File photo of Brookfield Property Partner’s chief Ric Clark.Tibor Kolley/The Globe and Mail
Brookfield Property Partners LP plans to start building the first commercial tower to be developed in Dubai's financial district since the global credit crisis seven years ago.
The New York-based company and Dubai's sovereign wealth fund, Investment Corporation of Dubai, will split the cost of the 53-storey tower in the Dubai International Financial Centre, the companies said in joint press conference Wednesday.
Construction of the 1.5 million square-foot (139,000 square-metre) tower, designed by Foster + Partners, will start immediately and finish by the end of 2018, the companies said. The building is expected to have a value of more than $1-billion when finished and will be financed by loans from various banks, Brookfield chairman Ric Clark said.
The development comes as falling oil prices put pressure on spending in the Gulf region. Governments are cutting subsidies and tapping into reserves built up during the period of high crude prices.
"Dubai's economy doesn't rely on the energy industry at all and I think, as a consumer, they are probably benefiting from low oil prices," Clark said. Large companies looking to be in the region will use Dubai as a hub because of the great quality of life, creating demand for offices, he said.