Aldar’s Yas Island project sells out in 48 hours

Aldar Properties said Noya Viva, the second phase of its Noya development on Yas Island, sold out within 48 hours of its launch.

It follows a first phase launch in November that sold out within four hours.

“Abu Dhabi’s real estate market continues to go from strength to strength, as demonstrated by the significant appetite for Noya Viva,” Rashed Al Omaira, chief commercial officer at Aldar Development, said in a statement on Monday.

“Central to this market-leading sales performance is Aldar’s commitment to addressing current market demand and launching customer-centric products.”

Aldar has already generated more than Dh1 billion of sales at Noya Viva, the UAE's biggest listed developer said. The development contains 480 properties, including four-bedroom villas and two- and three-bedroom townhouses.

Unit prices start from Dh1.65 million and are offered with a 40:60 payment plan, meaning 40 per cent is payable during construction and the remainder on completion. A 5 per cent down payment is required, according to the project's website.

So far, UAE nationals account for 61 per cent of buyers, women 26 per cent and under 40s 42 per cent, the developer added. Some 63 per cent are first-time purchasers from Aldar, the developer said.

Noya Viva is located in an investment zone on Yas Island, with properties available to purchase on a freehold basis for all nationalities.

Construction is due to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021, with the first handovers expected in the first quarter of 2024.

The property market in Abu Dhabi is expected to stabilise in 2021 amid balanced supply, according to a report from consultancy ValuStrat.

“Rents and capital values in established villa locations could stabilise and perhaps witness gradual appreciation. Apartments could follow suit towards the end of 2021,” the report said.

The focal point within the Noya masterplan is The Village, a community hub that will include a British curriculum school operated by Aldar Academies, shops and cafés, health facilities, a mosque and a library.

Aldar’s residential portfolio on Yas Island also includes Noya, Yas Acres, Water’s Edge, Lea, Ansam and Mayan.

Aldar Properties reported a 28 per cent increase in its fourth-quarter net profit in 2020 on the back of higher revenue. Net profit for the three months to December 31, 2020, jumped to Dh729m, the company said. Revenue grew 19 per cent to Dh2.53bn.

Alpha Dhabi Holding, an entity known until recently as Trojan Holding, bought a 12.21 per cent stake in Aldar Properties from Mubadala Investment Company for Dh3.5 billion ($953 million) on April 4. Mubadala will retain a 25 per cent stake and remain as Aldar's largest shareholder.

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six

Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm

Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm

Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual

Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km

On sale: Available to order now

Price: From Dh801,800

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo

Transmission: CVT

Power: 170bhp

Torque: 220Nm

Price: Dh98,900

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

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The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo

Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm

Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km

On sale: December

Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)

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Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

Gully Boy

Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.