Riffa Views reaches agreement to boost villa delivery in Oasis Estate

Riffa Views has announced the signing of a revised agreement with contractor PCC-Terna relating to the completion and delivery of villas within the Oasis section of the Riffa Views development. Villa delivery at Riffa Views has been adversely affected by materials shortages and the global economic slowdown, but under the terms of the new agreement, PCC-Terna has committed to a villa delivery programme that will complete the handover of Oasis villas to homeowners by mid-2010.

PCC-Terna was appointed by Riffa Views at the outset of the project for the construction of 350 villas in the Oasis Estate. To date, 82 villas have been handed over to Riffa Views and the new agreement outlines the schedule of delivery for the remaining villas, which will be handed over to Riffa Views at an average rate of 27 villas per month.

Yasser Al-Raee, Managing Director Riffa Views, commented: “Regrettably, a number of factors have contributed to delays in the delivery of villas, leading to understandable frustration amongst our homeowners, and we are taking all possible steps to alleviate the effect of the challenges we have been facing in the project. This agreement is a very positive outcome for all parties. PCC-Terna is reaffirming its full commitment to Riffa Views and to a fixed programme of delivery for completed homes, at the very high levels of quality set at the outset of this project.”

Dimitrios Rammos, PCC-Terna, Technical Director added: “The agreement provides complete assurance to homeowners that all of our resources and efforts are aligned towards the ultimate goal of completing and delivering all the Oasis villas by mid-2010.”

Construction in Riffa Views continues to progress and 85 per cent of the infrastructure now complete. To date, 210 villas from all three Signature Estates have been handed over by contractors to Riffa Views, and of these, 99 have either been delivered to homeowners or are ready for occupation. The remaining 111 villas are currently undergoing commissioning and testing in readiness for handover.

About PCC-TERNA
PCC-TERNA is a partnership between Terna S.A of Greece (80 %) and Poullaides Construction Co. of Bahrain (20%). Terna S.A is one of the leading construction and contracting companies in Greece with extensive presence in the regions of South East Europe and Middle East. Terna covers the entire range of technical, industrial and energy related projects for both the public and private sectors and implements large and complex infrastructure projects, as well as significant building and energy projects.

RIFFA VIEWS: A “GREEN COMMUNITY” TAKING SHAPE

With over 85 villas delivered to homeowners, Riffa Views announced it has handed over the first set of golf carts to residents of the community. The golf carts were presented to those residents which purchased their villa at a time when the golf carts were being offered as an incentive and as part of the development’s “green community” vision. As the community evolves this vision is further enhanced by the various environmental initiatives being developed and implemented by all three Riffa Views, the Royal Golf Club (RGC) and Riffa Views International School (RVIS).
 
Alfredo Laffitte, CEO of Riffa Views, commented: “As a representative number of families are starting to move into Riffa Views, the objective is that over the course of time residents have an environmentally responsible lifestyle. In the long-term resident might decide to use golf carts to mobilize within the development rather than their cars. We want to offer a living environment that is conducive for a healthy and comfortable lifestyle.”
 
RVIS was the first to implement the “green community” vision with the deployment of a comprehensive recycling programme for its students. The school has further extended its commitment to develop the environmental awareness and actions of the school-children with the implementation of an organic food programme. The kids have taken a step further in a practical way by planting and growing their own fruit trees and vegetable garden. The produce from this garden is now being used to prepare the school lunches.
 
The Royal Golf Club has also undertaken a number of initiatives to protect the environment; these include the incorporation of a weather station and a computerized irrigation system that allows very precise irrigation applications in order to avoid water wastage. A compost bay has also been constructed on site and it is used to store the golf course organic waste which is then used for any planting around the course. The design and landscaping of the 18-hole championship golf course respected and utilized many of the existing natural features of Riffa’s desert landscaping and have added plant palates which contribute to those features. “This has enabled the development to encourage and retain many of the existing flora and fauna to return and develop on site, Riffa Views has now many native desert plants and animals thriving in the community”, ended Mark Hooker, Director of Agronomy, Royal Golf Club.

Riffa Views International School Students Benefit from State-of-the-Art Technology

Riffa Views International School (RVIS) maximized the use of its state-of-the-art technology to reclaim as much learning time as possible for its students during the official closure of all schools in Bahrain. Teachers at RVIS were able to create meaningful learning activities for all grade levels and subject areas as students completed their assignments outside the school via the Homelink pages on the school website.

RVIS is wired with fiber-optic cable as well as wireless network throughout the campus. This allows to seamlessly integrate high-speed internet, intranet, videoconferencing and state-of-the-art home/school communication. RVIS Director, Bruce McWilliams, commented: “The Homelink program helped students improve literacy and math skills in an exciting and challenging way, in addition to allowing them to have access to subscribed on-line learning programs. Parents were also asked to encourage and support their children while they were busy completing their Homelink assignments.”

Students from grades 1 to 6 are now back to school and RVIS held a ‘Curriculum Night’ which started by celebrating the school’s growth from 78 students last year to 178 students this year. Alfredo Laffitte, CEO of Riffa Views commented on this achievement: “We are pleased to see that RVIS community is growing in parallel to the Riffa Views community. RVIS is implementing as part of its mission the core values of Riffa Views by engaging students in environmental awareness and action, by promoting multicultural understanding and assisting them in becoming ethical contributors to a global society.”

At the ‘Curriculum Night’ each teacher did a SmartBoard presentation describing RVIS’ four core subjects: language arts, math, science and social studies, and highlighted the class expectations and how parents can help support their child’s learning. The Arabic team gave creative presentations regarding RVIS’ two innovative Arabic programs, one for native speakers and the other for non-native speakers.