Nakheel and IFA in Joint Venture to develop Souq Palm in Dubai

Nakheel, developers of The Palm and IFA Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of International Financial Advisors (IFA) Kuwait, have signed a joint venture agreement to develop a major shopping complex - Souq Palm - and freehold residences - The Palm Residence-Souq - covering 60,000 sq metres on the trunk of The Palm Jumeirah.

The complex will overlook a 1.5 kilometre waterside Corniche along the canal to be called ‘The Golden Mile,’ which will transform it into one of the world’s most sought-after Corniche style shopping destinations and be a major attraction to residents and visitors to Dubai. The joint venture’s shopping and residential complex will cost $300m and will cover 750 luxury apartments, 220 boutique shops and restaurants along the trunk of The Palm, Jumeirah.

This is the fourth major investment in The Palm, Jumeirah by the IFA consortium resulting from the close business and marketing relationship between IFA and Nakheel. The IFA consortium is composed of several leading Kuwaiti and international companies including; Kuwait Real Estate Company (KREC), International Finance Company (IFC) and United Investments Portugal (UIP). International Financial Advisors (IFA) is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of US $1 billion.

Jassim M. Al-Bahar, Chairman and Managing Director of International Financial Advisers (IFA) said:

“This is a reflection of our commitment to and support of the vision of Dubai’s Crown Prince, His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in making Dubai an international financial and tourist centre and in our confidence in Sultan bin Sulayem and his outstanding management team at Nakheel and its companies.

It is also further evidence of our objective and commitment to offer and deliver to our international tourists a network of world class products covering Dubai, Lebanon, Portugal, South Africa and Zanzibar through which they will be able to stay and enjoy world-class facilities linking Europe with the Middle East and Africa.”

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Nakheel, said, “Souq Palm is yet another world-class development to feature on The Palm, Jumeirah. It will deliver the very best in shopping, dining and residences all within an aesthetically appealing location. The design of the complex is currently under development and we hope to be able to reveal the complete design shortly.

“The Palm has attracted many investors from across the globe and we are proud that IFA is one of these investors. IFA has shown an ongoing commitment to the project and we are grateful for this.

“The Palm, Jumeirah has captured the imagination and attention of people across the world as an extraordinary residential and tourist development. The project has developed at an incredibly rapid pace since construction commenced in 2001 and this pace is not expected to slow in 2004 with swift progress projected on many fronts”, said Sulayem.

The joint venture will now result in IFA Hotels & Resorts involvement in developments across the whole of the trunk on The Palm, Jumeirah. IFA’s other investments on the trunk include a 1,200 room luxury resort which will include the five-star Palm Hotel & Resort, with 300 rooms, the 460 suite Palm Vacation Club, and Palm Residence with 246 shoreline apartments.

The joint venture apartments will have stunning waterside views, iconic architecture, luxurious interior design and full access to the Palm Hotel & Resort on the beach. A prestigious international hospitality operator will provide a host of exclusive services, including reception and concierge services, maid and childcare services, apartment servicing, housekeeping and maintenance, rental administration systems, condominium management and owners association, clubhouse management, services and security.

Jassim M. Al Bahar added: “IFA has received strong international demand for its projects, IFA’s two shoreline buildings with 246 apartments on The Palm are reaching sell out at premiums of over 50%. It is expected that the new joint venture The Palm Residence-Souq apartments will come onto the market in the next few weeks and will be of particular interest to the Gulf market owing to the location of the apartments within the Souq Palm shopping complex. The new project will also attract the international market as it will be located in the heart of The Palm, Jumeirah project. Furthermore The Palm, Jumeirah will be in close proximity to the $5 billion mega leisure project Dubailand which will have an estimated 200,000 visitors daily and it is anticipated that 15m tourists will visit Dubai annually by the year 2010.

“We are bullish about the future of Dubai and the size of the investments by our group reflects that view and the confidence we have in Dubai becoming a major financial and tourism centre at the international level”