This section presents Gangaramani J.R, Chairman of Al Fara a Group. Exclusive Interview

Transcription

1 This section presents Gangaramani J.R, Chairman of Al Fara a Group Exclusive Interview 22

2 GANGARAMANI J.R, CHAIRMAN AL FARA A GROUP BUSINESS WITH A HUMAN FACE BUSINESS, AS WE KNOW, IS ABOUT MONEY AND PROFITS AND BOTTOM LINE. HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME RARE BUSINESSMEN WHO USE HEART MORE THAN THEIR BRAIN IN GENERATING WEALTH. JR GANGARAMANI, CHAIRMAN OF AL FARA A CONSTRUCTION GROUP, IS ONE OF THOSE RARE BUSINESSMEN, WHO CONDUCTS BUSINESS WITH A HUMAN FACE. 23

3 Al Far a a is a ver y good success stor y of one of the UAE s home-grown companies and r eflects how honesty, sincerity and hard wor k, could fetch success. T he company s such a massive success stems from the 28-year hardwor k and dedication and leader ship of Gangar amani. T he group has r ecently launched its proper ty division, Al Far a a Proper ties, to tap the region s growing real estate mar ket. Al Far a a Constr uction Group, a UAE-based multi-discipline constr uction conglomer ate, will develop up to 10 projects in the coming months, with a development v alue exceeding Dh2.5 billion, a top official said. As a group, we alr eady have Dh4.5 billion constr uction wor ks at hand, J.R. Gangar amani, chair man of Al Far a a Constr uction Group, told Proper t.ae in an exclusive inter view. T hese include constr uction of major tower s and projects as well as supply of r eady-mix concrete, interior s and other s. Recently, we have been awarded a Dh640 million contr act for the constr uction of Abu Dhabi Fish Mar ket by EMKE Group. T he company, which has eight building materials and constr uction subsidiaries, is also planning to expand into India, the UK and Jordan. Al Far a a Group, established by Gangar amani in 1980, has 13,000 employees. NATASHA GANGARAMANI, DIRECTOR On the proper ty development ar ea, we have alr eady ear mar ked projects to be built on 20 plots of land in Dubai, of which we have r eleased only two with eight mor e in the pipeline, he said. COMPANY PROFILE Al Far a a Proper ties was established by the Al Far a a Constr uction Group and lever ages the Group s 27 year s of experience to build a wor ld-class, professional and client-oriented proper ty development ar m. T he ser vices offer ed by Al Far a a Proper ties include proper ty development, sales, management, investment por tfolio, facilities management, leasing and cor por ate client consultancy. Bor n out of the Al Far a a Group s cor e v alues of integrity, customer satisfaction, building par tner ships, ethical and professional ser vice deliver y, and commitment to enhance customer v alue, Al Far a a Proper ties will keep on tr ack to become one of the pr emier developer s in the r egion. Al Far a a Constr uction Group has a solid tr ack r ecord of mor e than 27 year s, executing pr estigious projects in the UAE, building a r eputation for delivering outstanding client v alue and completing projects on time and within budget. It is a conglomer ate of leading business entities including Unibeton, Belgium Aluminum and Glass and Al Sabbah Electro Mechanical. Unibeton, is the mar ket leader in r eady mix concr ete, and r ecently cr eated histor y by pouring a r ecord 22,000 m³. of concr ete in less than 35 hour s at Al Attar Sky Spir al, Dubai. Belgium Aluminum and Glass is UAE s lar gest ser vice provider for the fabrication and installation of aluminum and glazed str uctur es and decor ative metal wor k. Other business entities of Al Far a a Group deals in contr acting, pr ecast, joiner y, and steel str uctur e, covering the entir e domain of the Constr uction Industr y. Led by a team of experienced engineer s, manager s and technical exper ts, Al Far a a Constr uction Group utilises the most adv anced technology and offer s multidisciplinar y ser vices through one client interface, which r educes costs, simplifies the most complex projects, and enables the company to deliver pr emium v alue to the client. 24

