The cost of repairing the fire-damaged Tamweel Tower has reached $21.2 million (AED78 million) according to the latest assessment carried out.
Two years on from the fire that partially gutted the 34-storey tower, the 160-odd property owners are still no further to establishing when the repair work will be carried out, according to a report in Gulf News.
The establishment of the Tamweel Tower Owners Association, complete with an escrow account under its name approved by RERA, appeared to have paved the way for significant progress. However, no funds have been released to fund the repair and according to Arab Orient Insurance – insurers of the building – technicalities in the issue have caused the delay.
“For two years, we did not know who we can deal with in order to process the claim. Tamweel was not prepared to get involved in the claim although the policy has been issued under their name and instructions,” an official from Arab Orient Insurance told Gulf News via email.
The insurers said it requires a formal authorisation from individual owners to appoint the association as the owners’ legal representative.
The repair cost of the building was first estimated at $13.6 million (AED50 million) in July this year, but according to the report, this has now increased to $21.2 million.
A new loss adjuster has been appointed to survey the cost of the fire damage, which was caused by a discarded cigarette that fell into a pile of waste.
Owners who financed their property purchase with a loan from finance company Tamweel have had the accounts suspended since the fire.
“Following the fire, as a goodwill gesture, Tamweel went to great lengths to support homeowners, including suspending the collection of monthly instalments for customers whose homes in Tamweel Tower were financed by the company. In fact, we are still not charging owners for these payments,” a spokesperson told Gulf News.
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