Flood of enquiries for Libya's Medina Tower spurred by repute of Palm City - MIH

Since announcing details of its pioneering €300 million Medina Tower project in Tripoli last month, enquiries about residential and commercial opportunities within the landmark building have been flooding in, Medina Tower managing director Reuben Xuereb told The Times Business.

The response has been attributed mainly to the admiration and desirability of Palm City, Mediterranean Investments Holding's recently completed luxury village in Janzour. Palm City, recently named Best Real Estate Project for 2010 at the Arabian Business Achievement Awards event in Kuwait, heralded the introduction of a new standard of accommodation available for lease to expatriates. Residential property within Medina Tower will this time be available for sale.

"We have had very interesting enquiries from locals wanting to buy apartments at Medina Tower - we will mobilise to start excavation over the next few weeks," Mr Xuereb said. "Medina Tower is a completely new concept in Libya. The prices are commensurate with luxury property standards and this is a new bracket for the local market. The apartments will be Libya's first high rise accommodation. People have seen the standards we have set at Palm City and the response really has to do with the loyalty to our brand and high expectation."

At Palm City, Mr Xuereb added, tenants come from various backgrounds involved in several large projects in Libya. The managing director said it was evident that Palm City has provided a logistic solution to the numerous companies and individuals relocating to Libya as ultimately the employers of these senior executives are enjoying a quality lifestyle that would translate into better performance at the work place.

Mr Xuereb pointed out the notion has had a ripple effect across the expatriate community in Libya's capital.

At 40 storeys, Medina Tower will incorporate 58,000 square metres of residential space for sale, 23,000 square metres of office space, 8,200 square metres of retail area, 7,000 square metres earmarked for food and beverage outlets and leisure facilities including a spa and a gym, 5,000 square metres of conference and exhibition space, and 33,000 square metres of underground parking on four floors. The project will take four years to complete.

Prospective buyers have also expressed their interest in investing for rental purposes, further confirmation of the desirability of the address, Mr Xuereb added.

While retail malls are planned for the city's outskirts which are more extensive that the commercial space offered at Medina Tower, Mr Xuereb confirmed major luxury brands have shown increased interest in establishing concept stores within the tower, even discussing plans for shopfloor layouts. Medina Tower is already in discussions with retail operators from Europe, the US and the Middle East.

Medina Tower has been working on achieving the highest green credentials to be able to be awarded the gold standard in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design certification). The project already amply conforms to the LEED silver standard, Mr Xuereb pointed out, with environment-friendly measures including UV-protection glass panes to reduce the amount of energy required for cooling, natural ventilation, traffic circulation, light pollution reduction, water usage reduction, water recycling, and power sourced from light.

MIH is a joint venture between Corinthia Palace Hotel Company Ltd and Kuwait National Real Estate Company.