• Barwa appreciates the efforts of the honored government headed by His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior to reduce the increase in rental rates.
• The project is a result of Barwa partnership with the Government of Qatar.
• Al Ali: Increasing shareholders' equity is our top priority without over-sighting our social and developmental role.
• Completion of the development of phase one ahead of schedule (less than one year) and commencing facility handover in June 2017.
• The most prominent car showrooms' leaseholders are Diyar Ezz Automotive Company, Oasis Cars, Auto Mart Gulf and the German Auto Specialist Center.
• Barwa: We appreciate the role of Diyar Ezz as one of the first leaseholders in phase one and we work with it to support the project as a main destination for the car market.
• Al Mohannadi: Sublease is not allowed and the project is aimed at combating speculations.
• Al Mohannadi: Rental rates are competitive and have been set based on extensive studies.
• Ample free parking for the visitors.
• Signing 90% of the lease contracts of the showrooms in phase one so far.
• Work is under way to commence the development of phase two to meet lease applications.
• Preparing a market survey to be aware of the demands for showrooms and identify the market needs to meet them in the coming phases.
Doha, May 14, 2017: Barwa Real Estate Group, one of the leading real estate and investment companies in Qatar and the region, has announced the completion of phase one of Madinat AlMawater project by the end of May 2017 and the start of facility handover in June 2017. Barwa has already completed construction of phase one in less than one year, as it was awarded to the contractor in July 2016.
Madinat AlMawater project is a result of the partnership between the Government of Qatar and Barwa Real Estate in order to find suitable solutions of the problems of rising rents and also to contribute to the urban development of the state and help solving the problem of car congestion in the streets of Doha.
Located within the urban extension of Doha, the project helps to address the problems of car congestion in the residential areas. The location of the project has been carefully selected as it is linked to new roads reaching both the western and northern parts of the State of Qatar. It is on Salwa International Road, at the intersection leading to Rawdat Rashid opposite Aqua Park, within 8 km from Abu Nakhla residential area, and only 11 km away from the Industrial Roundabout.
Once completed, the project will be the largest destination in Qatar for sale, purchase and maintenance of used cars of all sizes and types as well as spare parts. It comprises of development of showrooms, workshops, commercial shops and residential units, as well as a petrol station, inspection service for cars and service areas that include restaurants, mosques, and allocated area for auctions, traffic and health services among other services. It also provides large areas of designated car parking plots that will be free of charge for both tenants and visitors.
It is expected that the total cost of phase one will be approximately QR 140 million, and include 60 showrooms ranging between 400 square meters and 1,000 square meters as well as 10 shops and other services. It also comprises of the construction of the necessary infrastructure, including power substations and internal connecting roads, networks for potable water, fire systems, irrigation, rain, and sewage and their respective tanks. Phase one also comprises of 176 residential apartments, which Barwa is now considering -based on the requests of many of the tenants- the possibility of converting a number of them to administrative offices.
Barwa Real Estate has assigned the leasing of phase one to its subsidiary, Waseef which has received many leasing requests that exceed the total available space of the showrooms of phase one. As a result of that, work is under way to commence the development of phase two to meet increasing leasing demands.
The tenants of phase one have been selected according to a number of grounds, including available rental space, and being existing showroom owners and being active in the used car market. The company has started signing leasing contracts with the leaseholders where the percentage of the signed contracts reached about 90% of showrooms available in phase one. The most prominent leaseholders are Diyar Ezz Automotive Company, Oasis Cars, Auto Mart Gulf and the German Auto Specialist Center. The rest of the contracts will be signed during the next few days.
Waiting lists for oversubscribed applications have been prepared and will be prioritized in the coming phases. The company asserts that if any of the applicants to cancel the request, he should inform the company and that there are no fines. The company will then allocate the showroom to one of the applicants on the waiting list.
Currently, Waseef is preparing a comprehensive market survey to identify the needs of workers in the used-car business and its associated services in an attempt to meet these requirements in the coming phases.
H.E. Mr. Salah Bin Ghanem Al Ali, Chairman of Barwa Real Estate described the project as a fruitful result of partnership with the Government of Qatar in executing various real estate projects; the latest of which are Madinat AlMawater and Mustawdaat projects. H.E. expressed his deep appreciation of the efforts of the government headed by His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior to reduce the increase in rental rates and H.E. stressed that the completion of the development of phase one ahead of schedule reflects Barwa's keenness to move forward in achieving its objectives to develop sustainable returns for its shareholders by maximizing the Group's assets. He promised Barwa's shareholders to work with utmost effort in all projects to complete them as soon as possible in order to achieve the set objectives.
