Edara wins SkyCourts Project, Plans to be Leading
Project Management Company in Duba

Dubai-based Edara LLC has been commissioned to provide project management services for the first National Bonds Dh1.5 billion real estate project SkyCourts in Dubai. SkyCourts is to be an affordable, yet upscale, freehold residential community in the heart of Dubailand, the emirate's upcoming leisure, tourism and entertainment destination.

The Dh1.5 billion SkyCourts development will offer over 2,300 apartments across six towers. Apartments will range in size from studios to two-bedroom units, with prices from Dh273,000 to Dh898,000.

The project is strategically located to overlook the luxurious
'The Villa' project and a number of other Dubai landmarks and will be easily accessible from key arterial roads including the Al Ain Road and Emirates Road. Residents will also have access to recreational and leisure amenities including health clubs and swimming pools, rooftop gardens and cafes, shops and free parking. All apartments were sold out in six days to bondholders, much earlier than planned.

Edara will provide project management services throughout the design and construction phases to handover. The project completion date has been announced to be in the first half of 2009. Edara has, in recent years, managed projects ranging from villas to large residential and leisure developments, commercial real estate, high rise, low rise and a racetrack.

Phill Edmondson, the general manager at Edara, said, "Our aim is to become the preferred provider of project management services in the region. We have the talent and experience to add significant value to any development."

Reported in www.Gulfnews.com on 8 January 2007.

Lack of Project Management Experts Hampers
Road Sector Projects in Pakistan

According to a story on www.onlinenews.com on Saturday, 6 January 2007, in Karachi, Pakistan, Federal Minister for Communication Shamim Siddiqui is quoted as saying that “lack of project management experts has delayed about 20 to 22 important road sector’s projects”, including the much important Islamabad-Murree project.

Minister Siddiqui said this while addressing a seminar on "Project Management" organized by the Institute of Engineers of Pakistan, in collaboration with the Pakistan Contractor Association and the Project Management Institute (PMI®), Karachi Chapter. The minister said that the present government has started many projects worth billions of rupees all over the country. Therefore, project management experts were needed to complete the projects efficiently. He maintained that as many as 46 projects worth Rs 400 billion in the roads sector would be completed by 2015.

Among the major projects being carried out by the government are Karakoram Highway, M-1, M-4, M-6, M-7, RCD, N 55Highway and Gawadar Hub Road and all these should be completed by 2015. To a query about Thatta Road he said that proper departmental investigation was being carried out as Sindh government has also complained about the project and the involved staff would be punished.

He lauded the organizers for holding the seminar on the topic of project management and said this is the need of the time which would benefit all the participant and stakeholders.