Open for business

Several developments at the Dh110 billion Business Bay will be completed and handed over this year, the project's master developer told Emirates Business.

While the economic downturn has caused delays in many projects, overall projections of the development's first phase being completed in 2015 will be met, Dubai Properties said.

Aping Manhattan in New York and Ginza in Tokyo, Business Bay aims to be Dubai's financial and commercial hub, and is located between Sheikh Zayed and Al Khail roads between interchanges One and Two. Sixty four million square feet of commercial and residential space will lie on either side of Dubai Creek, which Dubai Properties has just finished extending. Of this, 20 per cent will be residential, 14.2 per cent will be commercial and 66 per cent will be mixed use. Business Bay, once completed, will house 191,000 people, with 240 towers expected to be completed by 2015. The group announced that two of its projects within the business city – Executive Towers and Vision Tower – will be the first to be handed over this year.

Spanning nearly 10 million square feet, the two projects will be completed at a cost of Dh4.2 billion. The structure of the Executive Towers is complete, with the facade nearing completion and commissioning is well underway.

The Executive Towers is the second major freehold project to be handed over by Dubai Properties following the release of Jumeirah Beach Residence. Aspect Tower, within the Executive Towers, is 92 per cent complete with an anticipated completion during the second quarter of this year.

The building is the first freehold boutique office tower in the Executive Towers complex and rises 150 metres. The Dh1.2 billion Vision Tower will release more than 500,000 sq ft of commercial office space when all its 67 floors are handed over by the second quarter of this year. Construction is more than 78 per cent complete and remaining work is progressing as scheduled, the company said.

Located at the entrance to the Business Bay, the Vision Tower will offer waterfront views of Dubai Creek and Sheikh Zayed Road.
Mohamed Binbrek, Group CEO of Dubai Properties Group, said: "In our sincere commitment to complete projects as scheduled, we have ensured work has continuously progressed at a steady pace.

"We have given priority to our stakeholders including the investors and serious corporate or home buyers."

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