Shaikh Holdings won the ‘Best International Golf Development 2008’ award for their Sanctuary Falls development at the International Property Awards ceremony held recently at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Florida.

Shaikh Holdings is a leading Dubai-based real estate investment and development company.

The luxury residential golf development qualified for entry to the International Property Awards following its win of an unprecedented 6 regional awards at the CNBC Arabian Property Awards held in October at Dubai.

Kaiser Shaikh, chairman, Shaikh Holdings said: "It is indeed a privilege for us to represent Dubai and be here in the company of fellow developers from around the world that are creating some of the world’s highest caliber developments."

"Having Sanctuary Falls judged to be the best in the world amongst such quality projects is a huge achievement for our team and one that we are exceptionally proud of," he beamed.

"I would like to extend my appreciation to the entire Shaikh Holdings team and our family of partners - Leisurecorp, Arabtec, DSA Architects, Hirsch Bedner Associates, 40North, Scavolini, Archimedia, Bang & Olufsen, Míele, Quintessentially and HSBC. They have all truly embraced our vision for this community with dedication and passion, and have been integral in making it the world-class proposition that it is today," he added.

Last year the European Tour and Leisurecorp announced a partnership to create the Dubai World Championship, the world's richest golf tournament with a $10,000,000 prize.

Sanctuary Falls overlooks the Greg Norman designed Earth golf course at Jumeirah Golf Estates which will host this inaugural Dubai World Championship in November 2009.

Imran Shaikh, chief executive officer, Shaikh Holdings said: "Sanctuary Falls has gained a reputation as a luxury golf development that offers its residents a resort lifestyle in Dubai. As construction progresses on site, we are steadily moving forward on our promise of delivering a world-class community to Dubai."-TradeArabia News Service