Qatar's Barwa denies $2bn project sell-off ta

Qatar's Barwa Real Estate on Monday denied reports that it was in talks to sell off its $2bn Barwa City project.

Media report in Qatar over the weekend suggested it was in discussions with a government buyer but Barwa dismissed this.

"Because construction is still underway, there has not yet been a finalised lease pricing structure for BARWA City properties," Barwa said in a statement.
The marketing strategy of Barwa City is still being evaluated to accommodate the current market conditions though BARWA expects to launch a major marketing campaign during the second half of the year for the lease of Barwa City."

Barwa added that it was still in "highly positive" negotiations with Qatar Petroleum over the planned sale of the BARWA Financial District to the world's largest liquefied natural gas producer.

Phase one of Barwa City is set to be completed in June 2011 and would house approximately 25,000 residents.

Barwa - which has properties in Paris, Switzerland and the United Kingdom - was told by the government in January to merge with Qatar Real Estate Company (Alaqaria).