City of Arabia

[Henrico]

Originally Posted by John Alexander

You are right Loser. Does not seems goods news at all with this builder. Also now no bank in UAE will lend 90%. May be you are right in saying that it will be good to loose 10% deposit. All the best

Hey John,
F.y.i. also simplex will build G-tower thats with completion date june 2011 ( 30 month ). Anyway, almost all towers in dubai are build by indian so i guess its no big deal if the contractor come from india or u.a.e or china.
the good news is that we now get monthly progress repors and vertical movements starting by now.
g-tower and wadi tower build by simplex and metro tower to be announced shortly.
guess we are looking at completion second quarter 2011 best case for g-tower and metro tower approx. 2 years delay. thats normal in dubai

[Loser69]

Yes indians built dubai - BUT - the best buildings were under the supervision of 'western' project and construction managers with 'western' QC standards.

The building will not fall down - but the guts will be crap, particulaly M&E and the finish will be poor. The flats will not cope in rain and the floor drains will be a constant problem.

In this climate there will be cost cutting on finish - expect cheap composite crushed marble, cheap tiles, cheap fixtures and fittings, thin paint, cheap hollow doors, cheap elevator cars.

Also expect 25,000 aed service charges for little actual service and kiss the 'ultra 5 star lobby, luxury bathroom and state of the art gym goodbye.

Basically - expect a lemon built by the unskilled, managed by the incompetent.

[Henrico]

Originally Posted by Loser69

Yes indians built dubai - BUT - the best buildings were under the supervision of 'western' project and construction managers with 'western' QC standards.

The building will not fall down - but the guts will be crap, particulaly M&E and the finish will be poor. The flats will not cope in rain and the floor drains will be a constant problem.

In this climate there will be cost cutting on finish - expect cheap composite crushed marble, cheap tiles, cheap fixtures and fittings, thin paint, cheap hollow doors, cheap elevator cars.

Also expect 25,000 aed service charges for little actual service and kiss the 'ultra 5 star lobby, luxury bathroom and state of the art gym goodbye.

Basically - expect a lemon built by the unskilled, managed by the incompetent.

Hej Looser,
Well nobody promised me westers construction managers when i bought in coa. However its a fact that simplex have build a lot in dubai and somebody must be happy with their work or else they would not get new orders.
Do you think a western construction manager can select the materieal ? No he can not. Its already within the contract what matereial to be used and design has already ben done by other company. Hill international as far as i remember.
So dont worry to much about this simpelx international.
45 mil USD for 30 level its 1.5mill usd pr floor so i guess about 500aed pr sqf. Its just to get started and see what will be to result after 24 month. You can always complain if the product is not in accordance with your contract. Anyway to change the tiles and apply some additional paint in your flat will not cost a lot. Maybe you can selec your own tiles, paint, doors ets. iff you pay a little extra if you not happy with the one that bought by the contractor. It will no be much extra if you do it inthe initial stage.

[zhouguoyaogeorge]

Hi john
new report about arabian crowne up date from MED (posted by MR.peter petrou Eye on Worldwide )

Hi All,

I am pasting a progress report i received today from my agents:

I am writing to update you on progress at the Arabian Crowne development in Dubai .

The Galadari Group, master developer of The City of Arabia, has made it's priority the completion of piling for the Mall of Arabia (the world's largest shopping mall) and Wadi Walk canal. Levelling of the plots is almost complete and access has been given to the developers to move their machinery onto the site and start fencing off the boundaries. The majority of the deep services and internal roads are alreadycomplete. Phase one of the Mall of Arabia will be opened to the public in the third quarter of 2010. Dubai Land will also have 50-60 km of combined tram and monorail lines which will cut the travel time within the zone. One station is ready and the remaining 11 are under construction.


The developers of the Arabian Crowne have marked out their plot and completed fencing. Excavation and shoring work is expected to commence in the next few weeks, with completion anticipated for the second quarter of 2011.

We will send you another update in April. Feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance in the meantime. Have a very happy Christmas and best wishes for 2009.
Regards

Peter

[Henrico]

Originally Posted by Loser69

Yes indians built dubai - BUT - the best buildings were under the supervision of 'western' project and construction managers with 'western' QC standards.

The building will not fall down - but the guts will be crap, particulaly M&E and the finish will be poor. The flats will not cope in rain and the floor drains will be a constant problem.

In this climate there will be cost cutting on finish - expect cheap composite crushed marble, cheap tiles, cheap fixtures and fittings, thin paint, cheap hollow doors, cheap elevator cars.

Also expect 25,000 aed service charges for little actual service and kiss the 'ultra 5 star lobby, luxury bathroom and state of the art gym goodbye.

Basically - expect a lemon built by the unskilled, managed by the incompetent.

Secondly i expect that some independent contractor will provide project management services to the developer including control of simplex and other contractors and serving developer in all relevant matters in order to satisfi the inversters that galadrais strongly depend on.

[DAYFox]

Great News! Work should start soon and we need somone please to give us some updates to check if work really starts..

http://www.cityofarabiame.com/wp-con...%20MILLION.pdf

[DAYFox]

i uploaded some pics from Wadi Tower plot (december 08).















Work is supposed to start really soon now, especially because a main contractor was announced last week.

Piling and shoring is already done.

I was a little shocked that not more was going on there when I visited the plot at beginning of december. But as per now it should already look different, because I heard work has started... Would be great if somone can double check..

[John Alexander]

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year to everyone.
Forget about all the worries and enjoy the festive spirit for few days.

[gypsyuma]

Hi Everyone,

I have been reading this forum for about a month now, and I just have a few comments.

First, someone had made a comment about a photo that maybe the photo wasn't COA because it was "so close to downtown". The buildings in the background actually are on SZR, they are the Burj Dubai currently being constructed and the Emirates Towers. So the buildings in the background were not "downtown".

Second, the completion date listed on my contract is for 2008. Galadari tried to get me to sign addendums changing that date, but I refused. Is anyone else in the same boat? I purchased my property at the very first launch of the COA, which I believe was in April of 2006. Not 100% sure about the date - would have to pull out the paperwork. I bought in Wadi Walk Phase I. My apartment is very close to the Mall of Arabia and Restless Planet - just a few steps away.

Third, I will likely be spending the summer in Dubai. I used to live there, but now live in the US. If the need is still there, I could be a point person in trying to get some clarity at that time. We shall see.

Alot changed after I purchased my property. For example, the payment structure. I have paid 75% of my purchase price already, and on time, so I am one of those saps who paid on time too. So I am curious about two things - the escrow option was not available at that time, so I paid to the general fund. Need to sort that out. Also, I am wondering about compensation, since my contract gives the Dec. 08 completion date, which is NOW! So really need to sort that one out I think!

Thanks

[zhouguoyaogeorge]

Best Wish for Everyone Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !