Gold City, one of the largest property developments of eastern Mediterranean, celebrates its opening. The complex, which among others consists of 950 five star villas, a hotel and an Irish pub, is the largest Irish investment in Turkey

The largest Irish investment in Turkey to date formally opened here over the weekend, a five star property development called "Gold City."

The 150 million Euros development, including villas and a hotel, begun in 2003 and occupies 175.000 square meters of land on the hillside of Taurus Mountains. It comprises 950 villas, 35 swimming pools, restaurants, an Irish pub and a hotel of 478 apartments, which will start operating in early 2008.
 
The bed capacity of the complex, which at present is 4,973, is expected to reach 8,000 in 2009. Already 95 percent of the villas have been sold to foreign investors, who can rent out their properties through Gold City's management. Many investors of the project are Irish.
 
Several dignitaries, including the Ambassador of Ireland Anthony Mannix and the Governor of Alanya Hulusi Doğan attended Gold City's opening ceremony.

Ambassador Mannix said the project is the largest Irish investment in Turkey. “The volume of trade between Ireland and Turkey is not yet such that we could speak of strong trade relations. Irish companies have yet to find Turkey and Gold City is certainly a very significant project on this road,” Mannix told the Turkish Daily News.

Kerim Aydoğan, owner of the project and president of Aydoğan A.Ş., said the main challenge in the project was the building of infrastructure on the mountainside. Aydoğan started planning the project 12 years ago by first buying land in the area.

“After acquiring the land for the project I started networking with potential investors in Turkey. But because the location of the complex was on the mountainside, not many were interested in getting involved,” he said. “Getting basic infrastructure built was the main challenge on the road and took a while. After that we were able to start the real construction work,” he added.

Water to the complex now comes from two sources: From the 12-kilometer long water pipe from the mountains and from a pump down in Alanya. The complex also has six electricity generators and water tanks with a capacity of 5,000 tons. “We have made sure that in no case our residents are left without water or electricity. The houses are also earthquake proof,” Aydoğan explained.

Although in the beginning some locals were unhappy with the noise and dust the construction site brought to their environment, they quickly understood the social and economic benefits of the project, said Aydoğan. “Gold City project has offered employment for more than 500 locals. Today, we employ approximately 2,000 people. The value of real estate near Gold City has also shot up -- in fact by 50 times in comparison to the house prices of 2003,” he noted.

Andy Lawler, broker and owner of Remax Star in Alanya's Mahmutlar area, that sells villas and apartments in Gold City, emphasized the unique nature of the project. “Four years ago when I came to check the area to see if it would have potential for a project of this caliber, I was not very sure about it. But when I saw the fantastic sea views from the top of the hill I knew that this project would be the best development in Alanya.”

In the first phase, Lawler sold 26 semi-detached villas off plan for 68,000 euros each. “We sold the first phase off plan within weeks. And when the plans were completed I went to Ireland and met a real estate company and convinced them that this would be an investor's paradise,” he told the TDN.

According to Lawler, property prices in the complex, like elsewhere in Alanya, have experienced strong growth since construction started. Apartments that were sold for 68,000 euros in 2003, today sell for approximately 250,000 euros.

“It is very likely that property prices at Gold City will increase approximately 20 percent per annum for the foreseeable future,” he noted.

Investors of Gold City are mainly from Ireland but also from other European countries including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Denmark and Germany.