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Qatar Investment Authority and the UK based Canary Wharf Group plan to build 790 homes at the site of Royal Dutch Shell’s London headquarters, it was announced on Saturday.
According to a Bloomberg report, the companies plan to develop the property to gain from surging prices and rising rents in the UK capital. Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co, a unit of the sovereign-wealth fund, and Canary Wharf Group will spend in excess of $1.61bn (including land purchased last year) to develop eight buildings on the south bank of the river Thames.
John Pagano, managing director of development for Canary Wharf Group, said that six of the buildings will residential properties, with one a 37 storey tower.
Qatari Diar and Canary Wharf bought the 2.12 hectare site for $485.64mn in July 2011. The companies said that they plan to get planning permission by June 2013.
The completed construction date of the new Shell building is scheduled for 2015 or 2016, Pagano said. He added that one of the housing buildings could be kept and used for renting out units.