Falcon City to announce $2bn in new developments – report

Falcon City of Wonders, one of Dubai’s most extravagant real estate projects, will reportedly gain much needed tractions this year with $2bn in new developments.

Reuters reports that Salem Ahmad Almoosa Enterprises, the family-owned conglomerate that is spearheading Falcon City, has retaken control of much of the development after sub-developers delayed construction.

“When we sold these we made it very clear, they had to start construction immediately and they kept on delaying,” Falcon city of Wonders vice chairman Alharith Almoosa told the newswire.

Only around a tenth of the projects 5,500 planned homes have been finished since 2005 and none of the wonders, including replicas of the Pyramids and Taj Mahal, that give the city its name have been completed.

Almoosa said Falcon City has now retaken control of more than 10 sub developments, including residential units, retail, offices and hotels, through regulation, arbitration or amicable agreement.

He said the overall project could still be completed by 2020 and that the company was in talks with new investors but declined to reveal how the $2bn in new developments would be funded.

Dubai real estate is proving a hard sell at the moment with property prices in decline and many agents expecting further reductions this year. Average property prices fell be 11 per cent last year, according to real estate consultancy Asteco.