Dubai's Marina 101: Lenders look for a new developer to complete city's second tallest skyscraper

The skyscraper project hit trouble after original developer - Sheffield Holdings Limited - ran out of capital

View of the Dubai Marina in May, 2013. The 101-storey Marina 101 tower is in the centre. Antonie Robertson / The National

Marina 101 was set for completion in early 2015. Courtesy Sheffield Holdings

Dubai Marina is home to many lavish properties developed by leading real estate developers. Antonie Robertson / The National

The master bedroom of the three bedroom apartment in Marina 101. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

The living area which connects the dining area of the three bedroom apartment in Marina 101. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

The dining area of the three bedroom apartment in Marina 101. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

The family area of the three-bedroom apartment in Marina 101. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

India-based lenders are looking for a new real estate developer to complete the skyscraper Marina 101 project in Dubai, as its original developer Sheffield Holdings Limited left the project uncompleted after running out of money.

"Project is almost complete… over 95 per cent work is done. Currently, we are working with different stakeholders to reach a solution at the earliest," Ananda Kumar, general manager at Bank of Baroda for the Middle East, told The National.

Bank of Baroda is of the three Indian lenders of this project. Other banks include Indian Overseas Bank and Bank of India.

A new developer can ensure timely completion of the project and safeguard the interest of investors, who have bought apartments in the project, added Mr Kumar, who refused to divulge further details.

“This matter is under the jurisdiction of court now and it won’t be appropriate to comment on other details.”

The developer had sold apartments for more than Dh1 million but investors are still waiting for the final handover.

Owned by Indian business Abu Ali Malik Shroff, Sheffield Holdings had committed an investment of Dh1.2 billion in this project. Comprised of 101 floors, it is one of the tallest towers in Dubai Marina - rising to 425 metres and covering an area of approximately 1.65 million square feet.

Mr Shroff, who ran into financial troubles, was deported to India sometime back, confirmed Mr Kumar.

Sheffield Holdings, whose website was down and Dubai office phone number was not reachable on Friday, had earlier claimed that Marina 101 will be the second tallest building after Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Bank of Baroda has declared this project as a non-performing asset on a debt note, dated April 24, 2019, on its website.

“Bank of Baroda, along with Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank, intend to assign/sell the aggregate loan [financial asset] in the name of Sheffield Holdings [a composite hotel and residential project, named as ‘Marina 101’, at Dubai, UAE],” said the note.

For implementation of the project, a term loan of $95.28m (Dh349m) under club deal arrangement was sanctioned by three banks, which has now reached the value of $116.44m (Dh427m), said the notice.

According to the company’s catalogue of Marina 101, 32 floors of the building will host a luxury hotel, while another 42 floors will feature exclusive hotel apartments and residences will be from floor 80 to the top.

Construction of Marina 101 was started in 2007 and was scheduled for completion in 2014. Later it was pushed to 2017.