Bahrain Masterplan: Affordable Housing in Bahrain is the Highest Priority

Interview with Aaref Hejres, CEO of Diyar Al Muharraq

Describe the current climate of the Bahrain real estate market. How hot is the market at the moment, what is your perception for this year 2011 and beyond?

I think that 2011 is an excellent year for Bahrain, especially in real estate development because of so many factors. The government doubled the budget of the housing project this year making it the biggest real estate budget to date in Bahrain. Besides this, due to the scarcity of the units as against the requirement there is a high demand for real estate developments in the Bahrain market. There are more than fifty thousand families who want to move into new houses and about eight thousand families every year who want to own their house.

Another reason why we think this year is good is that we have just finished our first landsite in Diyar and sold land worth $260 million to a private developer who will build affordable housing. We currently have four on-going projects in Diyar – the village project, the beachfront, the town center and the schools. These are all indications that the market is good and the demand is definitely there.

Additionally, this year we will have a few deals on some of the private sector parcels; we are now negotiating with them. It is one of the biggest projects in Bahrain. What helped us in the demand and the fact that the Bahrain market is a real market – this is what gave us the confidence to go ahead with these projects. Bahrainis want to live there as soon as possible.

We have already started the show villas that will be ready at the end of this year so people will be able to see what they are buying in terms of affordable projects, as well as the high end ones. Most of the projects, especially the ones for private developers, have been sold out. It is an indication that the market is positive and moving in the right direction.

The Bahrain’s population is expected to double to 2.6 million by 2030, which is an increase of 110% compared to 2010 according to Euromonitor. Do you think this fact is something to be taken into consideration by investors in the real estate sector?

Of course! If with the current population of Bahrain, which is around 1.2 billion, we have this demand, what if the population doubled? Bahrain, as a region, has a fast and high growth rate and the market has to go as fast as the population. Currently, there is not enough affordable housing in Bahrain and is is the highest priority in Bahrain master plan to focus on affordable housing.

This will constitute a new challenge – building new housing units and affordable housing units for the people of Bahrain. The strategy of Bahrain is to open up the country and attract investors. This will all add up to the existing factors in the market.

What makes Diyar Al Muharraq different and truly a great investment opportunity?

This is an easy argument to win! We have developers from all over the world, not only from Bahrain or the region. It is a self-contained city. This is a unique project where we provide the affordable mid, high, and luxury homes and housing.

Even before we started, we travelled the whole world to see the latest and best technologies, and we hired the best consultants. We do not go into competition, we always stay above it. We want to do the best for Bahrain and its people.

What is different? Everything is different.

In the master-plan we created more than 40 km of waterfront and beaches. We created green belts and trails for people to walk in shaded areas, as well as pedestrian and cyclist routes. You can enjoy the beach and the parks across the road from your house. I think the concept of a self-contained city is unique, a city where you live, work and enjoy life.

Everything is set up in the smallest detail in the master-plan. For example, if you want to buy a car, you find it at car showroom. If you need it repaired, you have the repair workshop. If you have a business, you can have everything there – your offices, storage, workshops, staff accommodation. I think the effort we put in and the challenges we overcome put us on the map as the best master-planin Bahrain.

I believe we drew a high standard for the way a city should be built, not only in the Bahrain region, but internationally. The DIYAR AL MUHARRAQ concept, I think, can be taught in school as a model of a groundbreaking yet efficient concept, which establishes a standard of living and focuses not only on luxury housing but also on affordable housing. It is a new concept for new cities as against the usual norm where people live, work, shop and enjoy themselves in different places. We have brought them all together in the master-plan.

Before we started, we of course conducted a market research and we interviewed people from all strata of society, gathering opinions from people coming from social background. We took people’s dreams and made it reality. That is the reason why we focus on affordable housing in the masterplan.

With this concept of building a city not only for the luxury market, but also with the emphasis on the affordable housing and all levels of population, you are sending a message to the world regarding your project and what you had in mind a long time ago.

This is what helped us grow. When we started the project, most of the developers in Bahrain wanted the high end and not affordable housing. But the demand is not there now. The highest demand in Bahrain now is for the affordable housing and many high-end properties remain unsold today.

In DIYAR AL MUHARRAQ master-plan, we have a smaller percentage of high-end properties, so we have a balance between the luxury housing and affordable housing ensuring that there is still a demand for that standard of luxury. We are confident and proud of our master-plan. I think the amount of time and effort we put in, have paid off putting DIYAR AL MUHARRAQ right at the top. I would say that the master-plan of DIYAR AL MUHARRAQ is among the best master-plan in Bahrain if not the best master-plan in the World.

The reclamation for stage 1 of the project is now complete and infrastructure work is on the way. Work is expected to be fully completed in 10-15 years. How are you progressing with the project and what are the major challenges that Diyar Al Muharraq is facing today, as well as when the project will be completed?

DIYAR AL MUHARRAQ is all about challenges from Day 1. We created a challenging environment, with a strong system of checks and balances in place. Nothing is taken for granted. No matter whom we work with, we make sure their credentials stand because we are sincere in our emphasis on always the best. When you challenge something, you inevitably get the best out of it.

We always work with reputed international consultants, while also using the finest local experience. I think the marriage between international consultants and local experience has produced wonderful results for DIYAR AL MUHARRAQ and its master-plan. The size of the project creates a constant need for construction, material, suppliers and we need the best of everything. In terms of technologies too, we brought the most proven and efficient systems available internationally.

We have introduced and included in the master-plan many new concepts, such as the international market where you experience different cultures and where you can imagine that you are visiting different countries while being right here. We are now in talks with China to bring in the Chinese market like the Dragon Mall, though a smaller version into our master-plan. We have provided the infrastructure and detail so that everything is there in order to satisfy all needs and ages. We will introduce anything in the master-plan that we consider will add value to Bahrain and its people.

What do you think will make Diyar one of the best communities in the world?

The aim of DIYAR AL MUHARRAQ and the master-plan has been conceived accordingly is to ensure that everybody even the affordable housing units enjoy the best environment, challenging every conventional expectation and concept. When you look at the master-plan, all our buildings have beautiful views, be it water or park views. The zoning is convenient, meant for pedestrian access to different areas. You can walk from your house to the school, to work or to the beach. It does not compare to anything that has been previously done. I think that working on a blank sheet gave us the advantage to build the perfect city.

We are making sure that we have everything within DIYAR AL MUHARRAQ master-plan that contributes to the landscape, the work environment and the lifestyle. We invested a lot on details in the masterplan and I believe the details always make the difference.

Do you have a final message regarding the country itself?

Bahrain is known internationally as a business friendly place, but I personally feel that it is unique because Bahrain is small and beautiful. It has all the elements to attract investors and it has the environment to expand to a larger scale.

I have seen that those who live in Bahrain do not want to leave it because of the whole package it provides – people, environment, infrastructure. And with this coming project, it will add something more to Bahrain master-plan so that Bahrain will play an even bigger role in the future.