4 FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: NAVAID CHAUDHRI, CEO, AL FARAÍA PROPERTIES; ENG. HASSAN KALLAS, GENERAL MANAGER, AL FARAÍA PROPERTIES; RAMI JOUDAH, NATIONAL SALES MANAGER, EMIRATES ISLAMIC BANK; J.R. GANGARAMANI, CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, AL FARAÍA CONSTRUC- TION GROUP; ANIL ADNANI, CEO, LOTUS GENERAL TRADING COMPANY; ADEL SALEH MOHAMMAD, CHAIRMAN, AL FARAÍA CONSTRUCTION GROUP. Al Far a a Proper ties, meanwhile launched T he Manhattan, a Dh353 million-luxur y apar tment complex located within Jumeir ah Village, at Cityscape Dubai T he Manhattan is inspir ed by the urban r esidences of 1930 s New Yor k, and offer s a total of 355 units, which comprise a selection of studio, one, two and thr ee bedrooms apar tments. T his is a pr emium site with excellent connections to Dubai s commercial center s and other finest attr actions, said Gangar amani. T he Manhattan will live up to our cor por ate ethos of building excellence through par tner ship by delivering urban convenience, luxur y and priv acy with access to fir st-class amenities, road networ ks and the planned Dubai metro. T he group r uns Unibetton, one of the top thr ee r eady-mix concr ete supplier s in the UAE. T he group is cur r ently looking to establish its own cement plant, an aluminum factor y, a switchgear and air conditioner grills manufacturing units, with a total investment outlay of Dh250 million. In an exclusive inter view, he elabor ates mor e on the constr uction sector. Proper t.ae: How many projects have you launched so far? JR Gangar amani: So far, just two. However, we have bought plots for 20 tower s including 10 that will be launched ver y soon. We ar e going to launch projects when we ar e r eady 25

5 for constr uction of the projects so that the buyer s can get timely deliver y. T his will help them gain confidence and establish our cr edibility as a developer. What ar e your company s cor e activities? We ar e primarily a constr uction ser vices company with a well diver sified por tfolio. We star ted initially as a constr uction company. However, later we developed other constr uction r elated subsidiaries to compliment our business while at the same time, ensur e quality and the timely deliveries of projects, so that we ar e not at the mercy of the sub-contractor s and supplier s. Could you tell us about the v alue of the cur rent order book? On the proper ty front, we will develop up to 10 projects in the coming months, with a development v alue exceeding Dh2.5 billion. As a group, we alr eady have Dh4.5 billion constr uction wor ks at hand. T hese include constr uction of major tower s and projects as well as supply of r eady-mix concr ete, interior s and other s. Recently, we have been awarded a Dh640 million contr act for the constr uction of Abu Dhabi Fish Mar ket by EMKE Group. Could you kindly tell us about your subsidiaries? You see, main contr actor s just build the skeleton on the building all other stuffs ar e supplied by the sub-contr actor s and supplier s. We had some incidents wher e the subcontr actor s failed to do their job up to the quality and standard and in some cases the supplier s could not deliver products in time. 26

6 So we had to face problems, so we decided to establish such companies our selves. T his is how we established eight subsidiaries. Cur r ently with all the subsidiaries, we can offer a complete engineering, procur ement and constr uction ser vices. When did you plan to star t the proper ty company? When my childr en r etur ned from study and decided to join the business. T hey ar e the ones that star ted the proper ty business and I am happy to see that it s taken off quite well. Although we came a little late in the mar ket, I feel ther e is a strong growth potential pr ev ailing in the mar ket, especially in professional real estate ser vices. Could you tell us about your fir st project Le Gr and Château? T he Dh225 million Le Gr and Château is our fir st project. It has been completely sold out. Al Far a a is on tr ack towards its timely completion and subsequent deliver y in the four th quar ter of 2008, thus becoming one of the fir st to deliver a project within Jumeir ah Village. Dubai has developed into the par amount tr ading platfor m and tourist destination in the Middle East, with an estimated 2,100 constr uction projects planned or underway across the Gulf in a mar ket v alued to be around the $1.5 trillion mar k. T her efor e, setting our developments apar t in ter ms of quality, ser vice, timely deliver y and v alue ar e key driver s of Al Fara a Proper ties. T he strong inter est shown in Le Gr and 27

