Kingdom of Sheba to come alive on Dubai's Palm by year-end

The Kingdom of Sheba on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah will see the first residents move into their homes by the year-end, a top company executive told Emirates 24|7.

“The project had some difficulties and has been delayed by a couple of years.

“The project is back on track as we have appointed a new contractor. We expect to hand over the residential units before year-end,” said Khaled Esbaitah, Chief Executive Officer, Middle East, IFA Hotels & Resorts.

The Balqis Residence, housing 300 units, is the housing component of the Dh3.67-billion development on Palm’s Crescent, which is modeled on Arabian architecture. Launched in December 2006, it covers an area of 141,500 square metres and includes a hotel, private residence club, vacation club and souq.

The company, listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, was expecting to complete the project by 2010, but was put on back burner after the global economic crisis.

The development was set for completion by mid-2010.

All pics courtesy Imre Solt

Prices for units range from Dh3.67 million ($1 million) to over Dh25.69 million ($7 million) for private beach villas and luxury penthouses.

In April, IFA Hotels & Resorts and Morgans Hotel Group Company, a US-based hospitality company, launched Delano Dubai, a 110-key hotel apartment project, part of the Dh2-billion The8, a mixed-used resort development, on Palm Jumeirah.

Delano-branded hotel apartments and freehold residential properties have been priced in the range of Dh2.5 million to Dh15 million.

JLL, a global real estate consultancy, expects Dubai to get 25,000 new housing units this year.

“The residential sector is likely to remain subdued over the next 12 months as the market is expected to absorb 25,000 additional units in 2015,” the consultancy said in Q4 Dubai market overview.

Emirates 24|7 has reported earlier that 78 new projects were launched in 2014 with the Dubai Land Department reviving at least 43 stalled projects worth over Dh10 billion through its Tayseer and Tanmia initiatives in the past few years.