By Parag Deulgaonkar www.emirates247.com
Dubai has witnessed completion of 129 projects since 2009 with 237 out of 450 projects likely to be completed in due course, according to information contained in the government’s bond prospectus posted on the London Stock Exchange.
Quoting Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), the regulatory arm of Dubai Land Department, the prospectus said that 217 property projects have been cancelled as of May 31.
Currently, there were 455 registered developers and 893 registered brokers in Dubai as of May 31. Under the Tayseer (government-guaranteed funding project), 114 projects have been registered.
The prospectus further states that “following the significant price declines since the fourth quarter of 2008 (in part reflecting the withdrawal of speculative buyers from the market), prices have since stabilised in completed developments.”
According to Dubai Statistics Centre, 1148 buildings worth Dh5.7 billion were completed in the first quarter.
The real estate and business services sector accounted for Dh40.3 billion, or 13.7 per cent, of GDP in 2010. The sector registered declines of 19.8 per cent and 2.6 per cent in 2009 and 2010, respectively, having grown by 30.9 per cent and 1.1 per cent in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Meanwhile, the construction sector accounted for Dh27.5 billion and 9.4 per cent of GDP in 2010. The sector fell 19.5 per cent and 14.7 per cent in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Dubai Metro payment
According to the prospectus, about Dh23.1 billion of the estimated Dh29.6 billion cost of the Dubai Metro has been paid.
The Road and Transport Authority is paying the Dubai Rail Link Consortium (DURL), the firms involved in the development of Dubai Metro, in monthly installments of Dh169 million between June and September 2011. The balance of Dh5.8 billion will be paid in equal monthly installments over a period of seven years beginning October 2011.
Dubai’s economy expanded 2.4 percent in 2010 after contracting 2.4 per cent in the year-earlier. Real gross domestic product was Dh293.6bn in 2010.
