Hircon repossesses 10 apartments in 23 Marina

Hircon International, a Dubai-based real estate developer, has repossessed eight to 10 apartments in 23 Marina, a Dh1.3-billion project in Dubai Marina, and expects to complete the project by September, a top company executive said.

“We expect to get Dubai Electricity and Water Authority connection by August and then start working on the hand over of the units. Although there were reasons beyond our control, which led to delays, the building is now topped out.

We are working hard to hand over units as soon as possible,” Darshan Hiranandani, Director, Hircon International, told Emirates 24/7.

The developer has repossessed eight to 10 units only of investors who were not inclined to meet their financial obligations or eager to talk and work out feasible solutions.

“We had kept some units to rent, but those were sold and these [repossessed] units will now be rented out. We are not currently planning to sell them.”

Despite the law allowing Hiranandani to take investors to court and seek compensation for failure to meet obligations, he has no plans to move the court to seek compensation from investors whose units have been repossessed.

According to Decree No(6) of 2010 dealing with the Executive Regulations of Law No(13) of 2008, a developer is not required to sell at public auction if he completes more than 80 per cent of the project and may elect to terminate the contract and retain up to 40 per cent of the purchase price.

Spanning over a height of 380 metres, the 90-storey 23 Marina tower has 288 apartments and three penthouses on the top of the tower.

There are two- and three-bedroom apartments as well as four-bedroom duplexes ranging from 1,709 sq ft to 5,775 sq ft.

Hircon International is a joint venture between India’s Hiranandani Developers and Dubai-based ETA Star Properties.

According to Hiranandani, his company is open to talks with ETA Star for launching other projects in Dubai, but no such discussions have yet begun.

“We do have a plot in Business Bay… we are keen on starting the project,” he added.

 No super tall tower planned in India

Hiranandani Group has no plans to launch a “super tall” tower in India.

Hiranandani said: “We generally operate in our townships and so we have no plans to launch super tall towers. Of course, there is demand for such towers, we don’t have any plans.”

“We are currently not technically capable of handling tall buildings. I believe the capabilities will be built up over time.”

In June, Mumbai-based Lodha Developers said it would launch World One – billed to be the tallest residential tower in the world. Located on a 17-acre site in Upper Worli, Mumbai, the tower will stand close to half-a-kilometre tall.

Measuring more than 450 metres (1,450 feet) when ready, it will dwarf Q1 in Gold coast, which at 323 metres, is currently the world's tallest residential tower.

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