H.E. also stressed that Barwa is well aware of its responsibility as one of the pillars of development in Qatar and that the Group, its Board of Directors and all its employees are working hard to be up to this responsibility. He expressed his confidence that Barwa will be able to achieve its objectives through the unlimited support of His Highness Sheikh / Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Emir- God protect him and also the support of His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
For his part, Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Salman Bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi, said, "Despite many challenges and difficulties in the real estate market, with the directions of our Board of Directors chaired by H.E. Mr. Salah Bin Ghanem Al Ali, we are doing our best to meet the objectives and aspirations of our shareholders in terms of increasing their equity and returns as well as achieving sustainable growth without over-sighting the social and development role of Barwa real estate within the state and we are working hard to achieve the appropriate balance between these goals."
With regard to setting the rental price of phase one, Al Mohannadi stressed that Barwa's leading role in combating increasing rents is well-known and clearly demonstrated in rental rates currently applied in all the company's projects. He also stated that Barwa took into account extensive market studies and the prevailing rental rates for this type of business before setting the rental price for this project. It was found to be an average of QR 120 per square meter in Salwa Road and an average price of QR 200 in Doha residential areas, despite lacking sufficient areas for display and storage of cars or designated parking plots for visitors. Therefore, the rental rate per square meter of showrooms and allocated spaces for cars' display has been set at QR 30 that is much lower than the current market rates. Barwa has been keen to communicate with the applicants and listen to their various comments as some of these demands have been met, such as reducing the rents per square meter to be QR 20 in the first year, QR 25 in the second year and QR 30 in the third year. For example, if we take a showroom with an area of 400 square meters, the total rent for the first three years will be QR 360,000 in Madinat AlMawater, compared to QR 1,728,000 if it is located on Salwa Road and QR 2,880,000, if it is inside Doha as the current average rates in the market. Also, Barwa has been awarded all leaseholders a grace period of 3 months, which is long enough to complete all the finishing work of the showrooms. Moreover, rental apartment prices are set at very reasonable rates of any other projects similar in terms of quality and space.
Al Mohannadi stated that Barwa will be keen on preventing speculations in this project and will not allow sublease. This will contribute to promoting the principle of transparency and equality among leaseholders. He explained that there will be constant contact with the tenants of phase one to try to help overcome any obstacles they may face, especially at the beginning of the operation of the project. He explained that he is currently coordinating with Diyar Ezz - one of the largest companies working in the field of used car in Qatar and it is also one of the first leaseholders in the project - in addition to some other leaseholders so as to put visions regarding the ways of cooperation and communication between them and Barwa Real Estate. AlMuhannadi expressed his gratitude to all the leaseholders of phase one for their trust and their pursuit of partnership with Barwa to create a new destination that provides all the used car market requirements.
Al-Mohannadi also extended his gratitude to all the employees of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the Ministry of Municipality and the Environment as well as Kahramaa for their cooperation with the Group to complete the development of the phase one of the project at this record time.
Diyar Ezz:
Commenting on the project, Salem Nasser Al-Shingal, the owner of Diyar Ezz, one of the largest companies in new and used cars business in Qatar, said that he thinks that Madinat AlMawater will represent a major shift in the used cars sector. The project provides all activities and services related to this business with level of quality that is equal to and even surpasses all similar projects in the region, and this is achieved through the cooperation between the government and Barwa Real Estate which is a source of pride as one of the largest national companies in the real estate sector.
Mr. AlShingal continued to state that out of Diyar Ezz's belief in the important role the private sector plays in supporting the developmental plans of the country and also in the promising role that the project ensures for used cars business, the company was keen to be one of the first leaseholders in phase one. AlShingal stressed, "Although we are well aware of the challenges that will face us at the beginning of the project, however, we will work with Barwa to develop the necessary visions to support the project in its early phases and also to support all leaseholders who are proud to be the core of such a national project. This, in addition to our interest in enhancing the role of the private sector and being more effective in the economic development projects of the country in order to achieve a better future, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030. As investors in the automotive sector, we have to take on the responsibility for the success of such a project and complete it as soon as possible with the continued support of our Government to improve the private sector."
