Gulf Construction Online - Arada wins success despite challenges

Northern Emirates

Nasma Residences ... 993 homes to be handed over by the year-end.

Arada wins success despite challenges

Undaunted by the current crisis, Arada is looking to handover all homes in the first phases of its debut project Nasma Residences while at Aljada, its Dh24-billion ($6.53-billion) megaproject, the developer continues to launch work on further residential phases.

01 November 2020

Arada, the developer focusing on building fully integrated communities in Sharjah, has seen remarkable progress over the past year on the two projects it has launched since its inception in 2016.

Over the last 12 months, construction on the projects – its debut development Nasma Residences and the Dh24-billion ($6.53-billion) megaproject Aljada – has continued at pace despite the challenges posed by the global Covid-19 pandemic, with deliveries of homes and public facilities taking place.

All homes in the first phases of Nasma Residences are expected to be handed over by the end of this year; while Aljada marked a major milestone in February with the inauguration of Madar at Aljada, its family entertainment destination, and is set to deliver its first homes shortly.

Aljada, Sharjah’s largest-ever mixed-use megaproject ... taking shape.

“The first half of this year has been immensely challenging but at the same time full of opportunity,” Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, CEO of Arada, tells Gulf Construction. “In terms of sales, we have seen growth of just over 10 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, which is an impressive achievement in the context of the difficulties associated with the global pandemic, as well as consumer sentiment in the UAE more generally, particularly in the real estate sector.”

He continues: “We saw sales increase by six per cent in the first half at Aljada, the Dh24-billion mixed-use megaproject in the heart of New Sharjah, and also sold out one of our premium apartment buildings – consisting of 153 luxury units – in the space of one week towards the end of June. We have now sold just over 5,800 units at Aljada in total, which means we have sold about a quarter of this incredible megaproject.

“At Nasma Residences, sales rose by 21 per cent in the first six months, and the first five phases of this incredible community have already sold out.

The Discovery Centre at Madar at Aljada.

“There are a number of reasons behind this performance. Sharjah itself has again proved itself a destination with significant investment demand, even as some of its neighbours face challenges with oversupply and weakened interest. We are also clearly seeing the effects of physical handovers at both of our projects; investors now have proof of Arada’s ability to create beautifully designed and landscaped communities. “

He adds that it is also due to the fact that investors, particularly Emiratis, are still buying real estate. “If you look at other types of investment – whether it’s stocks, commodities or private equity – recent experience has shown that there is risk everywhere. Property is still a safe long-term investment, and if you have a fantastic product, with amazing facilities and design, all at a good price point, then our experience shows that people will buy,” Alkhoshaibi remarks.

Nasma Residences

Nasma Residences is situated in the heart of New Sharjah, close to the junction between Maliha Road and Emirates Road. The community features a retail hub, Nasma Square; a leisure and retail complex, Nasma Central; an international school, a mosque and three landscaped parks.

The project has seen considerable progress over the last 12 months, and all 993 homes in the first five phases of the project are scheduled to be completed and handed over by the end of the year, alongside Nasma Central. Work on the 13-acre landscaped park will also be completed by the end of 2020.

Work on Phase One was carried out by Intermass Engineering & Contracting, which is also implementing Phase 2A, Phase Three and Phase Four. Phase 2B is being carried out by Klampfer Middle East, while work on Phase Five is being conducted by Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al Kharafi & Sons.

Other key players involved at Nasma Residences include Khatib & Alami, which is responsible for the masterplan and infrastructure design; Corodex (delivery of the sewage treatment plant); Arcadia Middle East (villa design and supervision); and Darwish Engineering Emirates (infrastructure construction).

The first five phases of Nasma Residences are now completely sold out. A sixth phase, which was launched for sales in September 2020, will be completed by mid-2022.

Work is well advanced on the Rehan Apartments at Aljada.

Aljada

Arada’s second project, Aljada, has also moved forward positively in the last year. Launched back in September 2017, it is Sharjah’s largest-ever mixed-use megaproject. A transformational project and the first of its type in Sharjah, Aljada is an all-encompassing 24-million-sq-ft ‘city within a city’, where residents, workers and visitors can live, work, relax and play all in the same space.

The highlight of the period has been the public opening of the first major component of the megaproject to be completed – Madar at Aljada. This family entertainment destination was formally launched in February 2020 by HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, during a special ceremony in the emirate. Madar at Aljada has been designed by renowned architects Zaha Hadid Architects, and the complex has already welcomed more than 500,000 visitors to Aljada.

Aside from the completion of Madar, the last 12 months have seen construction ramped up at the Aljada jobsite, where the developer is planning to hand over the first homes in Phase One. Featuring around 1,400 units spread over 14 apartment blocks and a villa community, Phase One is being built by three contractors - Modern Building Contracting Company (MBCC), Intermass and Klampfer Middle East.

In August, Arada announced that the contract to build East Village, the second residential phase of Aljada, which had been won by Best Building Contracting Company. The Dh423-million contract involves the construction of 2,000 units spread over 16 apartment blocks, set within a landscaped masterplan. Work on East Village has already begun and the first homes are scheduled for completion in December 2021.

Arada also recently launched a new premium garden villa community, Sarab 2, which features 114 villas and townhouses set in a lushly landscaped, exclusive neighbourhood.

Sarab ... a garden villa community.

Further contracts awarded during the course of the year include a deal to build Sabis International School – Aljada, to Al Zamalek Contracting, and the Dh103-million contract to develop infrastructure to support several residential phases, which was awarded to Al Marwan General Contracting in October.

Before the end of the year, Arada also expects to award the contract to build Nest, the student housing community that represents the third main residential phase of Aljada. In total, Arada will award more than Dh1 billion in contracts during the 2020 calendar year.

However, all companies have been affected by the events of 2020 and Arada has been no different. There were two main areas that were hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic; the first of these was development, where the company faced a huge number of challenges as soon as lockdown happened. This included the period when workers were unable to move between the emirates, which slowed down work on Arada’s sites.

The company also had to maintain the health and safety of its contractor workforce – a difficult logistical issue when there are thousands of workers on the same site. In addition, it also had to cope with a potential slowdown in its supply chain, especially with regard to the high-quality building materials that it sources from Europe. However, thanks to aggressive efforts to mitigate each obstacle, all of these challenges have now successfully been resolved, and work on project sites continues at a rapid pace, says Aljada.

The second area that was immediately affected was sales, where the company saw a drastic drop in the second half of March and the first half of April. However, since April, Arada has seen a dramatic rebound in sales, thanks largely to investor interest from Emiratis. That interest from UAE nationals has been complemented by project completions at both Nasma Residences and Aljada, which have allowed buyers to physically experience the quality of the product they are purchasing.

As a result, in the first half of the year, Arada’s sales rose by 10 per cent against the same period in 2019, and as of the end of September the company had sold over 1,850 units across both projects in 2020 alone.

Looking ahead, Arada is planning to launch the fourth phase of sales at Aljada and a third Sharjah project before the end of the year.