Emaar and P&O Marinas start Dh25bn Dubai coastal project

Dubai's largest listed developer Emaar Properties and DP World’s P&O Marinas are starting a Dh25 billion coastal project that will transform the emirate’s historic port area.

The project, dubbed Mina Rashid, will be a riviera-style coastal destination by the Dubai Creek, Emaar Properties said in a statement on Thursday. The project will feature Dubai Mall by the Sea, a floating yacht club, Dubai's longest swimming pool and waterfront homes.

"With Mina Rashid, we are creating a future-ready city," Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties and Emaar Development, said. "The evolution of the city today as a knowledge-based economy, offering significant opportunities across all business sectors, drives demand for world-class developments that will further enhance economic growth.”

Emaar Properties, builder of the world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa, is pressing forward unfazed by softening real estate prices amid increasing supply and faltering demand in the wake of lower oil prices that slowed regional economies. The UAE's biggest-listed developer posted a 30 per cent rise in full-year 2018 net income which reached Dh7.2bn at the end of December. Dubai, which relies on tourism and trade, has invested billions of dirhams in new leisure and entertainment projects to lure visitors and investors.

The Mina Rashid project will feature 430 wet berths to accommodate large yachts and attract cruise-ship tourists, hotels, a private beach club, a pedestrian harbour bridge and a beach the size of two and a half football fields, Emaar said.

"Mina Rashid will strengthen Dubai’s position as a global city and the premier cruise hub in the Middle East," Sultan bin Sulayem, chairman of DP World, said. "Our venture with Emaar will contribute to the city’s cruise tourism and create another strong economic catalyst.”

P&O Marinas, a unit of DP World-UAE, provided the land to Emaar for the project and will develop marinas and berthing facilities. It built and operates the Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal, which the new facilities will complement, P&O Marinas said. The Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal received over 2.3 million visitors since its inauguration in 2014, and has seen per-year visitor numbers rise by 172 per cent between 2014 and 2018.

In a separate statement to Nasdaq Dubai, DP World said it will receive about $450 million (Dh1.65bn) between years four and nine, and 30 per cent of future profit. There will be no cash investment from DP world in the project, the port operator said.

Mina Rashid will be home to the Queen Elizabeth II, that has been converted into a 13-deck floating hotel, with an exhibition and theatre.

The new destination will have midrise waterfront homes with promenades, Venetian piazza, retail and restaurants by the sea, hotels, interconnected parks a 500-meter canal, art galleries, theatre and museum, Emaar said.

As part of Mina Rashid, Emaar announced the Sirdhana project comprising one, two and three-bedroom waterfront apartments and townhouses. The residential collection is named after the British Royal Mail Ship, the first vessel to dock at Mina Rashid. Sirdhana will be located near the QE2, a community park and ‘The Dubai Mall by the Sea.’

The apartments, with views of Downtown Dubai and the waterfront, will feature amenities including a recreation room, community podium with a gym, children’s play area and recreational courts.

The Dh25bn project, located near Bur Dubai, is 15 minutes from the Dubai International Airport and will offer direct link to House of Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum.

Emaar did not say when work on the project will be completed or set a delivery date.

The historic Mina Rashid was the first modern port in Dubai, opened in 1972, and turning the tiny trading village into a major port of call between East and West.