1 FIFA stadium 2 Mall interior 3 Apartments 4 Villas
Bawabat Al Sharq is a US$817 million mixed- use project in the suburb of Bani Yas, being built around a 20,000-capacity football stadium
Tawil believes that Bawabat Al Sharq will be a complete community. “As well as the mall and the stadium, the community will eventually contain a school managed by an international operator, a hospital and health centre and a hotel. All of these amenities are set to differentiate the community. If you put them together you have it all; especially if you are a football fan,” he says. Regarding project timeframes, Tawil comments:
“We are working to deliver and I hope that we will finish ahead of plan. We are on course to deliver Phase I by the end of 2010 and we are 60 percent complete on construction.”
Just like the stadium, the rest of the development will
be designed with the UAE’s heritage in mind. Tawil adds: “The mall is in line with the heritage preservation that we are trying to demonstrate. There will be a market selling traditional tools, materials and clothes while the interior’s patterns and colours symbolise the desert.” Yet there is nothing traditional about the technol-
ogy that will be used throughout the scheme, as Tawil explains: “We want to have Wi-Fi throughout the community and we are working with Cisco to deliver the integration between the different amenities in the community. The residents will be connected to the shopping centre and, for example, the hotel for laundry services. And there are lots of cameras to provide security, which is especially important for families with young children.” He continues: “We are trying to leverage technology and
to create a modern community which is consistent with the government’s goals that are laid out in Plan Abu Dhabi 2030. We are focusing on education and healthcare.”
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SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES
Aside from Bawabat Al Sharq, BID is looking at other opportunities in the region and further afield. Tawil adds: “There are opportunities in many places but we are trying to be careful in pick- ing the ones that match our formula, vision and capability. We are trying a different approach in the MENA region, and we are also looking at a few places in Western Europe – we are in the process of conducting feasibil- ity studies in London, France and Spain. There is potential in Spain because it is distressed, while England will always be a good investment, and it’s the same with France.” Tawil suggests that the company’s interest in overseas investment contrasts with the trend
during the financial crisis. He says: “The credit crunch caused investors to turn towards their home countries. People localised their investments because they wanted to feel more secure and comfortable with the market. “In general, in this region, anybody that could close down an overseas investment would have
done so. The developers that had invested heavily abroad remained, while those that could with- draw their investments got out.” Yet in the short term, the company’s focus remains in the UAE. “We are focusing on Abu Dhabi
and trying to bridge the gap between demand and supply. Abu Dhabi has an edge.” In addition to Bawabat Al Sharq, BID is developing a 22-storey residential tower at Mohammed
Bin Zayed City, approximately 24 kilometres from downtown Abu Dhabi. Tawil continues: “In Abu Dhabi there are places you can lease to expats but you can’t sell. Bani-
yas is one of those areas. So our prime customer database is end users and organised investors from the national population. In terms of product, we are supplying mostly villas and apartments. Investors tend to buy apartments in order to lease them, while those that want to live in the community tend to buy villas.” He concludes that BID will reap the benefits of careful project positioning and planning: “I’m
thankful that we are selling the right product for the market place and that our prime customer database is end users, not speculators. If you are focused on your design, system, financial cash flow, etc., you will close the books and have a good night’s sleep.”
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Wael Tawil
apr-may 2010
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