Sunil Gomes, the newly appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Dubai-based Gemini Property Developers, said the success of real estate developments depends on all parties supporting each other to avoid disputes and delays.

UK citizen Gomes was named CEO of the developer in October and told Construction Week that his priority to deliver quality housing projects on time would not be dented by the “adversarial” attitude that some say is a problem in the local real estate market.

“Gemini believes that for any project to succeed, there must be an alignment of objectives from the outset, but more importantly, personal and corporate values [must be present],” he said. “As such, we do not believe that working with the supply chain that is involved in the delivery of a real estate project is an adversarial relationship, but one that is an equal partnership.
“The role of all the stakeholders that contribute to a development drives shared success for all parties. Should one party suffer, we all suffer, but if we support each other throughout the project life, then success is assured. This success is emotional as well as financial. It is important that all our partners profit and grow with Gemini.”

Construction Week asked Gomes, who is sitting on a development pipeline worth $217m (AED800bn), to disclose details of his strategy for the development company. He replied: “Gemini is committed to continuing to develop optimally-designed quality products with a market-sensitive price.
“Dubai continues to grow both at a macro and micro level, and with it so does the real estate market. As such, opportunities exist for boutique developers such as Gemini who are able capitalise on the conditions and the gaps that exist across numerous facets of the market including, but not limited to, price, typologies, and demographics. Gemini is taking a long view of the real estate market and this allows us to make and develop customer-centric products at various points in the economic cycle.”
Gomes boasts a 30-year track record of delivering master-planned real estate in the US, the EU, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. He said he decided to join Gemini because of a “rare opportunity” to “build quality, well-designed products on time that meet market expectations”.

His appointment is a continuation of the management shake-up at Gemini that saw Sasikumar Cherukat named the head of sales and marketing this March.