7 Château r eflects Al Far a a Proper ties ability to cr eate new offerings that cater to the exact r equir ements of its clients. Ideally located at the hear t of the Jumeir ah Village community and adjacent to a gr een belt, the much sought-after Le Gr and Château is inspir ed by the timeless architectur al splendour of the 16 th centur y Chateaux of the Loir e Valley in Fr ance. All Le Gr and Château proper ties will be finished to the ver y highest standards from fur nitur e to lighting each being conceptualised and manufactur ed by an elite group of specialists. T he development comprises 15 luxurious, featur e-filled 4 bedroom G+2 townhouses and a r esidential apar tment block with a total of 185 studio, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apar tments that over look a beautifully landscaped inner cour tyard, and featur es a host of amenities including 24-hour s security and maintenance, Broadband inter net connectivity, and a professionally managed clubhouse. Could you kindly tell us about your latest project, the Manhattan? T his is a pr emium site with excellent connections to Dubai s commercial center s and other finest attr actions. T he Manhattan will live up to our cor por ate ethos of building excellence through par tner ship by delivering urban convenience, luxur y and priv acy with access to fir st-class amenities, road networ ks and the planned Dubai metro. How do you ensure the timely deliver y? As an integr ated r eal estate and constr uction company, we have almost ever ything inhouse, star ting from r eady-mix concr ete to aluminum and glass, among other things. So, we have that distinction which ver y few other companies have. Could you kindly tell us about your projects in India? We have alr eady launched some projects in India and plan to open a r eal estate sales unit in the UK. In India, we have launched Al Far a a Developer s and project management company to not only develop projects, but also manage constr uction of other projects. T he company s fir st two projects ar e in wor th Rs6.5 billion, while thr ee mor e ar e coming in the pipeline. We will launch 15 projects in India next year. What about expanding to other countries? In the UK, we have set up a mar keting office to promote our projects to investor s in the UK mar ket. Besides, we ar e developing projects in Jordan, with our par tner s there. BLESSED LAND Wor k with your hear t and you will get results J.R. Gangar amani, a non-r esident Indian engineer who does business from his hear t, has managed to build an empir e in the UAE over a quar ter of a centur y. Wor k with your hear t and not always your br ain and you ar e bound to get r esults, J.R. Gangar amani says. Because business is not only about money, loss and profit. It is about men, society and environment. If you ar e honest and committed, you ll succeed. We should wor k for peace; money, which is a byproduct, will pour in. Enjoy your wor k, you ll be r ewarded, he said. His company, Al Far a a Constr uction Group, has deliver ed 235 projects to clients so far, during the last 27 year s of its existence. Gangar amani feels that the UAE is a blessed land, with god s blessing and the gr ace of the countr y s leader ship. T his land enjoys special blessings from Allah. He has blessed this countr y with honest leader ship. T he growth and prosperity that we ar e witnessing in this countr y is a clear r eflection of this, he says. Al Far a a Proper ties to launch Dh353 million T he Manhattan Al Far a a Proper ties, the flagship subsidiar y of the Al Far a a Constr uction Group, has r ecently launched T he Manhattan, a Dh 353 million-luxur y apar tment complex located within Jumeir ah Village. T he launch of Al Far a a Proper ties latest ventur e has been timed to coincide with the developer s par ticipation at Cityscape Dubai, the lar gest business-to-business r eal estate investment and development event in the r egion, being held at the Dubai Inter national Exhibition Centr e from 16 to 18 October, T he developer is poised to disseminate details of a str ategic par tner ship with the Emir ates Islamic Bank (EIB) and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) wher eby investor s can av ail of flexible payment plans with up to 90% per cent of finance. T he Manhattan is inspir ed by the urban r esidences of 1930 s New Yor k, and offer s a total of 355 elegant units, which comprise a selection of studio, one, two and thr ee bedrooms apar tments with top quality finishes, and av ailable in a v ariety of styles. Located in Jumeir ah Village, the developer s have designed ever y unit to ensur e that spacious and comfor table interior s ar e complemented by distinctive accent lighting, in addition to well-planned master bedrooms, stunning landscapes, generous walk-in closets and beautifully appointed bathrooms. T he r esidential complex also aims to promote a healthy lifestyle and offer s a state-of-thear t gymnasium with facilities that include sauna, steam, swimming pool, and childr en s play ar ea. According to Al Far a a Proper ties Dir ector, Natasha Gangar amani, the inspir ation for the development is the multi-cultur al, urban metropolis of New Yor k. Commenting on the project, she said: T he financial, cultur al and social diver sities of Manhattan in New Yor k ar e compar able to the flourishing scene her e in Dubai. Set to be an epitome of luxurious living, T he Manhattan will offer r esidents an unmatched lifestyle, r eflecting the syner gies between two gr eat cities - Dubai and New Yor k. Jumeir ah Village is a luxurious and secur e community, which offer s a diver se r ange of amenities for r etail and leisur e including schools, clubs, spor ts and medical centr es, all located in the hear t of Dubai s commercial district. Combining tr anquil waterways and gardens, spor ts pitches, promenades, par ks, and scenic tr ails, the development offer s all the amenities r equir ed for tr ue wor ld-class living. Al Far a a Proper ties lever ages the Al Far a a Constr uction Group s solid background of 27 year s of exper tise in providing quality integr ated constr uction solutions in the UAE. Its ser vices include pr emium proper ty sales and buying, leasing, development and management, investment por tfolio, facilities management and cor porate client consultancy. 28