Damac rules out new UAE projects in near-term

Damac Properties said on Wednesday that it has delivered more units in the UAE than any other developer in 2011 but is not planning to launch any new projects. Damac has completed 21 buildings comprising of 4,072 units this year to date, company officials said at the annual Cityscape event in Dubai. However, the developer said it was not looking to launch any new projects in the UAE in the near-term and was concentrating on its new projects in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. "We are currently taking a country-specific strategic approach to our property development portfolio. In the UAE, we are remaining focused on the construction and delivery of projects that we are already committed to building, and are not looking to launch any new projects in the emirates in the near term," said Niall McLoughlin, senior vice president of Damac. He added: "Damac Properties' primary focus for the past two years has been construction and delivery. We are one of a handful of Dubai developers that has still been building and delivering to customers even during the downturn. "We have kept our promises to our customers and delivered a quality and standard of development which has continually surpassed expectations." Damac said it has completed a grand total of 36 buildings, comprising of 7,364 units, with 30 completed since the onset of the recession in 2008. "If you look at our track record, on average we have been constructing about 15 units a week since we started. For a company that has been in operation for less than a decade, we have certainly achieved some noteable milestones" McLoughlin said. Investor confidence in the UAE is now at its highest level in 12 months, according to the latest FPI investor sentiment survey. Investors said they are upbeat about the outlook for the UAE economy, with almost 60 percent predicting that investment markets will improve over the next six months. Damac said it has seen a "marked increase in sales enquiries" since the end of Ramadan and the developer believes this is partly due to increased investor confidence in the region. Damac said it has a further 50 buildings, consisting of 9,849 units spanning more than 16 million sq ft under construction across the MENA region.