Affordable housing? Bring it on, says Dubai developer

Dubai - Nshama launches mock-ups of two townhouses in its mid-income community Town Sqare

Seeing is believing. To make sceptics believe that affordable housing is no pipe dream in Dubai, private developer Nshama launched a preview of two townhouses in its mid-income community, Town Square, on Al Qudra Road.
Recent reports from consultancies claim that developers largely resort to cheaper materials and specifications to reduce their construction costs, leading to lower quality of build in affordable homes. Defying such reports, Nshama has demonstrated how optimal utilisation of space can enable mid-income Dubai residents to maximise value for their money. They will soon open mock-up apartments in Town Square.
"Quality in our units will be maintained. We use good materials and the workmanship is high quality. Quality for apartments will be comparable with these townhouses. We aim for a quality product at the right price," says Fred Durie, CEO of Nshama.

Infobox What you get for your money  A three-bedroom townhouse in Town Square has a living area of 1,667 sq ft and a price tag of Dh1.2 million.  A four-bedroom townhouse has a living area of 1,885 sq ft and a price tag is Dh1.35 million.  A one-bedroom apartment is priced at Dh614,888 and a three-bedroom apartment costs Dh1 million.

Construction is currently in progress on 1,050 townhouses and 1,100 apartments, in addition to other infrastructure work.
The first phase covers around 40 per cent of the 750-acre development. Al Naboodah Contracting has completed the grading for the entire site. Binladin Contracting Group have been entrusted the deep services work. Shallow services are under way and will be finished in September.
Contracts awarded
Nshama awarded the construction contract of the Zahra and Hayat townhouses to Beaver Gulf Group. United Engineering Construction are building the Zahra and Safi apartment blocks in Town Square and they are two months ahead of schedule, says Durie.
Emaar District Cooling will provide district cooling services in Town Square for 30 years. Town Square will be the only community in Dubai with a central gas plant. Al Dharis SPF has been awarded the contract for the design, construction and supply of LPG to the homes. 
Residents are expected to start moving in by the end of 2017 and early 2018.
Structural works are ongoing for the Zahra and Hayat townhouses while excavation and piling on apartments will begin this month.
Nshama has already sold over 2,000 units to date. New launches are being planned soon. "We are ready to start launching about 200 to 300 apartments in a week or two. We want to make sure the design is complete, contracts are tendered and ready to award and then launch. We will launch more townhouses in Q3 or Q4 this year," explains Durie.
Nshama has spent Dh2 billion on infrastructure and construction work on the apartments and townhouses so far. "We want to launch 2,000 units a year. We have a 10-year timeframe to develop the entire community," adds Durie.
Town Square will be anchored by a central square that is the size of 16 football fields. A third of the central square will be ready once residents move in by 2018. The remaining part of the square will by ready by 2020. It will feature a Vida Town Square Dubai hotel, a Reel Cinemas cineplex and open-air cinema and a 2.5 million sq ft retail precinct with 600 stores and F&B outlets.
The developer is in discussions with two school operators.
"We will begin tendering for the first phase of roads in Town Square and construction will commence in Q2 this year," informs the CEO of Nshama.
- deepthi@khaleejtimes.com