Investor wins compensation from developer over stalled Abu Dhabi project

An arbitration case has been won against Dubai developer, Tameer Holding , over the stalled Dh7 billion Tameer Towers project on Abu Dhabi's Reem Island, according to law firm House of Justice.

Stalled construction of Tameer Tower on Reem Island, Abu Dhabi. According to the law firm House of Justice representing some investors, one of cases against Tameer Holding has won compensation from the Dubai developer. Sammy Dallal / The National / March 6, 2014Show less

ABU DHABI // A law firm has won one of the cases it is handling for investors in a Reem Island project where construction stalled in 2011.

House of Justice is representing a group of investors in the Dh7 billion Tameer Towers, four residential blocks that were scheduled to be completed that year.

“The arbitrator has granted all our requested claims and even allowed the compensation for the loss of rent of the unit from the completion date up to the date of the award,” Khalfan Al Kaabi, managing partner at House of Justice, said on Thursday.

“We are absolutely delighted with this judgment.

“We are progressing well in other cases and anticipating similar results soon, as they are identical to this case,” Mr Al Kaabi said.

Tameer Holding, the Dubai-based developer, on Thursday declined to comment about this lawsuit or the future of the project.

Mazen Rahhal is an investor in the project, but he had not filed a case against Tameer because he was worried about the legal costs.

He said the developer had announced that work would progress on two towers, A and B, but “nobody knows” about towers C and D. He believed a fifth commercial tower was also part of the project.

Mr Rahhal, a Syrian, said he had paid about Dh500,000 towards a residential flat in Tower D, including mortgage fees.

While he said Tameer may be at fault, he thought more could be done to prevent similar situations occurring.

“The Government should protect the investor,” he said. “The justice system here in the UAE is evolving and developing very, very fast.”

The Tameer Towers section on the company’s website lists only towers A and B. It says they will consist of 1,050 residential units – studios and one, two and three-bedroom units and penthouses – as well as eight retail units and about 1,200 car-parking spaces.

The towers will also feature sea and canal views, a swimming pool and a gymnasium.

Johann Johannson, another investor who was not among those who filed cases against Tameer, said he invested 25 per cent of the price of the Dh2.1 million apartment, which he said was one of the less expensive properties.

He said investors were initially optimistic about the property but the situation had “turned into a nightmare”.

Tameer was “really eager to sell out all of the units to the investors in the beginning and it was a very sort of hot deal, and there was a lot of promises made that turned into nothing”, said Mr Johannson, who is from Iceland. “All it was was just promises, and there was no action from their side.”

He said he goes once a month to check on the site but has seen no activity and that the site has started to deteriorate.

Tameer has also developed Dubai Marina’s Princess Tower, described as the world’s tallest residential building at a height of 414 metres. Other projects include the 391m Elite Residence at Dubai Marina and Regal and Silver Towers in Dubai Business Bay.