Union Properties hires China State to build Dh450m Motor City scheme

02/05/2016 06:19 AST

Union Properties has appointed China State Construction Engineering’s (CSCEC) Middle East arm to build its Dh450 million Oia Residences project in Dubai’s Motor City.

Union Properties’ chairman, Khalid bin Kalban, said yesterday at a ceremony to mark the start of construction that although the project is being launched in a “soft" market, it is one in which construction costs are low and savings can be passed on to investors.

“Developers realise that they will have to look into their prices once more. If you look, overall, there is a slowdown. However, this is the right time to build." He said that Oia Residences, made up of 269 flats, was the second project launched in Motor City recently, and construction will soon start on a third, known as The Link. It will contain a hotel and retail space and will be positioned close to The Ribbon, a series of retail buildings due for completion within the next few weeks.

“We’re finding it to be a very good time to build because contractor prices are astonishingly good as far as developers are concerned," Mr Kalban said. “We are riding this cycle and I think the market will rebound hopefully within one year’s time. I think by the end of 2017 it looks positive."

Yu Tao, the general manager of CSCEC Middle East, said that its Dh235m construction contract is due to be finished within 20 months, with work on the site expected to be completed by the end of next year.

“It’s a very challenging and very compact programme. However, currently we are ahead of schedule. So we hope with support from the client [and] from the consultant we will keep up such good progress.

“This is the first time we are working with Union Properties, although we’ve known them for a very long time and we understand they are one of the leading real estate companies in the market."

He said CSCEC Middle East remained very positive about the UAE’s construction market, although he described it as “quite volatile". “I think this market is very open for international players," Mr Tao said. “Over the past 10 years, China State has built a good network and a relationship with most of our clients. So we [gained] repeat orders from them and still have quite a lot of projects in the pipeline."

CSCEC’s recent project wins include a joint-venture contract from Nakheel to build the Dh1.4 billion Palm Gateway scheme alongside Korea’s Ssangyong Engineering and Construction, consisting of three high-rise residential towers on top of the Palm Jumeirah monorail station, and a contract to build a 364-villa project known as Zen for Indigo Properties.

The lead consultant for the Oia Residences project is Conin and the architect responsible for the Greek-inspired design is AK Design.

The National