Abu Dhabi developer Aldar sets sights on Yas and Reem projects

Abu Dhabi’s largest listed property developer said plans to build a four-star hotel and a retail park on Yas Island as well as 600 mid-market homes in its Shams neighbourhood and a four-star hotel on Reem Island.

Mohamed Al Mubarak, Aldar’s chief executive, said the investments should meet their objectives of providing the market with the right products while incresing their ability to grow long-term recurring revenues. Delores Johnson / The National

Aldar Properties expects to invest Dh1.9 billion in developing four new projects on Reem Island and Yas Island in Abu Dhabi as part of the company's plans to boost its recurring revenue.

Abu Dhabi’s largest listed property developer said on Monday in a statement it plans to build a four-star hotel and a retail park on Yas Island as well as 600 mid-market homes in its Shams neighbourhood and a four-star hotel on Reem Island.

“The investments we are making meet our twin objectives of providing the market with the right products at the right time, while increasing our ability to grow long-term recurring revenues,” said Mohamed Al Mubarak, Aldar’s chief executive.

“We believe that the underlying fundamentals of Abu Dhabi’s economy provide a strong and supportive investment climate, thereby providing us with a solid platform for continued growth.”

Aldar will build a four-star, 279-room Yas Mall hotel, which will be attached to the shopping centre and will include 70 serviced apartments.

The developer will construct a 27,000-square-metre car-themed retail park on Yas Island next to Ikea and Ace Hardware big box stores. It will contain new car dealerships as well as food and beverage outlets.

The company confirmed that it plans to build its Shams Marina project, which will be made up of 329 apartments, 192 serviced apartments and a 262-room four-star hotel on Reem Island.

Aldar said that all of the projects are scheduled to start construction this year and complete during 2019 and 2020.

The investments form the second half of Aldar’s Dh3bn investment programme, which the developer announced in January 2016. Aldar said it would spend Dh1.1bn on building a new Al Mamoura school in Abu Dhabi, a 33,000-sq-metre extension to its Al Jimi Mall in Al Ain and the purchase of the 23,000-sq-metre Daman House office block in Capital Centre Abu Dhabi.

Last month, Aldar said that it would focus on building mid-market housing at its Reem Island and Yas Island communities. The developer is building 408 one, two and three-bedroom flats at its Meera Shams project in Shams Abu Dhabi, which it says are aimed at residents with a salary of between Dh20,000 and Dh30,000 a month.

Last month, Aldar forecast that it would make about Dh3bn worth of sales this year, down from Dh3.5bn last year, as it switched towards building lower-value properties.

Aldar’s net profit for the final three months of last year dipped by 1 per cent to Dh728 million from Dh735m a year earlier as the company reported a “softer operating market”.

The company made provisions and impairments of Dh100m during the fourth quarter of 2016 because of falls in the market value of its recurring revenue portfolio.

Aldar’s rental portfolio includes its 235,000 sq metres Yas Mall, nine hotels, nearly 5,000 homes and more than 200,000 sq metres of offices spread across Abu Dhabi.

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