Qatari firm to develop major tourist complex in Khartoum
Oct 1, 2006 (DOHA) — A Qatari real Estate firm and the Sudanese government signed a deal to develop a tourist and residential complex in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
The Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company (QDREIC) has signed a major investment agreement for the development of a 100,000 square meter tourist and residential resort on the banks of the Blue Nile, across from the Presidential Palace in Khartoum, Sudan.
The deal, signed by state-run QDREIC and the Sudanese government, is the third overseas venture to have been announced by Qatari Diar.
“This is a vote of confidence by Qatari Diar in the future of Sudan and a signal to the world that this country can attract major overseas investment,” said Qatari Diar’s CEO, Nasser Hassan Al Ansari.
“The agreement marks the entry of Qatari Diar into the Sudanese market where we are investigating further development opportunities.” The initial project, he added, “will be a mixed-use development with a five-star hotel, restaurants, cafes, rest chalets, entertainment, retail and commercial facilities, and a sports club,” he added.
The agreement with Sudan was signed in Doha by Qatari Ansari and the Sudanese Minister of Physical Planning & Public Utilities, Abdelwahab Mohamed Osman, in the presence of the Governor of Khartoum, Abdelhalim Ismael Al Mutaafy and the Sudanese Ambassador to Qatar, Ibrahim Abdullah Faqiri Ibrahim.
This project confirms the interest of Gulf investors, flush with cash from the oil boom and seeking to expand beyond the Arabian Peninsula, to get in at the start of what they hope will be Sudan’s postwar recovery.
A first project for the development of Khartoum, Alsunut, a behemoth of a residential and office project is now under construction on 65 hectares (160 acres) of land where the Blue and White Niles converge. The $4 billion project, the result of a public-private partnership between the government and DAL Group, Sudan’s leading company, will transform the city by adding 63 towers varying between 15 and 35 floors in height. Over half the office space has already been sold to local and foreign companies.
(ST)