18 July 2020

United Development Company (UDC), a leading Qatari public shareholding company and master developer of The Pearl Island and Gewan Island, held a ceremonial concrete pouring announcing the launch of construction works at Gewan Island, starting with Crystal Residence’s 15 mixed-use buildings and the climatized outdoor Crystal Walkway, the Island’s retail hub.

Crystal Residence’s low-rise buildings sit at the heart of Gewan Island within a vibrant commercial and residential district, with unobstructed sea views from one side and the lively Crystal Walkway from the other. Once completed in 2022, they will have 586 apartment units from one to four bedrooms, 101 public retail, entertainment and dining outlets, comprehensive leisure facilities for residents, and 1,456 underground car parks.

Most recently, UDC had awarded the contracts for building, landscape and infrastructure works on the Island, while dredging activities and construction of the main entrance’s cable-stayed bridge – a landmark and engineering masterpiece which connects The Pearl Island to Gewan Island – continue, demonstrating UDC’s commitment to its strategy and the development timeline of all its projects despite the current challenging situation.

The commencement of construction of Crystal Residence is a major milestone for UDC as this district constitutes the spine of Gewan Island due to its central location as well as its diversified residential and retail products on offer.

The Island’s design incorporates a number of sustainability features including reducing the use of vehicles by encouraging walking and biking through dedicated pedestrian and cycling networks. The Island also implements a centralized waste collection system that is both environmentally friendly and cost-efficient.

Crystal Residence is also specifically designed to reduce urban heat by incorporating green roofs, shading, and reflective surfaces, and adopting a close-knit layout of buildings and underground car parks to ensure well shaded streets and public areas, creating a cooler microclimate within the development.

Different measures were also taken into consideration to have a sustainable environmental building design including use of energy saving LED lamps in addition to intelligent home automation for better lighting controllability. Daylighting distribution within interior spaces was a design priority, which reduces the reliance on electric lighting. Indoor space

environments have also been insulated with optimized acoustic requirements in order to efficiently treat sources of noise from space to space.

Energy conservation measures in these buildings further include high levels of insulation to reduce the energy required for cooling, use of environmentally friendly district cooling technology, use of low water consumption plumbing fixtures and specification of energy efficient appliances in residential units.

Gewan Island, UDC’s latest real-estate project, is situated next to The Pearl Island, spanning 400,000 sqm. Once completed, the Island will accommodate 3,500 residents and a similar number of daily visitors. Gewan Island will be home to 659 residential units, including 586 apartments, 20 standalone villas located along a placid beach in a quiet and gated seaside community, as well as 21 beachfront villas with private beach, 26 waterfront villas that are equipped with private pontoons for private boats, and six independent island mansions, in addition to 11,000 sqm of retail spaces and 15 multi-use buildings. Gewan Island will feature a golf course with the five-star ‘Corinthia Gewan Island Qatar’ hotel and connected beach club, an air conditioned outdoor ‘Crystal Walkway, a seaside Promenade, parks and green areas. The Island will also be home to entertainment facilities, a clubhouse and a mosque.

UDC is a leading Qatari public shareholding company with a mission to identify and invest in long-term projects contributing to Qatar’s growth and providing shareholder value. Established in 1999, the Company was first listed on the Qatar Exchange in June 2003. It has an authorized share capital of QR 3.5 billion and total assets of QR 18 billion as at 31 March 2020. UDC activities cover a multitude of vital investment sectors including real estate development, property management, infrastructure and utilities, maritime and hospitality related businesses.