Abu Dhabi: A new specialised zone for building materials was launched yesterday, yet not in Dubai, but this time, in the capital.
Work on the Dh4 billion Building Material City (BMC) will start in January 2007 and will be completed within 36 months.
The new city, which is to act as a hub for building materials manufacturers and contractors in the region, is located in the area between Musaffah Bridge and Mohammad Bin Zayed City, five minutes from Abu Dhabi International Airport, and 15 minutes from the city centre.
"This new project comes within the ambitious economic goals of Abu Dhabi to become a world class centre, and to develop towards the new century," commented Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan who inaugurated the mega development.
"The project includes the first building materials stock exchange in the Middle East to make the city a hub for attracting manufacturers, importers and suppliers," said Mohamed Mehanna Al Qubaisi, chairman of Manazel Real Estate, the project's developer.
The integrated city comes as a result of the cooperation between Manazel and its partner, United Group Holdings, both Abu Dhabi based companies.
"More than 80 per cent of the project was booked already, and we expect it to be fully sold before the end of this year," he said reflecting the strong growth of the construction sector in the UAE and the region.
Ownership in the project is available for Emiratis, while foreigners are only allowed long term lease hold.
BMC will include 17 commercial towers, 32 residential towers, and a huge 100,000 square metres shopping centre, dedicated for building materials showrooms. There will also be a hotel and landscaped gardens.
"Manazel is launching BMC only after seven months since the company was founded in 2006," Al Qubaisi explained pointing out that this will be one of a series of unique projects to be announced later.