Dubai: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, on Monday opened the latest edition of Cityscape Dubai - the largest real estate exhibition and conference - at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre at 11:30am.
Speaking to Gulf News during his visit, the Crown Prince hailed the Fair, saying that Cityscape Dubai was "always the best".
On the first day of the exhibition, Meraas holding announced a Dh350 billion Jumeirah Gardens project. This year's Cityscape exhibition has been much-awaited, in the hope it will boost optimism and investment in a recently depressed global market.
However, despite the gloom in the global market, more than 180 new project announcements are expected during the four-day event.
Equity-rich Middle East property developers see increasing real estate opportunities in spite of uncertainty in the global markets. And while official figures of this year's event are not yet available, it is anticipated that it will be the biggest Cityscape ever with 1,000 exhibitors and more than 60,000 participants from over 150 countries expected to attend.
"The debate will go on, no doubt, about how much, or how little, the Middle East real estate industry is escaping the volatility in the global markets," said Rohan Marwaha, Managing Director of Cityscape.
"But, with over 1,000 exhibitors, industry professionals from around the world are turning their attention to Cityscape Dubai to check the pulse of the changing local and regional market," he added.
