Dubai: India’s Sobha Developers said, it will break grounds on the Dh11 billion ($3 billion) project early next year.
“We have finalised the master-planning and designing of the project and upon receiving necessary approvals from the authorities, we hope to break grounds early next year when we will also commercially launch the project to buyers,” Ajay Rajendran, Vice-Chairman of Sobha Developers, told Gulf News.
It was the first project to be announced earlier this year, since October 2008 when the global financial crisis badly affected the region’s real estate that forced many developers to stall projects or to cancel. However, Sobha’s decision to invest in a major development in economic downturn raised many eybrows.
“None can see the top while at the bottom,” PNC Menon, chairman of Sobha Developer told Gulf News when asked why did he defy the downturn. “Most opportunities come during the downturn. You need to be able to see those,” he says.
He says, there are two major locations where property prices will appreciate, he explains. “These are the peripheries of Burj Khalifa and Dubai Marina. You cannot go wrong if you invest in these areas,” he explains. “And I am a long-term believer of Dubai’s future. There is no other global city between London and Hong Kong — than Dubai. So, it’s just a matter of time for demand to come back.”
Sobha City, located within a distance of 4 kilometres of Burj Khalifa, will host 280 villas, a cluster of garden homes, nine towers, retail facilities within Meydan City. Rajendran said the project will take around seven to eight years to complete.
