UAE: Sharjah Waterfront CIty Third Largest Mixed-use Project In GCC

Sharjah Waterfront City, a multi-billion dollar development on Sharjah’s northeast coast announced at Cityscape Global last September, has been listed as the third largest mixed-use project in the Gulf by MEConstructionNews.com. The AED 20 billion (US$ 5.4b) project, being developed by Sharjah Oasis Real Estate Development, is Sharjah’s largest master-planned mixed-use development project to-date and will be built over 10 islands covering an area of 60 million square feet along 36 kilometers of waterfront.

Other massive developments in MEConstructionNews.com’s ‘Top 10 Gulf mixed-use projects’ list include the Jeddah Tower and Jeddah Economic City in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, listed in first place with a projected investment estimated at US$21 billion, and Mohammed Bin Rashid City – District One in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, listed as the second largest development with an estimated investment of US$5.7 billion.

Sharjah Oasis Real Estate Development Co., the developer of Sharjah Waterfront City, signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sharjah-based Invest Bank to finance the first phase of the projects development. According to the developer, the first phase of the project is budgeted at AED 9.5 billion (US$ 2.6 billion) and will include a central business district, 24 mixed-use towers, a large shopping centre, a luxury hotel and other tourism facilities. The developer expects phase one to be completed in 2018.

The real estate company began its first round of sales for residential units in the project last year. The developer has also signed MoUs with Shaza Hotels (an affiliate of the Kempinski Group), for the ‘Shaza – Sharjah Waterfront City’, a five-star hotel consisting of 300 rooms and 350 serviced apartments; and with Dusit Hotels and Resorts for the development of a 200 room hotel with 200 serviced apartments.

Sharjah updated its property market laws in 2014 to allow foreign expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates to acquire property in zones authorised by the government. Previously, property could only be sold to UAE nationals, other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals and Arab nationals with a valid UAE resident visa, but not to the many other nationalities living in the Emirates. The new laws allow non-Arab expatriates in the UAE to purchase 100 year leaseholds for pre-authorised real estate projects.

UAE: Sharjah Multi-billion Dollar Coastal Development

A multi-billion dollar development called ‘Sharjah Waterfront City’ on Sharjah’s northeast coast is expected to be announced at the region’s premier real estate event, Cityscape Global, next month. The emirate’s largest master-planned mixed-use development project to-date will cover an area of 60 million square feet along 36 kilometers of waterfront.

The mega-project, which replaces the previously planned Blue Bay development, will be built on the ten Al Nujoom Islands with retail centres, tourism attractions, a leisure cruise terminal, a water park, recreation areas, 200 mixed-use towers, 95 residential buildings and 1,100 waterfront villas, which will include freehold properties. The island developments will be connected by multiple transport networks including canals, roads and tramlines. The real estate development will eventually accommodate 226,000 people.

According to the developer Sharjah Oasis Real Estate, the first phase of the project, budgeted at AED 9.5 billion (US$ 2.6 billion), will include a central business district, 24 mixed-use towers, a large shopping centre, a luxury hotel and other tourism facilities. The developer expects phase one to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.

The vision for Sharjah Waterfront City is to create a mixed-use sea-front development that supports high quality modern lifestyles, state-of-the-art residential and commercial projects and unique tourism attractions and facilities. By virtue of its size and scope, the new development will provide a significant boost to Sharjah’s economy, creating thousands of new jobs and new business opportunities. In addition, Sharjah Waterfront’s location adjacent to Hamriyah Free Zone and port is expected to be mutually beneficial.

Sharjah Waterfront City is expected to become a major contributor to the emirate’s appeal as a tourist destination and support Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, the strategic plan developed by Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) that aims to attract 10 million tourists by year 2021. One of the developments star attractions will be Crystal Lagoon, a 1.6 million square foot waterpark.

Sharjah Waterfront City is being developed to both leverage urban systems of efficiency, while creating sustainable, environmentally-friendly urban spaces consistent with Sharjah’s healthy city plans. Sharjah was recently accredited as the the Middle East’s first Healthy City by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a result of the city meeting a wide range of WHO criteria. It is hoped that the new development will prove to be a gold standard for urban development in Sharjah.

Strategic partners already appointed for Sharjah Waterfront City include Darwish Engineering Emirates Contracting, global design firm Jack Ross & Associates, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, Adnan Saffarini Engineering Consultants and other consultants. There are also memorandums of understanding signed with a number of property operators, hotels, business centers, entertainment companies, retail groups and hypermarkets.

Cityscape Global takes place from 8-10 September at Dubai International Exhibition Centre.