Dubai Holding LLC, the investment firm owned by the emirate’s ruler, will develop an area close to its iconic Burj al-Arab hotel. Downtown Jumeira will include a 550-meter-high tower called Burj Jumeira, the company said in a statement, confirming an earlier story by Bloomberg News. Construction will start immediately and the first phase of the development will be delivered in 2023.
The development in the Al-Sufouh district of Dubai will include homes, office space, as well as hotels. Burj Jumeira will have multiple observation decks giving visitors a panoramic views of Dubai. There have been previous attempts to develop the site.
The development comes as Dubai Holding is exploring investment opportunities abroad. For many years, the firm was mostly focused on selling assets and restructuring debt after a property-led crisis. The firm, which owns Dubai Properties Group LLC and hotel operator Jumeirah Group LLC, is one of three main state holding firms in the emirate.
Still, the company is starting the project as a long-running property slump looks set to continue for a couple more years amid a record number of new homes come onto the market. Dubai’s residential values have slid about 25 percent from the 2014 peak, including a 10 percent drop last year. Jones Lang LaSalle expects values to decline by 5 percent to 10 percent this year.
The Burj Jumeira is being designed to host large-scale events and will also give visitors an opportunity to take part in extreme sports.
The Daily Star
01/02/2019
