Yemen’s geographic location on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, its role in the global spice trade and claim to precious resin-baring trees, made it a valuable piece of real estate for centuries.

Many of history’s most significant empires sought a stake in Yemen. The Romans used the sweet-smelling resins, frankincense and myrrh, from Yemeni trees to impress guests and gods in their temples and homes. Augustus Caesar sent an expedition to annex Arabia Felix, “Happy Arabia”, but it failed.

The Ottomans took over the mountainous north of Yemen while in 1839 the British established a colony in Aden. Yemenis wriggled control of their land back from the Ottomans in 1918 and the Brits in 1967.

Since the unification of the North and South in 1990, Yemenis have been focused on rekindling foreign interest in their land, this time from real estate developers, as they work to exploit their 1,100 plus miles of sunny, predominantly southern-facing coastline.

Construction and real estate development in the country has been relatively limited due to lack of resources, both legal and financial, and difficulties in working with existing structures.

To help monumental projects, such as the Ferdaws Aden, get off the ground the Yemeni government is working to resolve national and local issues slowing development. Sources cite a backlog in the resolution of land disputes as an impediment to getting real estate moving.

Further complicating new construction is the rising demand and price of construction materials in the region. From Dubai to Iraq, massive new construction projects require a tremendous amount of cement and steel. Even worse, a study by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce found that some cement traders were monopolizing the market, when combined with high fuel and shipping costs, added “upward pressures to the regional cement prices”.

Should Yemeni courts resolve outstanding cases, and the government find a more effective way to import, or subsidize, construction materials, the country could land more big development contracts.