Dubai Courts list sheds light on 36 cancelled projects

A total of 18 developers and 36 projects are named by Dubai Courts. The list should provide investors in the cancelled projects with a new timeline under which refunds could be forthcoming.

Dubai Courts has issued a list of cancelled property projects. Christopher Pike / The National

A list of 18 developers and 36 developments posted on the Dubai Courts website is believed to be the first definitive list of cancelled projects in the emirate.

While it is assumed that the list is meant to remove ambiguity over what developments are at what stage, in order to give investors clarity, Dubai Courts did not respond to interview requests from The National.

Still, the list should provide investors in the cancelled projects with a new timeline under which refunds could be forthcoming.

“Ultimately this is about improving transparency,” said Matthew Green, the head of research and consultancy at the property consultancy CBRE. “One of the main gripes of investors and people that work in the market is the lack of transparency, particularly around issues such as this. Which projects are cancelled, which are still valid. It gives more information to the investor as to what is attractive and what should be avoided. It is just one part of an overall strategy to get the market towards maturity. You would have access to this sort of information in any mature market place.”

The National attempted to contact the 18 developers on the list, which included Canadian, British and German developers alongside Arabian Gulf and other Arab companies, but found most numbers unobtainable with only two answering.

Middle East Development, with the cancelled City of Arabia, Windsor Residence in Dubailand did answer, and said it believed that the list did not tell the full story.

“I did not know we had been included on this Dubai Courts list,” said a Middle East Development spokeswoman who would give her name only as Rhoda.

“The cancellation of Windsor Residence was decided by Rera or Dubai Land Department. They cancelled the project, not us. The infrastructure was not ready and was not going to be ready, there is nothing there. We convinced 90 per cent of our investors to move to our other developments. Ten per cent decided they wanted their money back and now they will be waiting three or four years for it. It is only the lawyers win when you go to court, which is what we explained to our investors.”

While the list includes some of the leading companies of Dubai’s property landscape, it does not include some projects that are widely believed to be dead.

“The bureaucracy, in getting a development cancelled with a multitude of investors and other interested parties with differing wants and desires, will not always be easy,” said Mr Green. “I assume this list will grow as the market matures. It will help those that hope to get their money back and bring some clarity. Any information which adds to the overall picture will give all investors, both past and future, a greater depth of security in the market.”

The cancelled projects:

Remah Holding Limited

Tower 88

High Rise Properties LLC

Dorna Tower

Orchid Residences

The Heights-Golden

Waves Business Tower

The Heights-Silver

Rotating Residence

Heigh Rise Boulevard1

Heigh Rise Boulevard2

Alternative Capital Invest GMBH

Wings Of Arabia

Khyool Investment LLC

Abjar Tower

Faras 2

Makaseb Properties

Rufi Tower (Quattro)

Archery Tower

Rufi Lake View

Quattro West

Dheeraj & East Coast LLC

Cascade Manor

Merwess Abdulaziz

Azizi Feirouz I

Azizi Feirouz Ii

Azizi Feirouz Iii

Azizi Fountanne Tower

Bux Holdings Limited

Beti Ul Funoon

Cliff Dwellings Enterprises LTD

Global Golf Residence

Parshwa Holdings Limited

Sapphire

Galadari Investment Office Limited

G-Office Tower

Escan Real Estate PJS

Escan Tower

M E Development LLC

Windsor Residence

I.R. Investments Holding Company Limited

Tonino Lamborghini-Elettra Residence

Orbit Holdings LTD

Orbrit Holding

Al Zahra Properties

Eden 1

Eden 2

Sunset Gardens B

Sunset Gardens A

Sunrise 2

Hampstead & Mayfair Development Limited

Hampstead Residences

Zenith Real Estate Development LLC

Zenith Tower A3

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