The firm is currently in discussions for a third theme park which would be managed by Miral, with the signing of a globally recognised household brand imminent. Additionally, a number of residential areas have been sold, so Aldar is expecting a resident population on the island soon. The firm also expects to add 1000 new room keys across the UAE and will introduce a number of F&B and leisure offerings. If an acquisition goes ahead, this will introduce new hotel brands to the UAE.
Despite the company’s ambitious plans, Rahman maintains that monopolising the market is not the intention, and refers to “a chicken and egg situation”.
“If you fast forward five to 10 years and you assume all goes well... I think there will be a perfect supply-demand balance in Dubai and there will probably be a supply imbalance in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi, not having as many hotels as Dubai is one of the reasons why we really want to diversify.”
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“We’re trying to bring people here so we that we can create demand, and so we can then create more hotels and on top of that we have to provide to the community, and at the same time we have to capture that business. That’s what our focus is with the TCA, and with Etihad and those guys.”
Aside from a government-to-government deal in Abu Dhabi Plaza Kazakhstan, for which an operator Aldar has never worked with before has recently been selected — Rahman asserts that the focus for the H&L Division will be firmly on the UAE for the next three years, especially since the company has had its fingers burned in the past as a result of launching into projects it wasn’t ready for.
“We’ve failed in the past,” admits Rahman. “We went too far too fast, into segments and industries and sub-verticals that we weren’t comfortable with and weren’t sure about.
“Going forward we will focus on our strengths, and get to a level of maturity where we are comfortable in external markets, and then we will look at those markets where we can apply the strengths and the lessons learnt.” Rahman concluded: “We will be making sure that the investment case works, which is critical.”
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