Dubai developers abandon decision to pull out of Dubai property exhibition

Nakheel and Emaar Properties will be at Cityscape Dubai next month after all, it has emerged.

Dubai’s two star developers had pulled out of the property exhibition, which has been a massive event in recent years, attracting about 60,000 visitors in 2008. But this week both the state-linked developers issued statements saying they would be attend the expo, which starts on 6 October.

Nakheel said the company had decided to attend after “discussions with various industry stakeholders, including partners and the leading event organizers”.

Emaar said: “The decision follows discussions with the various agencies involved in organizing the event.''

The two developers are behind some of Dubai’s best known projects, such as the three palm-shaped islands (Nakheel) and the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Dubai.

Signs that this year’s Cityscape Dubai would be hit by the slowdown in the region emerged over the summer when hotels in Dubai reported that bookings during October were severely down. Cityscape Abu Dhabi, historically a smaller event, in April this year saw visitor numbers down 25% according to the conference organiser, with about 30,000 visitors.

Dubai’s property market started to enter a downturn towards the end of 2008 and now $300bn of building projects are on hold in the UAE, according to research firm Proleads.

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