Dubai based Union Properties received bookings for all villas and apartments in its Green Community West and Uptown Mirdiff developments within two hours of sales opening yesterday, even though prices have not yet been finalised, reported Gulf News. GCW has 580 villas and 270 apartments and is expected to be completed in 30 months, while UM has 97 villas and 395 apartments and is due for handover by Q3 this year.

The ARY Group is building the UAE’s tallest media tower at Dubai Media City. The 45-storey ARY Digital Tower will house ARY’s studios and corporate head office, as well as separate residential and commercial areas for offices and shops. There will also be production facilities available for use by local and international producers. The tower is due for completion in early 2007.

Dubai based ETA Star Property Developers has launched sales of Liberty House, a freehold office and residential development in the Dubai International Financial Centre. It has two retail areas, eight floors of freehold offices and is offering 208 studios, 120 one-bedroom apartments and 44 two-bedroom apartments for sale.

Emaar is now selling residential units at its 39-storey Quay West development, part of the Marina Quays project at the Dubai Marina. QW has a selection of one and two bedrooom apartments offering waterfront views and nearby mooring facilities. Sales are open at the Dubai Marina Sales Centre from Thursday, February 24, between 09:00-19:00.

Home Owner Dubai 2005, to be held at the Madinat Arena, opens tomorrow, February 24. The three-day conference will bring together the big players in the local real estate sector including developers Emaar and Dubai Properties, and finance providers National Bank of Dubai and Amlak Finance. Opening times: for 24th and 26th, 10:00-18:00; for 25th, 14:00-20:00.

Jade Development has launched The Jewels, its USD60m twin towers development located at the Dubai Marina, officials announced. The 20-storey towers will have one, two and three-bedroom apartments, duplexes, penthouses and lofts.

Aldar Properties is set to choose the architectural design contract for its USD354m Central Market development in Abu Dhabi. Five international architectural firms from the UK, Australia, Germany and the US have submitted designs for the 450,000 sqft site in the heart of Abu Dhabi for the retail, residential, office and hotel development project.

Dubai based Emaar will showcase its array of property projects at Home Owner Dubai 2005, from February 24-26. It will feature its Marina Quays at the Dubai Marina, Spanish-styled homes at Arabian Ranches, and Old Town development in its Burj Dubai District. Emaar sold over 8,000 homes in 2004.

The National Investor has announced that its Emirates Real Estate Fund has acquired the future cash flows of 27 Abu Dhabi residential properties developed by Al Ahmadain General Contracting. The Shari’a-compliant transaction, which is worth USD5.2m, represents the Fund’s second major investment in the booming Abu Dhabi real estate market. The USD31m fund was the first of its kind to be approved by the UAE Central Bank when it was launched in 2003.

UAE mortgage shop Tamweel has financed USD463m in property in its first year, and exceeded its 10-month operational sales forecast by nearly 20 per cent, becoming the region’s first financial institution to achieve a positive net profit in less than 10 months of operation. Nearly 41 per cent of clients are Arab, of whom 17 per cent are UAE nationals; 22 per cent are European and 29 per cent Asian.

Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority will build a 20m sqft food and beverage park for companies involved in food processing and packaging. The park will offer factory units and warehouses as well as on-site water treatment plant operators, cool and cold stores and specialist test labs. The park will be 10 minutes away from the proposed Jebel Ali airport.

Dubai Municipality expects to complete USD166m worth of roadwork construction by February 2006 to accommodate the Palm Jumeirah and adjoining development areas, according to DM Director-General Qassim Sultan. The network will be an interconnection of fly-overs, tunnels, ring roads, bridges and interchanges for the expected huge increase in traffic.

Dubai Investments PJSC is building a USD200m manufacturing plant for float glass. Emirates Float Glass plant will convert sand and other basic raw materials into glass sheets for architectural and automotive glass at a rate of 600 tons per day. The UAE has one of the highest per capita consumption of float glass due to its booming construction industry.

Dubai based Barclays Real Estate has launched an online property search website, barclaysuae.com. It offers a variety of properties with photographs, floor plans, pricing information and property specifications. It also provides information on property news and has a real estate guide and mortgage calculator.

Dubai Properties is showing its 64m sq ft Business Bay development at Home Owner Dubai, at the Madinat Arena on February 24-26. The Business Bay development stretches several kilometres along Dubai Creek and is claimed to be modelled on international centres such as New York's Manhattan and Tokyo's Ginza districts.

Le Meridien is offering short and long-term leases for its 205 furnished apartments at Grosvenor House West Marina Beach, Dubai. The hotel has 217 sea-facing rooms and 205 apartments with marina views. All apartments will have 24-hour butler and room service, as well as access to 13 restaurants at Grosvenor House and the 14 outlets of its sister hotel, Le Royal Meridien.

Dubai-based ARY Group has awarded Metac Gen Contracting Company the contract to build a state of the art gold refinery, ARY Aurum Plus. AAP will have a capacity of 200 tons per annum, minting coins, small and large bullion bars and jewellery. The facility will also offer visitors a chance to see the refining process in action, with a special glass walkway.

The Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority has launched its South Zone project which will develop specific industry sectors through eight different clusters at a cost of USD545m. The eight clusters are Dubai Distribution Centre, Digital Valley, Construction Square, Pharma-Med Park, Chemical & Plastic Field, Paper Pack Zone, Fragrance & Beauty Park and Food & Beverage Park.

UAE developer The Armada Group has awarded the USD3.7m contract for construction of its headquarters at Dubai Internet City to Dubai-based Al Kaitoob Bldg Contracting. The four-storey building will have a total floor office space of 1.1m sqft and is expected to be finished in 12 months.