Al Fajer Properties (AFP) has awarded the contract for Phase 2 of its Jumeirah Business Center (JBC) Project within the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) development to Al Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading.

The contract is valued at Dh1.2 billion ($326.67 million). Phase 2 consists of Towers JBC 6 as well as the Ebony and Ivory Towers, said a statement.

The contract, inked on April 9, 2009 comes as yet another notch in its belt of achievements for AFP's new management team, since the completion of its AED 3.2 Billion restructuring announced in February this year.
Ensuring compliance to Dubai's green building code and Jafza regulations, a green consultant was appointed in early January to the project.

The president of Al Fajer Properties, Sheikh Maktoum said: 'We are happy that we are in our final stages of concluding the green design features mandated by Jafza, which will be beneficial to the environment and will also translate it into a reduction in operating costs to our end users.'

Commenting on securing the contract, S K Joshi, CEO of Al Ahmadiah Contracting, said: 'We are delighted to have won the contract for Phase 2. With the experience gained from Phase 1, we are confident that the pace of our construction will proceed in record time, as our construction team is already familiar with this design. We are expecting to reach the 10th floor early next year as all shoring and piling works have already been completed on these plots.'

Construction mobilisation on the second phase is set to commence immediately as green design building approvals are currently in the final stages.

'Our announcement today shows our belief in the long term growth of Dubai and the UAE coupled with the strength of the economy on a fundamental level. With the completion of major infrastructure projects slated to come online within the next 6-12 months we are confident that the intrinsic value created by these projects will soon begin to materialise, not only increasing the standard of living and quality of life here, but crystallizing the overall value created over the last eight years of Dubai's unprecedented growth,' said Sheikh Maktoum.

AFP is the premier developer in the Dubai World DMCC Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) community.

Its nine towers, situated within a free- zone, once completed will offer high-end commercial properties attracting both large local companies and multinational organisations from around the world.

The unique state-of-the-art facilities of the JBC Towers cumulatively offer exclusive freehold offices totaling a leaseable area of 3.6 million sq ft and an additional 150,000 sq ft dedicated to retail.