Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s biggest listed developer, has sold 71 new plots of land at its Al Gurm development in the capital as demand for its prime projects surge amid the continued recovery of the property market.
The plots in the second phase of the waterfront community, which comprises a series of archipelago-style islands on the south-western side of Abu Dhabi’s main island, were exclusively available for purchase by Emiratis, the company said on Sunday.
“We continue to see demand for a wide range of real estate investment opportunities in Abu Dhabi, as evidenced by multiple sell-out launches of turnkey developments on Yas Island and Saadiyat Island in recent months and now the completion of land plot sales at Al Gurm," said Rashed Al Omaira, Aldar Development's chief commercial officer.
Aldar had launched the sale in July, offering buyers plot sizes that ranged in size from 900 square metres to 4,400 square metres, with each having access to beaches in three distinct areas of the development – The Beach, The Canal and The Island.
The development's first phase was completed in 2010 and the construction of the second phase is scheduled to begin in September, with handovers expected from March 2024, according to Aldar.
The Abu Dhabi developer has unveiled several projects this year as the property market continues to recover from the coronavirus-induced slowdown on the back of economic stimulus measures and a rapid mass vaccination programme.
Last month Aldar sold all 83 villas at its Saadiyat Island development, Saadiyat Reserve, The Dunes, to customers from 14 countries, with Emiratis as main buyers.
This followed the success of villa plot sales in Saadiyat Reserve’s first two phases, the company said at the time.
Villa prices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi grew by 3.9 per cent and by 2.2 per cent respectively on a quarterly basis at the end of the first quarter, property consultancy Chestertons said in a report earlier this year.
Aldar plans to unveil five new projects in 2021 on Reem, Saadiyat and Yas Islands as it aims to equal or surpass its 2020 sales of Dh3.6 billion ($980 million), Jonathan Emery, chief executive of Aldar Development, told The National in an interview in May.
Education reform in Abu Dhabi
The emirate’s public education system has been in a constant state of change since the New School Model was launched in 2010 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The NSM, which is also known as the Abu Dhabi School Model, transformed the public school curriculum by introducing bilingual education starting with students from grades one to five. Under this new curriculum, the children spend half the day learning in Arabic and half in English – being taught maths, science and English language by mostly Western educated, native English speakers. The NSM curriculum also moved away from rote learning and required teachers to develop a “child-centered learning environment” that promoted critical thinking and independent learning. The NSM expanded by one grade each year and by the 2017-2018 academic year, it will have reached the high school level. Major reforms to the high school curriculum were announced in 2015. The two-stream curriculum, which allowed pupils to elect to follow a science or humanities course of study, was eliminated. In its place was a singular curriculum in which stem -- science, technology, engineering and maths – accounted for at least 50 per cent of all subjects. In 2016, Adec announced additional changes, including the introduction of two levels of maths and physics – advanced or general – to pupils in Grade 10, and a new core subject, career guidance, for grades 10 to 12; and a digital technology and innovation course for Grade 9. Next year, the focus will be on launching a new moral education subject to teach pupils from grades 1 to 9 character and morality, civic studies, cultural studies and the individual and the community.
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