Amlak realty portfolio at Dh4.5bn

Amlak Finance said yesterday it had bought land from the government to build a new residential and commercial district in Dubai.

The mortgage lender, the largest publicly listed finance company in the UAE, said the acquisition would take its real estate investments to more than Dh4.5 billion, after it paid Dh2.6bn in October for part of the Meydan Business Park (pictured on the right).

It did not say how much it had paid for the land in Dubai’s Al Warqa area.

The land, which is located in Al Warqa on Emirates Road, is intended for a multi-use development totalling a gross floor area of 8.5 million square feet.

The newly-planned community, to be named Warqa Heights, will house 40,000 residents and will offer residential, commercial and retail space. Warqa Heights’ masterplan is currently being finalised by Amlak and Tamdeen (Dubai Holding’s zoning authority), where plots will be retailed to investors and developers alongside innovative financing solutions later in the year.

“Amlak’s recent initiative significantly positions real estate financing as one of our core businesses,” said Arif Alharmi, Chief Executive Officer, Amlak Finance.

“We are committed to creating new revenue streams by obtaining premier properties and retailing them, thus creating new dynamics in real estate transactions through innovative financing solutions.”

He added: “We had set a new trend in the market with the landmark deal marking Amlak’s full acquisition of phase one of the Meydan Business Park for Dh2.6bn, which will be retailed alongside new financing schemes this year. Today, our focused land sale strategy is aimed at strengthening the real estate sector by providing land in prime areas.