Dubai: Plot prices on some of the artificial islands of The World off Dubai's coast rose 50 per cent since property developer Kleindienst Group started to market them in December last year.
Josef Kleindienst, the group's CEO, told Gulf News in an interview Tuesday that demand was "very high. We could have sold the island of Germany alone three times. We get more requests every day and we were able to raise prices by 50 per cent."
Kleindienst Group has bought the islands of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, St Petersburg and Sweden and started marketing them under the brand name "The Heart of Europe" to private end-users two months ago.
Tuesday the group announced that foundation work will commence on the island of Germany, followed by Switzerland and the Netherlands. The contract was awarded to Foundation Construction Group Limited, a Dubai-based specialist foundation engineering contractor.
"Foundation work is necessary to stabilise the soil on which villas will be built later," Kleindienst said.
The soil improvement operation, called "vibro-compaction", involves the use of electric depth vibrators that mechanically agitate and lock the sand particles together down to seabed level at a depth of 18 to 20 metres, to ensure that all construction on the island is stable and sound. The work should be finished by April or May, Kleindienst said.
The soil stabilisation is conducted to ensure that the height of the islands will remain three metres above sea level. "After that, the islands have a lifetime stability and construction can start," Kleindienst said.
Currently, a tender for a main contractor is running. Kleindienst: "We are in the process of shortlisting bidders. They are all local, renowned and successful companies." According to Kleindienst's business plan, The Heart of Europe, when complete, will house 75 private holiday homes, six apartment buildings, six hotels, six lighthouses and six floating palaces as well as a diverse range of retail, entertainment and F&B outlets.
The cost of Kleindienst's The World purchase and infrastructure is Dh3.1 billion. Ten per cent has been paid to developer Nakheel, Kleindienst said. Several other instalments up to 30 per cent will be paid until 2012 in accordance with a payment plan. For the remaining 70 per cent, additional financing will be sought, Kleindienst said.
The property group has also developed the European Business Centre and the European Logistics Centre in Dubai Investments Park. Other projects, such as developments in Waterfront or Jumeirah Village South are currently on hold due to changes in masterplans by the master developer, Kleindienst said.
