Al Fajer Properties Projects Are On Track

Al Fajer Properties announced yesterday the company is on schedule with the construction of all its projects. The company recently underwent a voluntary construction audit carried out by a Rera (Real Estate Regulatory Agency) approved independent third party. The results confirm that work on Phase 1 has neared 80 per cent completion and 15 per cent of construction has been completed on Phase 2 (including the Ebony and Ivory Towers) with work continuing. Progress on the project will be available on the Rera website shortly. The audit affirms that Al Fajer Properties have attained the highest level of transparency and is in full compliance with all Rera rules and regulations, the company said in a statement. The turnaround of the company started with an aggressive managerial restructuring that set a new direction for itself in early 2008.

This was followed by financial restructuring that resulted in a strengthening of the balance sheet by Dh3.2 billion. The restructuring involved removal of inefficiencies and strengthening of the company's operational capabilities culminating in a four day construction cycle per floor and the building of Phase 1 in record time. Phase 1 is due for hand over in the last quarter of this year. Often times in the past, a minority of companies in the sector, were led by brokers and sales agents who did not adhere to sound business methodologies as it was very easy to sell real estate due to the excessive demand. However, today Dubai like any developed economy is returning to fundamentals, said Shaikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum, President of Al Fajer properties.

I believe those companies with a strong focus on management and performance as their core competencies will be able to excel in the current market conditions. I am confident that we will continue to deliver measurable results through our performance and dedication, he said. He said: We applaud Rera in helping to further boost investor confidence. We believe that the Dubai market has matured and is best positioned to take advantage of any market recovery even though we may still face difficult times for the remainder of this year. We believe that we have passed the bottom in terms of bargain property prices for completed projects and projects under construction. With the introduction of third party construction auditors by Rera and publication of their results, Rera is in mid stream of changing Dubai's real estate market to a factual and rational one, maintaining the highest level of transparency.