Second phase of Dh450m Abu Dhabi project begins

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) said yesterday construction of the second phase of its Dh450-million Abu Dhabi One (AD-1) project has started.

ADCB said one of the two residential buildings in the project, located in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre's Capital Centre District (CCD) is targeted for completion by May 14, 2012. The building project manager is Abu Commercial Properties (ADCP).

"In line with the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision and ADCB's commitment to investing in the emirate, the building... will be one of the largest single developments in CCD," ADCB said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Blair Hagkull, Chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle (Mena region), a global property advisory firm, told Gulf News by telephone: "Certainly there's a large volume of new supply entering the Abu Dhabi market. Over the last year there has been a tightening of finance available for real estate developers. The Capital Centre District is well located and has a lot of central amenities nearby. So it's important for the project to be well priced because there continues to be some demand in the middle segment of the market."

The Capital Centre District will have a development area of 8 million square feet and will include 23 towers. The towers will feature five hotels, five commercial buildings, seven residential buildings of which five will be serviced apartments and six towers of mixed use.

"The Abu Dhabi 2030 vision is something ADCB fervently supports, and we see our investment in AD-1 as an initiative towards helping to achieve this vision. The beginning of construction of the AD-1 building demonstrates ADCB's commitment to the greater community and the successful future development of Abu Dhabi," said Abdullah Khalifa Al Suwaidi, head of government relations, ADCB. "We are looking forward to watching the progress over the next year," he added.