Dubai-based real estate developer Damac Properties has been named the ‘Middle East Developer of the Year’, at a recent VIP International event in London.

Damac was presented the accolade at the OPP Awards for Excellence gala dinner, following a host of recent high profile project launches and completions.

“Being named the best developer in the whole of the Middle East by the judges of the OPP Awards is a huge honour and due recognition for the hard work of all of our teams over the past year,” said Niall McLoughlin, senior vice president, Damac Properties.

“Dubai is on an upward trajectory and the awarding of Expo 2020 will only further define the city as a leading player in the international markets.”

“There was a great deal of buzz about the Dubai property market at the event following the voting for the OPP Awards and Dubai can expect an influx of international business in the coming seven years following the Expo 2020 award,” he added.

Damac Properties has completed 8,887 units to date and has a further 23,688 units at various stages of progress and planning across the Middle East region.

This year the company started construction on the 42 million sq ft ‘AKOYA by Damac’ master plan development off Umm Suqeim Road in Dubai. The project includes mansions, villas, luxurious apartments and a retail centre, all surrounding an 18-hole Championship Golf Course ‘The Trump International Golf Club, Dubai’. The project also includes a dedicated 4.3 million sq ft of open parkland, which will be a first-of-its-kind development in the region.

Damac Properties is also working on collaborations with other globally-recognised brands including Paramount, FENDI and Versace. Damac Towers be Paramount, a US$1 billion hotel and luxury serviced apartments, is currently under construction in the Burj Area of Dubai, with Damac Esclusiva and Damac Residenze, luxury living concepts in Saudi Arabia and Dubai Marina, being built with FENDI Casa interiors.

The company has also completed a number of notable projects in the UAE this year, including The Summit, a 50-storey luxury serviced hotel apartments project in the heart of the Burj Area, Dubai. The tower, which overlooks the world’s tallest tower and world’s largest mall, is Damac Properties’ first serviced apartment project to begin operation.

Managed by its hospitality division, Damac Maison will provide bespoke hospitality services to residents in 7,351 serviced hotel apartments by the end of 2017.

“Damac Properties has now collected almost 50 awards since its inception just over a decade ago as we strive to deliver the most luxurious living concepts in Dubai and the Middle East. Unique brand collaborations with the likes of The Trump Organisation, Paramount, FENDI and Versace add to the quality and luxury we can offer discerning clients looking to invest in the Dubai real estate market,” concluded McLoughlin.

Real estate consultants CBRE issued a report this week stating that the World Expo 2020 will act as ‘a major catalyst’ for future growth in the emirate, and Dubai was already experiencing a 4.5 percent growth in apartment valuations quarter-on-quarter and 28 percent year-on-year. – TradeArabia News Service