ABU DHABI — The 12th edition of Cityscape Abu Dhabi officially kicked off Tuesday, opening the doors to organizations keen to tap into an unrivalled audience of real estate investors from around the world, and many of the big names in the regional property industry.

Leading local and international developers, including Aldar Properties, Bloom Holding and IMKAN, were out in full force, displaying the latest developments and upcoming projects slated for the emirate.

Maan Al Awlaqi, Executive Director – Commercial, Aldar Properties, said: “Cityscape Abu Dhabi is our primary launch platform for flagship projects. The event enables us to showcase our latest developments to a captive audience of high caliber real estate investors, customers, and industry professionals alike. With the launch of our flagship project Alghadeer, we look forward to a busy three days of sales, networking and discussions.”

Cityscape Abu Dhabi will run daily until April 19 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), and is held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Unveiling details on a range of mixed-use developments, Bloom Holding also showcased existing projects such as Bloom Heights and Bloom Towers in Dubai, and Park View and Soho Square in Abu Dhabi.

Sameh Muhtadi, CEO of Bloom Holding, said: “Our participation in Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2018 demonstrates the importance we accord to the local real estate market, even as we strengthen our presence in key international markets.”

“Cityscape provides us with an ideal platform to engage directly with local and international buyers who are interested in our diverse offering. We also look forward to meeting with our investors and sharing with them updates on the ongoing construction activities at our key projects.”

Founded in December 2016, ARADA is one of the UAE’s newest developer, with a focus on Sharjah. Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, CEO, ARADA, said: “At this year’s event, we are launching the second phase of Aljada, only a few months after we announced the project in September 2017. I’m very excited about what we’re offering with the second phase of this incredible project; we’re building something that we think will be of huge interest to younger members of the community, whether they are students, perhaps working for the first time or recently married.”

Running in tandem with the exhibition, the Cityscape Abu Dhabi Conference hosted some of the region’s prominent real estate speakers throughout the day.

Real estate industry trends for 2018, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, the Internet of Things, investment in Abu Dhabi and affordable housing were the key themes being followed in the conference, with keynote speeches and panel discussions taking place throughout the day.

Running for the third consecutive year, the Cityscape Talks have become a staple for the event, providing a platform for industry experts to share their insights with visitors and like-minded professionals on the exhibition floor during the event.

With a full line up of talks set for the next two days, encompassing topics such as innovation in the real estate industry, confidence in the real estate market, user-generated content, bubbles in the real estate market, spokespeople from Kohler and REIDIN hosted opening day sessions on the art of boosting property value and investment hotspot analysis, respectively. — SG