India's Sobha Developers to break ground on $3b Meydan Project in 2013

Manama, Oct. 3 (ANI): Indian multinational real estate firm Sobha Developers have said it would start work on the three billion dollar Dubai Meydan City Project by early next year. "We have finalised the master-planning and designing of the project, and upon receiving necessary approvals from the authorities, we hope to break ground early next year, when we will also commercially launch the project to buyers," Ajay Rajendran, Vice-Chairman of Sobha Developers, told Gulf News. According to the report, it is the first project to be announced since October 2008, when the global financial crisis badly affected the region's real estate business, and forced many developers to stall or cancel their projects. Sobha Developers decision to invest in a major project in spite of the economic downturn has raised many eyebrows. "None can see the top while at the bottom. Most opportunities come during the downturn. You need to be able to see those," P.N.C. Menon, the Chairman of Sobha Developers told Gulf News when asked why he was defying the downturn. He said that there are two major locations where property prices will appreciate. "These are the peripheries of Burj Khalifa and Dubai Marina. You cannot go wrong if you invest in these areas. And, I am a long-term believer of Dubai's future. There is no other global city between London and Hong Kong than Dubai. So, it's just a matter of time for demand to come back," he explained. Sobha City, located within a distance of four kilometers of Burj Khalifa, will have 280 villas, a cluster of garden homes, nine towers, retail facilities within Meydan City. Rajendran said the project will take around seven to eight years to complete. (ANI)