Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) said it has redesigned the model of its flagship Moroccan project Royal Ranches Marrakech (RRM) from luxury large scale villas to mixed-use commercial and affordable housing amid changing market conditions in the country.

Announcing this on Sunday, GFH said its Moroccan project is undergoing critical modifications to adapt to the changing market conditions in Marrakech.

The modifications to RRM project will involve the re-master planning of the first district which will include an authentic “Medina” club houses, a medical & health spa, a traditional “Souk” shopping area and a boutique hotel, the Bahrain investment bank said in a statement.

The GFH move indicates a clear shift from the company's original plans for luxury large scale villas to small to medium-size apartments.

According to GFH, the existing infrastructure development of RRM is 45 per cent complete.

Following the financial crisis, there was ample influx of luxury villas in Marrakech, which has led to the modification of the original master plan in light of the prevailing market requirements.

RRM is now working on a revised time schedule for the completion of the first phase of the development, while focusing at the same time on attracting joint developers to undertake parts of the project, said the Bahraini firm in its statement.

The decision comes following the recent visit by a delegation representing GFH’s executives led by the acting CEO Hisham Alrayes to the project earlier last month.

During the visit  they concluded the restructuring of the projects financing with BMCE Bank, following the signing of the MoU in April and assessing progress on the development.
 
Commenting on the move, Alrayes said: "We understand that market needs can change overtime, and as such we make it our business to monitor these potential and actual changes as a matter of course."

"In order to better cater to local demand due to the market changes and the existing oversupply of luxury villas, we have taken the decision to alter the plan to include affordable residential units and medical health facilities, rather than the ranches and large scale villas as initially planned for," he added.-TradeArabia News Service