TECOM breaks ground on business hub for Dubai Internet City
TECOM Group in the United Arab Emirates has broken ground on its Innovation Hub Phase 2 in Dubai Internet City and says it is expanding its leasing portfolio to meet increased demand in the Emirate’s commercial real estate market.
The US$120 million new investment will offer customers high-quality commercial office properties, state-of-the-art office spaces and headquarters tailored to customer specifications says the Group.
"TECOM Group remains a pillar for Dubai's business hub proposition,” says Abdulla Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer of TECOM Group. “New regulatory frameworks and the ease of doing business are accelerating economic growth and reinforcing investor and business confidence. We're seeing the success of our leadership's economic diversification strategy reflected in our commercial and industrial real estate portfolio performance this year due to an influx of new companies and talent.
TECOM Group's third-quarter 2022 financial performance reflected the upward trend in the commercial real estate market. Revenue came in at AED 490 million (around US$133 million), increasing 12.48 per cent year on year driven by rising occupancy levels across the portfolio, especially office, warehouse, and worker accommodation, says the Group.
The Innovation Hub Phase 2 expands TECOM Group's assets with two high-end office buildings, four boutique offices, retail spaces and more than 800 parking spaces. To be completed by 2024, the Innovation Hub Phase 2 will provide more than 355,000 square feet of leasable area.
Innovation Hub home to Google, Hewlett-Packard, Gartner and China Telecom
Launched in 2018, the first phase of the Innovation Hub is almost at full capacity, providing tech giants like Google, Hewlett-Packard, Gartner and China Telecom a base in the region. With additional stages in the pipeline, the completed Innovation Hub project is expected to add more than 1.2 million square feet of space for technology, education and new media businesses.
Recent additions to Dubai Internet City include Motorola Solutions and Intel, while longstanding customers 3M, Visa and Meta upgraded to new headquarters in the past year.
According to the CORE Dubai Market Report Q3 2022, the Emirate of Dubai is seeing growth in new licenses and residents, boosting demand in the commercial leasing sector. The report also found that citywide office occupancy levels are the highest since the peak in 2014, up to 83 per cent in the third quarter compared to 78 per cent last year.
"Across our portfolio, existing customers are expanding their operations, complemented by an inflow of new foreign investment,” says Belhoul. “Bespoke solutions like the Innovation Hub address the need for high-quality commercial spaces, helping strengthen Dubai's position as an attractive global business and talent hub. It also cements TECOM Group as the emirate's largest commercial real estate owner and our key role in driving innovation and business growth development in Dubai."
