The Buildings handover to start Q1, 2011
Mixed-used Dubai International Financial Centre property reaches topping point
UAE-based investment management company Daman has topped up its AED 1.6 billion (US $450 million) The Buildings by Daman property in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The 65-storey, mixed-use real estate project is now nearing a phased handover, due to start this month with the office tower.
“The development has continued steadily. This significant construction event simultaneously marks two major milestones in the project: the completion of Tower B and the Office Tower superstructures. This further demonstrates the company’s commitment to its investors and stakeholders in bringing value to their equity and promoting mutual growth,” commented Daman managing director Shehab Gargash at a ceremony last month.
The topping up of The Buildings by Daman took more than 448m3 of a specially-formulated concrete mix pumped up 224m above ground level and poured across a roof plate area of 1410m2”
The topping up of The Buildings by Daman took more than 448m3 of a specially-formulated concrete mix pumped up 224m above ground level and poured across a roof plate area of 1410m2, bringing the overall concrete quantity poured into the building, inclusive of the roof 3 slab, up to 20,527m .
Additives were incorporated into the concrete mix to facilitate vertical pumping of the material to such heights and required two placing booms capable of delivering 40m3 of concrete per hour.
The 224m high tower has been built on a 220,000ft2 plot of land in the centre of DIFC, Dubai’s commercial business district. The land was acquired through a tender process in 2004.
A mixed-use residential and commercial complex, the project includes freehold apartments, offices, and a luxury hotel, as well as retail space, encompassing 3.3 million ft2 of built-up area surrounded by sculptured gardens and water features.
The project was announced in May 2005, financed by a $100 million private equity real estate fund. The ownership structure, along with the overall project finance model, which included non-recourse debt and re-invested project revenue, provided investors with the opportunity to participate in a major development through a special purpose structure, the firm said upon the project launch.
“Real estate developments in Dubai have traditionally been funded by single owners that have invested a great deal of equity in a single project and secured financing by collateralising assets beyond the scope of the project. In this project, Daman is bringing a globally recognised methodology in project finance to Dubai,” Gargash said in a statement that was issued in 2005.
According to the firm, the $100 million investment was placed successfully with investors in units of $5 million and was closed by December 30, 2004. Up to 40% of the capital was raised from international investors and Daman had a 5% stake in the project.
Daman Investments PSC is a private joint stock company based in Dubai and was founded in 1998.
