Dubai: With new investors coming on board with sizeable funds, the Dubai Land Department is “fast-tracking” the revival of stalled projects under its Tanmiya scheme and simultaneously making sure end-user interests are seen to be taken care of, according to market sources. At the peak of the downturn, there were as many as 150-200 projects stalled at various stages and which had buyer funds sunk into them.
“There is such a heightened level of investor interest in reviving projects that there aren’t enough going around,” said Anupama Menon, consultant at Lawyer Point Management Consultants and who has been liaising with the Land Department on its Tanmiya initiative. “There is now even a smaller committee tracking between 20-25 of these projects on a daily basis to speed up the process where possible by establishing the credibility of the investors and clearing the required processes.
“For instance, there are some projects on which the full land value was never paid — the committee has set a priority that any new investor coming on board clears the land dues so that the actual property buyer/end-user is on a better footing, legally speaking. And once investors come on board, the government agency is also helping them overcome any legal hassles.
“For those projects which are in front of the courts over cancellation issues, it has been informing them about the new status in regard to investor interest and trying to clear these. Land Department’s playing a hugely influential role to make sure that buyer funds stuck for years in stalled projects now have a chance to recover these investments.”
Sharp upturn
A confluence of several factors are at work here. The sharp upturn in Dubai’s real estate momentum has made reviving delayed projects a viable option for investors. It applies even to those projects which have not seen anything beyond basic site work, given that the new investors would still have access to the original plot. (It also emphasises why clearing the land value dues are so vital in the revival scheme of things.)
Orion Holdings recently acquired units on the ground plus 25-storey twin-tower Donna Towers project at Dubai Silicon Oasis. It did so by committing funds of around Dh100 million.
“The project has now been granted revived status and should be completed in the next nine months or threabouts,” said Samir Munshi, who heads Orion Holdings. “There is no shortage of funds that can be tapped to turn around projects in Dubai. By speeding up the process by which projects are deemed as ‘revived’ or ‘cancelled’, the Land Department is clearing the backlog.
“For investors, the important part is that the projects will move towards completion. Once that happens, it is only a question of finding the right opportunity to sell the units that have been acquired. The usual rules of market forces apply then.”
