Saudi-based developer Tanmiyat, which has projects worth about $2.2 billion in the UAE, expects to resume suspended developments in 2010, a company executive said on Tuesday.

Like many developers across the Gulf Arab region, Tanmiyat put some developments on hold after the global financial crisis ended a regional property boom to a halt late in 2008.

Tanmiyat was reorganising to adapt to market conditions before carrying out its UAE projects with extended completion dates, but did not plan any cancellations, said Wan Sulaiman, the firm's adviser in charge.

'The delays are not because we cannot finish everything but if we finish. Can the customers cope ... in terms of payments and the market situation?' he said.

The downturn in the regional property sector led to delays and cancellations of projects worth billions of dollars. Dubai was the hardest hit.

A Reuters poll completed earlier this month showed that Dubai house prices appear poised to fall another 10 per cent in 2009 as financial woes linger.

However, Sulaiman said Dubai's property market had hit bottom and prices appear to be stabilising, but the risk of defaults was still there.

'We expect defaults from buyers to happen and we structure our programme and scheduling of our projects on the estimated percentage of defaults happening,' he said.

Tanmiyat plans to complete its 'Living Legends' development, a Dh2 billion ($544.4 million) mixed-use project in Dubailand in the coming three years, he said. Dubailand is a large scale residential and tourism project centred around several theme parks.

It also plans to start building an announced Dh2 billion tower in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the emirate's financial district, at the beginning of 2010, Sulaiman said.

Construction at the company's project in Ajman, Ajman Marina, will be resumed in 2010 for completion by 2020, said Sulaiman.

'We plan to recommence construction early next year. The gross development cost of the project can be in the range of Dh3-4 billion.'

Tanmiyat is also eyeing an initial public offering in the long-term.

'We have not decided whether to do an IPO in Saudi or somewhere else but IPO is clearly the way to go ... in more than a year,' he said. – Reuters