Leading construction firm Danube has opened its modern retail complex, which offers more than 15,000 building and construction products, in Ras Al Khaimah.

Sheikh Omar Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, chief of private department of Sheikh Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, inaugurated Danube Building Materials’ Dh75 million ($21 million) retail centre Buildmart yesterday (February 17).

Said to be the first-of-its-kind, the retail complex has been set-up to cater to a diverse target audience including interior designers, consultants and homeowners. All the products in the retail complex are installed in an actual home set-up, thereby allowing customers a more convenient way to shop for building materials, fixtures and other household items, said a statement.

Located along Zaid Road in Ras Al Khaimah, Buildmart has been developed on a 150,000 sq ft plot across the Cove Rotana Resort. The retail complex incorporates a 20,000 sq ft showroom, a 40,000 sq ft warehousing section, and an open area for additional shops and parking.

The store is divided into twenty different sections including kitchens, bathrooms, tiles, shower rooms, Jacuzzis, flooring for both ceramic and wood, ceilings, doors, paints, decorative glass and wallpapers. It also offers customers expert advice from highly-trained professionals on the best products, design materials and other design-related inquiries though its ‘Design Centre’.

“The launch of Buildmart underlines Danube’s commitment to addressing the building material needs of our customers - from the most basic to the most complex, while ensuring easy and convenient access to our products,” said Rizwan Sajan, chairman, Danube. “We have pooled our extensive range of high quality materials under one roof, as part of our efforts to provide better service to match the exemplary quality of our products. We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to H.H. Sheikh Omar whose strong support towards this project has largely contributed to the success of this expansion effort.”

Despite the ongoing financial crisis, Ras Al Khaimah continues to be a prime venue for economic activity and development with some of the UAE’s largest construction projects under construction in the emirate. This, in addition to projections of over 111,000 residential units slated for delivery within Dubai and Abu Dhabi by 2011, has prompted Danube to take strategic steps to address the increased demand from homeowners as well as interior design specialists for top quality building materials across the Emirates.

“Ras Al Khaimah is currently teeming with economic development, proof of which can be seen in the presence of top development projects that are sprawled across this emirate - and this is exactly why we have chosen to establish the first ‘BUILDMART’ here. Our expansion across strategic locations in the UAE is in line with our aims to leverage the high demand for building materials by meeting the stringent requirements of today’s clients. The launch of ‘BUILDMART’ is only the beginning of a new phase of our strategic expansion, as we are currently looking into establishing more retail complexes in the future,” concluded Sajan. – TradeArabia News Service