Two year itch

European property investors involved in a major development in Dubai are asking the authorities to step in amid claims that no work has been carried out for more than two years...

They bought units in the Jumeirah Waves Business Towers project in Jumeirah Village South, a commercial development project that comprises three identical towers, and want a refund and compensation as there has been no significant work for almost two and a half years.

They also claim that they do not believe that the lack of construction work is anything to do with the global economic downturn.

The group of investors wants the Government, Real Estate Regulatory Agency and master Developer of the JVS project, Nakheel, to intervene in the dispute with project developer High Rise Properties.

They warn that a protracted conflict could potentially hurt overall investor confidence in Dubai and ultimately deliver a negative impact on Dubai and the United Arab Emirates' investment landscape.

'It has been more than two years since our group and other investors have purchased units in the JWBT development but until now the project area is still undeveloped and the developer has remained elusive and unable to give us a reasonable time table for the development,' said Richard Moore, Group Spokesman.

'There is certainly a breakdown in transparency and accountability somewhere and we urge the concerned Government authorities in Dubai, mainly RERA and Nakheel, to step in and resolve this problem before it gets out of hand and negatively affects investor confidence in Dubai,' he added.

The property investors say they are fed up with excuses and promises. 'It is not just the money that we have invested in this project that's at stake here, this kind of attitude by a developer will certainly cause further damage to the reputation of Dubai's real estate sector at a time when the industry is supposed to be consolidating its forces and building its image to limit the ill-effects of the global financial crisis,' he continued.

No one from High Rise Properties was available to comment.

Source: www.propertywire.com