourselves, so wehave total control on thequality and time. We don’tbelieve in subcontractors,”Menon specified. WadeAdams Contracting LLC hasbeen appointed as the infra-structure contractor.Menon said, his engineersare making ‘minor correc-tions’ to the villas to be deliv-

Burj Khalifa – the world’stallest tower. This is the clos-est luxury villa community toBurj Khalifa and convenientlylocated within MohammedBin Rashid City and MeydanCity, that adds to the proj-ect’s attractions.“For buyers of such proper-ties, price and payment is notthe issue. What is importantto them is the convenience oflocation, lifestyle, surround-ing infrastructure and envi-ronment and they are readyto pay for these, if deliveredwith the promised quality andtimeframe.”Menon said the project hasseen a ‘good mix of buyers

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ered in Phases 3 and 4, theyexpect to announce plansand even launch sales by theend of the year.The District One project willcover an area of over 1,100acres or 48 million squarefeet, with 60 per cent of thearea being allocated to greenand open spaces. The low-density project also boasts ofa 7 kilometre-long ‘CrystalLagoons’ project, dubbed asthe largest man-made la-goons, which is expected tobe delivered in mid-2017along with the Phase 2 villas.Besides, the project will alsofeature 14 kilometres of arti-ficial beach walk and 8.8 kilo-

metres of cycling and joggingtrack on the circumference.The District One projectwould comprise of a total of1,500 residential villas, all ofwhich are being prominentlyoffered in three architecturalstyles: Arabic, Mediterraneanand Modern/Contemporary.Villas start with the basic 4bedrooms, with an area of6,126 square feet, and go upto 8 bedrooms. All villas areequipped with swimmingpools and a maid’s room andoffer commanding views ofthe Dubai skyline, particu-larly the Burj Khalifa.The prices start at Dh16million for a 4 bedroom villa.

“We have a pricing structurewhich is very detailed. Weare currently selling atDh2,500 per square feet forregular villas and Dh2,700square feet for waterfront vil-las,” Menon explained.The 4 and 5 bedroom con-temporary villas are the mostpopular among buyers.Meydan Sobha has takenon board several Islamic andnon-Islamic banks for offer-ing mortgage finance to itscustomers. “We have a num-ber of banks already partici-pating with us. They includeAbu Dhabi Islamic Bank(ADIB), Noor Islamic Bankand Emirates NBD,” Ajay Ra-

jendran, Vice Chairman ofSobha Group, told Gulf Prop-erty.The banks are also offeringan interesting on-plan loanstructure. Presently, thebanks are offering up to 50per cent in loans and the fi-nancing percentage wouldgo up as construction of theproject nears completion,Rajendran stated.District One will also fea-ture entertainment, retail andhospitality offerings, to bedeveloped by MeydanSobha. The developers arein negotiations with retailbrands and hotel operatorsfor the project.

Dh36.7 billionvalue of Mohammed BinRashid City District 1

Dh10 billionsales revenue generatedthrough sale of Phase I & II

1,500villas are expected to be built

at MBR City District 1

261villas are to be handed over

by mid- 2016

At A Glance

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year, according to Menon.“But I also feel that now themomentum is beginning topick up. Summer is in and bythe end of this year we ex-pect the market to be back toits normal condition,” he pre-dicts.“We have been in the realestate business for manydecades. It’s a cyclical busi-ness,” Menon says. “Dubai isone of the most sustainablecities in the world,” he af-firmed. He is of the opinion that theDubai property market ispresently transitioningthrough the slump side of thecycle and hence transactions

in the market have declined.He believes that a marketgoing into a cycle is a sign of‘reality and maturity’. “We always try to model aproduct (project) based onthe cycle,” he said.Location is key in a marketlike Dubai, and even duringdull periods, developers cancharge prices above themarket rate for their projectsin areas such as DowntownDubai and its vicinity, Menonsaid in reference to the Dis-trict One project.Sobha Group is also devel-oping its flagship residentialproject ‘Sobha Hartland’ nearto the Mohammed Bin

Rashid Al Maktoum City Dis-trict One and expects to de-liver the development by endof 2017, as Gulf Propertyhad earlier reported inMarch.Quashing media specula-tions that Meydan Sobhawas facing challenges in de-veloping the District Oneproject, Menon said, “I havenever done (developed) any-thing that is below par. I havebeen in the real estate indus-try for 46 years now. Mywhole life I have been work-ing on spacious homes andhigh end apartments. Thereare no challenges and weare on track.” g

Dubai marketto bounce backMenon says the media oftenpaints a grim picture of theDubai market. He cites theexample of Dubai sufferingthe 2008 economic reces-sion and eventually emerg-ing out of it as a maturemarket by 2012, to be a proofof the emirate’s strong econ-omy. The Western marketsare still reeling from the 2008crash and the ongoing Euro-zone crisis has worsenedthings further, he states.The slowdown in the Dubaimarket started from July last

PNC Menon, Founder andChairman of Sobha Group,talking to the media

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