Dubai Travel Guide

A Jacksonville provider of major turnkey temporary power generation services received $30 million in investment from a Dubai-based private equity firm.

APR Energy Cayman Ltd. will use the minority investment from Levant Capital Ltd. to buy new equipment and support research and development, said Paul Marcroft, APR Energy’s vice president of sales and marketing.

“We very much appreciate the confidence Levant has shown in us and our growth plans during this period of global financial turbulence, and we look forward to working with Levant’s seasoned investment team and with their investors to expand our operations, particularly in the Gulf region and North Africa,” APR Energy CEO John Campion said in a news release.
Read the rest of this entry »

Empty office space in Dubai has doubled to 16% in the past six months, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, the property and investment firm.

In its February 2009 “Dubai City profile – A Review of the Dubai Property Market”, new research shows that vacancies in Dubai’s office market are at the highest rate ever recorded.

The report states: “The turmoil in the global economy is continuing to cause volatility and uncertainty in the Dubai real estate market. The major economic influences on the market include the significant slowing of economic activity, falling employment levels and a severe tightening of credit.”

An additional 4.7 million square ft of office space was released into the market in the second half of 2008, bringing the total stock to approximately 29.5m square ft; an increase of almost 20% over six months.
Read the rest of this entry »

Construction of the 73-storey Dubai Pearl – ranked alongside the Las Vegas CityCenter as the most valuable single construction contract in the world – is finally due to begin, Abdul Majeed Al Fahim, Pearl Dubai chairman, told Construction Week.

Al Fahim also revealed that the main towers of the US $2.4 billion (AED8.85 billion) mixed-use development would be constructed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) Gold standard – the second highest rung on the Leed ladder, which rates the environmental friendliness of buildings.

“The main towers will definitely be to gold certification,” Al Fahim said. “That is our target, and (the towers will) cover the majority of the entire development.”

The main contractor, Al Habtoor Leighton Group, has engineers working on-site while enabling work, being carried out by the Al Habtoor STFA Soil Group, is nearing completion.

The Dubai Pearl will be located at the centre of “New Dubai” overlooking the Palm Jumeirah.
Read the rest of this entry »