The FINANCIAL — Dexus Development is actively involved in the project of dramatically changing Tbilisi’s railway infrastructure.
According to Irakli Kilauridze, Group Founder and Distressed AM Business CEO of Dexus, Tbilisi’s primary railway hub will be moved from the centre of Tbilisi (where it is currently located) to two main stations in the outskirts of the city. These two new stations will be named ‘East Station’ (Navtlugi) and ‘West Station’ (Didube).
Dexus is a business group focused on distressed asset management, property development, construction and property management. One of the company’s major ongoing projects is the turnaround of Center Point Group, the largest property developer of the Georgian pre-crises real estate market.
According to the latest market research, Dexus currently manages the assets of approximately one third of the residential property market which is under-construction in Georgia. At the moment the company Dexus has thirteen completed objects, has fulfilled contractual obligations towards 2,190 customers and has completed 200,000 km of construction all in terms of the Center Point rehabilitation project.
“Dexus includes several groups of different companies working on the development of different areas. Investment and development is one of our main directions and it is within those frames that we are working on the railway project,”Kilauridze said.
“In the first stage of the project, the development of East Station with an inbuilt shopping centre will take place. This station is to be linked with Samgori metro station. East Station will also include regional bus and minibus stations. We started construction in the spring of this year and it will be finished by Spring 2013. The shopping centre will be functional by Summer 2013, while the railway station will be finished slightly earlier,”Kilauridze stated.
“East Station will be a two-storey building with trade centre on the first floor, and waiting hall for the railway station and its administrative office on the second. The trade centre, which is being constructed in line with international standards, will have allocated space for parking. Special infrastructure will be put in place for disabled people. The waiting hall will be able to accommodate up to around 500 people,”Kilauridze said.
After finishing the construction of East Station by the end of the next year, the development of West Station will start. This station will also include a trade centre which will finish being constructed by approximately the end of the year 2014.
“About GEL 8 million will be invested in the East Station project. We can’t yet name the amount of investments going in to the West Station but a relevant amount of money will be invested according to the scale of the project,”Kilauridze said.
“The projects’ architects are young Georgians. The detailed architectural plans and drawings were created in collaboration with Dutch architects and with a group of our company’s internal engineers.”
“The project is commercially profitable and important for the general development of the areas where the stations are being constructed. This will be the first properly planned and executed infrastructure project in the area. It will support the economic progress of the region and many people will have an opportunity to start their own businesses as a result of its completion. Space in our trade centres will be available for rent, and people will therefore be able to open stores there,” he added.
“About 30% of our projects are designed for big companies and 70% for small and medium clients. For the opening of the first structure our aim is to have about 70% of it already in use. Our trade centre is in a flexible location for people coming in from the regions as well as for the people living in the area. These people are the potential clients of the trade centre. We had some surveys done before we started constructing the centre and we are aware of the financial capability of our potential clients who live in the region. We already had about 30% of clients when we started construction,” Kilauridze said.
According to Kilauridze, Dexus had the right tenant and brand mix while working on the trade centre. This is one of the main determiners of the success of a project like this. In these objects many transport facilities are being constructed together including railway, metro, bus and minibus stations. “All of this brings many people together which increases the number of clients that the trade centres will have,” he added.
Kilauridze, in an interview with The FINANCIAL, said that the project of Center Point’s rehabilitation has been quite successful for Dexus.
According to Dexus officials, within the frames of Center Point’s rehabilitation, in 2012 Dexus resumed six additional construction projects. After completion of the whole project, an additional 1,100 customers will receive flats and commercial spaces. Construction is being completed in Dighomi’s first, second, third, fourth and fifth blocks, Tskneti house, hotel-type residential complex in Bakuriani-Sanisle, the Abkhazeti and Kino buildings on Khosharauli street, Ljubljana Street property, Chavchavadze Corner, Batumi Magnolia and Samgori White House.
Dexus announced the three-year Center Point Group turnaround plan on 17 December, 2010, according to which the company will be led out of crisis by the end of 2013. Up to 1,750 apartments and commercial units were delivered to CPG customers. By completing the ongoing construction of 15 buildings, a further 1,200 property units will be delivered. Dexus has already raised and spent approx. GEL 25 million on CPG development projects. According to the turnaround plan of the Center Point Group, Dexus aims for step-by-step renewal and completion of all suspended projects during the years 2012-2013. In total, Dexus will invest up to GEL 95 million in the project.
“The successful development of Center Point’s rehabilitation has made Dexus become a real estate company integrating several directions. One of the main objectives nowadays is governing distressed real estate asset management. We will therefore have some new projects on the market. During the Center Point rehabilitation process, out of 6,000 clients Dexus has already satisfied one third of customers. For another third of clients constructions have already been started and according to our plans we will start construction for the remaining clients next year,” Kilauridze said.
“The rehabilitation of Center Point is one of our main projects. Within this rehabilitation process we have had some very successful projects including Batumi Magnolia. Dexus Group worked hard on this project and it has ended up becoming one of the most successful and exceptional properties as a result,” Kilauridze said.
“Dexus has attracted many new clients and bankrupted companies for rehabilitation. At the moment the railway project is one of the most important ones for us. We are coming up with new projects for the nearest future and we will probably start implementing our own projects therefore. But we will always have a group in Dexus who will be working hard on recovering distressed assets,” Kilauridze said.
“In 2012 Dexus started the rehabilitation of construction company Valencia’s project Isnis Savane. After finishing the project, 147 families will receive their own flats or commercial spaces. The construction started on 31 May, 2012, and will be completed by December 2012,” Kilauridze said.
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