Hydra Village 'nearing completion'

Al Fahim was the founder and CEO of Hydra Properties until he was 'moved upstairs' by the owners Royal Group in June 2009. The troubles of the company's flagship development Hydra Village are well documented and the development is still well behind plan. Many investors worry that they have wasted their money on something they fear will never be completed. Throughout all this Al Fahim has been there to put positive spin on the position.

Hydra Village investors bought 'off plan' and started to monitor progress (or lack of progress) very closely. They even took arial pictures of the 'work'. The one above was taken on 22 Oct 2008 and caused real concern:

Al Fahim responded in February with one of his finest press releases:

Hydra Properties, the leading UAE-based international property developer, has achieved yet another milestone by announcing that it will be handing out units in one of its most anticipated community developments, Hydra Village Abu Dhabi, in the second quarter of 2009 as it completes the Phase I stage of the mega-project. Commenting on the swift progress of the Hydra Village Abu Dhabi project, Dr. Sulaiman Al Fahim, Chief Executive Officer, Hydra Properties said, “We are proud to announce that we will be delivering units in Hydra Village Abu Dhabi very soon so our clients can experience the quality and sophistication that only Hydra Properties can provide. We treat completing the project on time with as much regard as our customers do, and it is as much an achievement for us as it is a great convenience for them.”

Fantastic stuff (quite literally). Al Fahim's bosses must have been surprised when he saw the picture on the left (taken of the same site on 13 May 2009).