GFH implements modifications to Morocco project

Gulf Finance House (GFH), the Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank, has announced that its development project in Morocco, the Royal Ranches Marrakech (RRM), is undergoing critical modifications to adapt to the changing market conditions in Marrakech which clearly indicate a shift from luxury large scale villas, to small to medium-size apartments. The modifications to RRM project will involve the re-master planning of the first district which will include an authentic “Medina” club houses, a medical & health spa, a traditional “Souk” shopping area and a boutique hotel. This decision follows a recent visit by a delegation representing GFH’s executives led by the Acting CEO of GFH, Hisham Alrayes to the project earlier last month.  During the visit  they concluded the restructuring of the projects financing with BMCE Bank, following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in April and assessing progress on the development. Commenting on the decision to change the direction of the development in RRM, Alrayes said: “We understand that market needs can change overtime, and as such we make it our business to monitor these potential and actual changes as a matter of course.  In order to better cater to local demand due to the market changes and the existing oversupply of luxury villas, we have taken the decision to alter the plan to include affordable residential units and medical health facilities, rather than the ranches and large scale villas as initially planned for”. It is worth noting that the existing infrastructure development of RRM is 45 per cent complete. Following the financial crisis, there was ample influx of luxury villas in Marrakech, which has led to the modification of the original master plan in light of the prevailing market requirements. From Gulftoday