ABU DHABI // Teachers who were living at a residential development where a courtyard collapsed last year will be able to choose whether they return or not.
The courtyard at Al Rayyana development, on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, plunged one floor down into an underground car park on September 30. Eight cars were damaged but no one was injured in the incident, the cause of which is still being investigated.
Tenants, most of whom were teachers working for the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), were relocated.
Last week Al Rayyana’s master developer, Sorouh, said tenants are expected to be able to move back into the development in the third quarter of this year.
Adec has told The National that moving back or selecting Al Rayyana as a housing location is an option to any of its staff but none will be forced back there if they don't want to be there.
It said whether it places its employees there in the future depends on the “project safety condition” along with “assurances from the concerned government departments and the developer”.
One former Al Rayyana resident and Adec employee said he believed people had signed leases for new apartments and so would not go back.
“I think everyone seems to be quite content. It was a bit of an ordeal but it wasn’t the end of the world and everyone was safe. I think that was the main thing,” the teacher, who didn’t want to be named, said.
He said everyone he knew had been moved to accommodation on Reem Island and he believes that’s where the majority are.
“It’s closer to town so people are kind of happy about that. I don’t think I would move back to Al Rayyana,” he added, saying this would be based on preferring his new location, rather than any safety concerns about his former home.
Adec employees who were living at the site were given Dh3,000 after the incident to cover immediate costs, such as replacing food that had went off in their fridges and to buy new clothes after they were evacuated.
“We were told it was going to come out of our wages eventually but that was three or four months ago and we still have not got it taken off us, so whether they [Adec] will by the end of the year or not, I don’t know,” the employee said.
Last Wednesday, master developer Sorouh said tenants are expected to be able to move into the development between July and September this year.
“Remediation design is currently under way and tenants are expected to be able to move back into the development in the third quarter of 2013,” it said in a financial results announcement.
A spokesman for Sorouh, Abu Dhabi’s second biggest listed property developer, told The National that the collapsed courtyard has not yet been rebuilt but he said the company is currently designing how to rebuild and reinforce it.
“All the remedial works will be completed before any tenants are allowed to move back in,” he added.
Meanwhile, an investigation into the cause of the collapse continues.
“The official investigation is still ongoing with the authorities and details of which can only be released by the appropriate authorities at their discretion,” he said.
“It is unclear at this stage when the official investigation will be finished and it is for them to comment.”
There were just over 300 tenants in the 33-building development at the time of the incident, representing a 25 per cent occupancy.
Of these, 194 were Adec staff and the rest were employees of Défense Conseil International (DCI), a French government-related defence company.
The Sorouh spokesman said other developments were sourced and paid for by the company for the tenants to live in.
He told The National that the contracts both Adec and DCIG have with the master developer for their employees to have accommodation at Al Rayyana remain intact.
When asked if other courtyards at the currently vacant site were being reviewed, he said: “As you would expect, any similar structures are being reviewed as part of the investigation.
“We will take whatever measures are necessary to ensure we comply with the recommendations from the investigation.”
ecleland@thenational.ae
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
On the menu
First course
▶ Emirati sea bass tartare Yuzu and labneh mayo, avocado, green herbs, fermented tomato water
▶ The Tale of the Oyster Oyster tartare, Bahraini gum berry pickle
Second course
▶ Local mackerel Sourdough crouton, baharat oil, red radish, zaatar mayo
▶ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Quail, smoked freekeh, cinnamon cocoa
Third course
▶ Bahraini bouillabaisse Venus clams, local prawns, fishfarm seabream, farro
▶ Lamb 2 ways Braised lamb, crispy lamb chop, bulgur, physalis
Dessert
▶ Lumi Black lemon ice cream, pistachio, pomegranate
▶ Black chocolate bar Dark chocolate, dates, caramel, camel milk ice cream
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
