Phase Two of Dubai World Central Sells Out to Developers

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A Hong Kong in the Persian Gulf - Dubai World Central (DWC)

Dubai seems intent upon becoming a 21^st Century Middle Eastern version of Hong Kong. Only such an aspiration could produce the grand project known as Dubai World Central (DWC), a 140-square kilometre urban aviation project which is billed as an effort to transform the region into a powerful global logistics, tourism and commerce hub. The massive development is built around the huge Al Maktoum International Airport, forecasted to become the world’s largest airport. This project, involving both commercial and residential real estate development, is being built incrementally in phases and ultimately will house and employ hundreds of thousands of people in a development built around Dubai’s burgeoning aviation industry. It is interesting how frequently the new media reports tout DWC as being twice the size of Hong Kong Island.

Second phase of DWC sold out to developers by invitation

The second phase of Dubai World Central - the mid-cost residential housing component of this project - sold out last month for a total of 1.6 Billion dollars. In a ‘by invitation’ land sale the 255 plots of land (183 Hectares in all) were bought by a variety of investors from major regional developers, to private individuals. More phases are ahead in the residential and commercial components of this project, which will be under construction for the next decade. Obviously, any time a modern urban development double the size of Hong Kong is being built from scratch, investors need to sit up and take notice.

A development wonder in the desert

The Dubai World Central project is billed as being a new benchmark in urban planning - a completely master-planned “city within a city” that intends to be a built-from-the-ground-up–state-of-the-art city in every respect. Further puncturing western stereotypes about the Middle East, it intends to be a green project, and to set new global standards for integrated and environmentally conscious urban design.
DWC’s Aviation City, a centrepiece of the project aspires to be a one stop shop for all aviation related activities. The project also contemplates a Logistics City designed to ultimately handle 12 million tons of air cargo annually in up to 16 air cargo terminals. DWC bills itself as an intelligent city exploiting state of the art technology aggressively to increase competitiveness and enhance quality of life in both the project’s residential and commercial aspects.
The ancillary Commercial City is planned to be constructed in phases to consist of more than 850 towers, ranging from six to 75 storeys. It is anticipated that the Commercial City will house a variety of businesses drawn by the economic gravity of the development; they are expected to employ about 130,000 people.

Apart from the mentioned two sold out phases of the Residential City, the project contemplates three more phases that will go on the market in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Each phase is to be constructed according to the Master Plan. There is also a Golf City which is billed as “enhancing Dubai’s status as an international golfing destination”.

Cashing in on the opportunity

Considering the size, magnitude and obvious importance of this project I found the information available about it online to be disappointing. DWC obviously presents some exciting investment opportunities, but exactly what opportunities are available for foreign investors and how they should go about pursuing those opportunities isn’t terribly clear from the project’s website.

While interested parties certainly should look ahead to the phases scheduled for the coming three years, more imminent are the property investment opportunities that should be arising soon out of Phase Two, now that the major developers have already been selected.

[tags]Dubai World Central, Dubai property, Dubai real estate, real estate, real-estate, off plan property, off plan, property investment, real estate investment, overseas property[/tags]