Business | Construction
Sungwon in Culture Village deal
South Korean property developer and construction firm Sungwon Corporation will invest Dh1.83 billion ($500 million) in a residential and commercial project in Dubai's Culture Village master plan.
- By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 April 2, 2007
- Richard Lee, the Dubai-based vice president of Sungwon, shows a model of the company’s planned development in Dubai.
- Image Credit: Press Release
Dubai: South Korean property developer and construction firm Sungwon Corporation will invest Dh1.83 billion ($500 million) in a residential and commercial project in Dubai's Culture Village master plan.
The twin tower project will be the company's second venture in the Middle East, following the launch of the Dh400 million residential tower Santevill in Business Bay.
The projects are part of the $1 billion the company has earmarked for investment into civil works projects and real estate developments in the Middle East this year. Property developments are in the pipeline for Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar, in addition to contracting deals for regional property developments and infrastructure projects.
First on the agenda among new projects is the development in Culture Village (a Dubai Properties master development), which will offer a 32 storey office tower and a 40-storey residential block, linked by a shopping podium.
Richard Lee, the Dubai-based vice president of Sungwon, said the project will be officially launched later this month, with Sungwon taking on both project development and construction work - a factor which he said will cut costs and ensure delivery targets are met.
"There is a lack of themed office space in Dubai which caters to a particular sector of business. This project will be in Culture Village so we are targeting businesses with a creative element, such as advertising, fashion and entertainment companies," he said.
"Overall the project will account for 40 per cent of the entire office space in Culture Village and will offer more than 400 luxury apartments."
Lee was speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of a ground-breaking ceremony to kick start construction on the Santevill tower.
Sales
He said 50 per cent of the tower has been sold to a mixture of Asian, European and Middle East investors. Prices for the 195 residential units range from Dh618,000 for a studio to Dh20 million for a penthouse.
Sungwon's project portfolio includes more than 1,000 high-rise towers. Lee said the company is focusing on diversifying away from its "saturated" domestic market, with Dubai the main target.
Despite entering the market as a property developer, Sungwon will focus on its construction operations.
"This is a developer-dominated market, so we entered as a developer, but we are first and foremost a contracting company," he said.
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