Sorouh to complete $3.5bn projects by 2014

Abu Dhabi, April 17, 2011

Sorouh Real Estate expects to complete projects worth Dh13 billion ($3.54 billion) with delivery of some 7,000 units by 2014, its chief financial officer said on Sunday.

Sorouh, Abu Dhabi's second largest developer, has also stalled its mixed-use projects in Egypt and Morocco after the unrest in the North African countries, CFO Richard Amos told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.

Most of Abu Dhabi's developers are focusing on completion and delivery of existing projects after suffering big losses during the global financial crisis which put an end to a six-year construction boom.

'We have Dh5 billion of projects very close to completion and another Dh8 billion of projects that will be ready in the next few years,' Amos told reporters.

'In 2011-12, about 3,500 units will be delivered and by 2013-14, another 3,500 units will be delivered,' he said, adding these exclude national housing projects.

Separately, Sorouh will deliver about 1,200 units from projects it is developing as part of the national housing scheme, Amos said.

Projects scheduled for completion in the short-term include the Sorouh Tower at Danet Abu Dhabi, Tala Tower, Al Rayanna, Al Ghadeer and The Gate.

'We are focusing on delivery and execution and stabilising the business. 2011 and beyond are years of delivery,' said Abubaker Seddiq al Khoori, managing director of Sorouh.

With those deliveries, Sorouh expects to triple its recurring income in two to three years, he said.

Sorouh had launched a 1,500 acres mixed use project in Egypt and another 500 acres project in Morocco but these have been 'put on hold' due to the crisis that shook the north African region, said Al Khoori.

'Until there's clarity in the market, we will not go ahead with the projects,' he said, declining to give the development value of the projects.-Reuters

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