The developer of the Dh2-billion Sharjah Investment Centre (SIC) is set to announce a second phase of the project and the sale of additional mixed-use and commercial plots next month.
The business hub was designed to provide investment and logistic services to Sharjah’s private sector and to strengthen the emirate’s economic position.
Saudi property development and investment company Snasco sold out the first phase of the project – which makes up about one third of the completed development’s projected size – within a few months, company chairman Saleh Sorayai told Emirates Business.
The multi-purpose commercial, industrial and residential project has attracted a group of real estate developers and investors in addition to local and regional trading groups, Sorayai said.
“Snasco and its partners have no doubt that SIC will form the hub of future investments for regional and international investors,” he said. “The project was developed to the finest international standards. A number of consultancy, research and analysis projects were conducted worldwide by experts in all required fields to bring the project to what it enjoys now.”
The Sharjah Investment Centre is a joint Saudi/Emirati project and covers 32 million square feet on Emirates Road on the way to Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah, near Sharjah International Airport, the Free Zone, Al Hamriya Port and Ajman Port. The developer believes SIC will be attractive to investors because of its location and the fact that it provides storage space.
“The first phase offered mixed use [residential or commercial] plots up to 15 floors plus ground, commercial up to four plus ground, industrial as well as labour and staff accommodation plots. So investors varied by their business interest,” Sorayai said.
“Some are planning on building residential towers, while others will focus on office blocks. We have some investors interested in developing retail operations. For the industrial, there are those who will use their land for storage and others will focus on light to medium industry, which is what the plots have been allocated for.
“A large portion of the investors are from the GCC, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while a few are overseas investors. The project also offers land set aside for community facilities such as schools; and the building plots will also be serviced by a district cooling operation.”
Plots will be handed over towards the end of the third quarter of this year, according to Sorayai, and will continue through 2009.
| 
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.